MusicLink!

MusicLink is starting up again on Tuesday, September 18th at 4:00pm. We will be meeting at the Children's Museum of Richmond in the CMoR playhouse. For those of you who are returning members of the group -- please note that this is a new meeting day and room.

This year we plan to focus on percussion. We will also be watching and learning the pieces that our partners perform on the exchange video that came over the summer. We look forward to seeing you and to hearing your ideas about what we'll share with our exchange partners this school year.

Parents of children who are working on IEP goals are welcome to contact us to discuss goals and/or accommodations that will make it possible for your child to get the most from the program. Any child who has an interest in singing and playing music in an inclusive environment is welcome to participate.

Below we've posted a few clips from the video produced by VSA arts of Virginia's 2006-2007 participants. (We apologize for the low quality -- we're trying to keep our file sizes down). You may view examples of video submitted by other groups by clicking here.



PS: MusicLink is a free program brought to you by VSA arts of Virginia. Donations are always welcome!

Thousand Hand Guan Yin

Anonymous excerpt from an email we received: "Considering the tight coordination required, the accomplishments of these dancers is nothing short of amazing -- even if they were not all deaf. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens last year at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries. Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival celebrations this year. It takes a while to load. Be patient; it's worth it." Click on the arrow inside the image above to watch the video.