Experiencing how other cultures greet each other is one of the things I love most about learning a new language. In many ways, the greetings are similar—”Hello,” “How are you,” “What is your name,” “My name is”—but expressed with their own unique flavor. The richness of World Music gives us a vehicle through which we can better understand and connect with a community of people, which is why I am thrilled to present today’s video premiere, “Anta Gata Doko Sa” (“Where Are You From?”).
Elena Moon Park made her 2012 debut with the stunning Rabbit Days and Dumplings, an album that mixes traditional American folk music with traditional Asian sounds offering a diverse array of songs from East Asia (Korea, Japan, China, Tibet and Taiwan).
“Anta Gata Doko Sa” is a popular Japanese children’s song often sung while playing with a bouncing ball. Park’s video features beautifully animated oil painting (credit: Lauren Gregory) that fluidly glides along with the smooth Dub-infused rhythm of the song. The combination is fun to watch and learn from. Look for a charming little girl who bounces a ball with her shoulders and transforms into a ball herself.
For those in the New York area, Elena Moon Park will be performing in Symphony Space’s Just Kidding Series with Sonia De Los Santos on Nov. 5. I highly recommend this show as both of these artists are extremely memorable.
Check out Park’s video for “Sol Nal” which features Sonia De Los Santos.
Subscribe to Park’s YouTube channel to view additional live performances, and follow Park on Facebook to stay in touch.
It’s a No Kidding? Just Kidding! Sweepstakes with SiriusXM Kids Place Live! One Lucky Family Will Win a Trip to NYC and Meet ‘The Story Pirates.’
Enter to win and have your child’s story acted out by The Story Pirates!
PLUS all entrants receive a FREE DOWNLOAD filled with excellent music from some of today’s hottest kindie musicians!
Have you heard of The Story Pirates? If not, then you need to! They are frequently featured on satellite radio (Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live – Ch 78) where they perform sketches written by kids. The Story Pirates are a talented team of actors and teaching artists. They regularly enrich children’s lives by inspiring creativity and essentially performing magic as they bring childrens’ stories to life. And, they just happen to be naturally hilarious! Interested in seeing their work? Enter to win and then scroll down to view a video featuring The Story Pirates in action at a school in New York.
The Story Pirates will be opening the 2013-2014 season at one of my favorite New York City performing arts centers, Symphony Space! Beginning today, Symphony Space and SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Kids Place Live will launch a nationwide sweepstakes offering a family weekend getaway trip to New York City, plus other great prizes. And one lucky family will win a trip to NYC and meet ‘The Story Pirates.’ Plus, if you are a Grand Prize winner, The Story Pirates will actually perform a sketch created from your child’s story! Read below for more details and make sure you enter to win. The giveaway will run from August 7 through August 21. Just Kidding sweepstakes details are posted at http://www.symphonyspace.org/nokidding.
But, that’s not all….
Everybody wins! Get a Just Kidding song mix just for entering!
All entrants who opt-in to receive emails from Just Kidding can download a set of free songs from this season’s Just Kidding performers including Elizabeth Mitchell, Justin Roberts, Gustafer Yellowgold, the Okee Dokee Brothers, Dog on Fleas, Joanie Leeds, the Sugar Free Allstars, Billy Kelly, Lunch Money, Mister G, Asheba, Charlie Hope, Recess Monkey, Ratboy Jr, Josh & the Jamtones, Billy Kelly & the Blah Blah Blahs, and Astrograss.
Entries in the No Kidding? Just Kidding sweepstakes must be received by August 21, 2013 at 9 pm EST. The sweepstakes will be open to anyone in the continental United States, except where prohibited. Other restrictions may apply. The Grand Prize winner must be able to travel to New York City over the weekend of October 4 to 6, 2013, and attend the 2 pm Story Pirates performance at Symphony Space on October 5, 2013. The grand prize offer is not valid for any other dates. Grand and second prize winners will be announced on August 30, 2013.
