A new children's musical production premieres in Washington DC on December 19, 2020, at 3 pm EST. Finding Rhythm: A journey through the musical brain is a children's musical that fuses brain science with an original score inspired by DC's Go-Go music. A Growing Brains Production with an all-star cast, Finding Rhythm gets children to listen, move their bodies, and sing in call and response, while the whole family learns how rhythm grows children's brains!
Why do families need rhythm right now?
We find ourselves living in a time of massive disconnection, upheaval in education, and the pervasive struggle for many adults to meet children's needs—all in contrast with abundant evidence of children's natural proclivity for ecological learning, social justice, and human connection.
During this time, we find ourselves asking: What are the forces of human nature that drive us towards connection, that allow—rather than prohibit—effortless learning? What are the forces that embody empathy and the biological roots of cooperation, running deep not only in humans but also across all living beings?
We highlight one central force of nature that has shaped the course of human development—and the vehicle for that development—over hundreds of thousands of years. That force is rhythm. The vehicle is the brain.
The brain evolved for rhythm
The human brain evolved to perceive rhythm and to synchronize bodies together in time—because doing so enabled effective cooperation. From individual cells working together, to children using rhythm and rhyme as an aid to their brains' natural state of learning, to groups and communities surviving hardship or oppression and achieving transformation—organisms and cultures have evolved and persevered because they found growth, connection, and healing through rhythm.
Why go-go music?
The epitome of rhythmic skill, of course, is human music and dance. In Washington DC, that music is go-go music: a music that is unwaveringly rooted in African traditions of community, call and response, and oral history; a music that conveys those traditions through the rhythms of Africa and Latin America which were carried to this country by force via the transatlantic slave trade. In DC, go-go evolved in response to systemic oppression, as a forum for a shared Black experience, and in defiance of the ongoing efforts to mute that experience. Go-go music is emblematic of the communal, participatory act of musical creation and communication, and of the power of sophisticated rhythms to build connection and cooperation.
Children discover the source of their power
In honoring go-go’s traditions and rhythms from a scientific perspective, we discover that those same rhythms have the power to shape the brains of children as they listen and sing, dance and drum. Research in music neuroscience shows that exposure to and practice of complex rhythms promotes brain growth beginning in infancy, and that synchronizing body movement increases empathy, helping and cooperation throughout life. This is not the Mozart effect—it's the go-go effect. And rhythm is not merely a metaphor: it is the method.
This is not the Mozart effect—it's the go-go effect. And rhythm is not merely a metaphor: it is the method.
What is the goal for our children? It is to support their natural proclivities for learning, justice and cooperation. It is the child who realizes the source of their power. Through the rhythms of go-go, a brain is transformed, connection is forged—and a young person discovers that they are a powerful child.
The Story of Finding Rhythm
In the beginning, there was a rhythm. Mother Dance shows us how this rhythm grew in Africa, and helps us move together and remember where we come from. Father Rhythm teaches us how the rhythm traveled through Latin America to DC to become go-go music: he tells children where to look to find their own rhythm, and to find true connection. Along with their friend, the curious Scientist, we learn that rhythm grows the brain! When we allow children to find rhythm and grow their own brains, they discover the source of their power.
Sign up for the FREE show on December 19, 2020 at 3 pm EST.
Musical Cast
Sylvia Soumah as Mother Dance, Vocals, Dance
Dante Pope as Father Rhythm, Vocals, Percussion
Jessica Phillips-Silver as Scientist/Narrator, Vocals
Rochelle Rice, Vocals
Amadou Kouyate, Kora
Uasuf Gueye, Balafon
Kinard Cherry, Bass
Partners
Blue House Productions, Engineering
In partnership with Dance Place
This Project is Supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
About Growing Brains
Growing Brains: A brain-based approach to raising children and communities, was founded in 2014 by Dr. Jessica Phillips-Silver, to provide a unique, integrative framework of child development based on evidence from brain science and wisdom from musical arts and healing. Growing Brains has worked with centers for art, education, and health in D.C., including the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Washington Performing Arts, National Symphony Orchestra, Children's National Medical Center, University of Maryland's School of Public Health, Communities for Just Schools Fund, Sen Sound, Sitar Arts Center, Arts on the Horizon, Arts For The Aging, Martha's Table, Bloombars, Baba Ras D, and Dance Place. Through these partnerships, Growing Brains helps support children's Optimal Brain Growth and healing in communities across the District of Columbia.