Breakdown of prizes are as follows:
· Grand Prize: A family weekend getaway in New York City, October 4 to 6. One lucky family will win the following prize package, valued at approximately $3,500: air transportation for four from anywhere in the continental United States, two nights at the Hotel Newton on Manhattan’s Upper Westside, four tickets and backstage passes for Symphony Space’s debut event of the Just Kidding season, with The Story Pirates, plus other goodies. The winning family will also get to meet Absolutely Mindy from SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live. Meals at Big Daddy’s, Two Boots Pizza and the Thalia Café are also included. PLUS: The Story Pirates will perform a story written by the winning family’s children.
· Five Second Prize winners will each receive a library of CDs from every musical artist performing at Just Kidding this season, plus new children’s books from Symphony Space’s Thalia Kids’ Book Club and a Just Kidding t-shirt.
About the Just Kidding Series
Presenting everything from break dancing to ballet, along with planet-hopping puppetry, electroluminescent dinosaurs, and new tunes from the nation’s hottest kindie rock artists, Symphony Space announces an adventurous mix of live performance for its critically acclaimed Just Kidding series. The 2013-14 season launches on October 5th with a kid-driven sketch comedy performance by The Story Pirates, and runs most Saturdays and some Sundays through April 2014. Details are at http://www.symphonyspace.org/justkidding.
Each weekend, Just Kidding attracts hundreds of kids and their grownups for one of the most reliable, exciting and value-driven performing arts options available anywhere in the nation. Time Out New York Kids calls Just Kidding “the best concert series for kids” with “a jam-packed bill of family programming.” The Boston Globe commends it as “an affordable way to introduce children to live entertainment in a safe, inviting, and family-friendly environment.” And the Parents’ Choice Foundation advises, “For kid and family friendly entertainment in the city, look no further.”
I recently attended Kindiefest, an annual family music conference that took place in Brooklyn, NY. The conference sought to provide helpful information about the industry while showcasing some amazing talent. I am going to write a separate post that provides a little more detail about what went on at the conference but one thing I clearly remember hearing about is that collaboration can be extremely useful.
One fine example of how collaboration can produce something pretty spectacular is the Underbirds.
The Underbirds consists of Morgan Taylor from Gustafer Yellowgold and Todd McHatton, who not only has released some wonderful kindie albums of his own, but is also the creator of Marvy Monstone’s Mysterious Fun Time Dream Band, and the wildly popular single “I Think I’m a Bunny.” Together their music sounds like a mix of the Flaming Lips, the Beatles and a little bit o’ Queen.
TheUnderbirds had their official world premiere live performance/release party at Symphony Space in New York City on Saturday, April 27, 2013 as part of Symphony Space’s Just Kidding series. I was more than lucky enough to catch it. Although it meant leaving the Kindiefest conference for a bit, it was an easy trade-off as these guys are at the top of our list when it comes to quality music and performances!
Standing in front of a screen with projected images of the outdoors, Taylor and McHatton sang original songs from their self-titled debut, which were filled with warm, joyful harmonies that reflected upon the beauty of nature and companionship. The duo also premiered a few new songs and each played a single from their own kindie catalogue. Taylor sang one of our favorite Gustafer songs, “Wisconsin Poncho” and McHatton brought his daughter, Hazel, up for “I think I’m a Bunny.” Seeing her sing live was so fun. She’s a natural just like her Dad!
It really was a treat for both grown-ups and kids. And for a world premiere performance, it didn’t take very long before everyone in the audience started to sing along.
I’ve spoken of the wonderful sounds coming from these two highly talented kindie artists before, but seeing these two sing together in a live setting was a real gift.
You can sample, download and purchase the Underbirds from CDBaby, Amazon and iTunes. Highly Recommended!
Underbirds – “Trail of Hearts” live at Symphony Space via YouTube
Underbirds – “Brilliance” live at Symphony Space via YouTube
Kids Can Groove 