The AFEI Program: Cultural Activities

Cultural activities are a key component of the Alliance Française Educational Initiative and offer students a tangible connection with the French way of life.

2009-2010 Activities

"Le Ballon rouge" theater adaptation, May 27th, 2010

 

An actor of the Adventure Theater

during the Q&A with the students.

This hot and humid Thursday morning was an occasion to bring together students of not one, but three AFEI schools to Glen Echo Park in Maryland, and with good reason -- the park's Adventure Theater was showing an adaptation of Albert Lamorisse's famous story "Le Ballon rouge"!

Having previously studied it in their AFEI classes, the students from Burroughs, Randle Highlands, and Ketcham were no strangers to the plot.  They delighted in the actors' vibrant renditions of the characters, and no doubt related to Pascal, the play's young protagonist who develops a friendship with the red balloon.  After the play, the actors and staff were kind enough to stick around for a Q&A with the students.

The outing to Glen Echo Park wasn't over: after a tasty lunch (thanks to the talents of Petits Plats Restaurant's sandwich craftsmen), the students were offered a ride on the park's sumptuous carrousel.  Of course, the AFEI teachers Outra, Kevin, and Abibata, as well as many educators from the three schools, could be seen joining in on the fun!

Tété and Eric John Kaiser workshop, March 26th, 2010

A memorable Friday morning saw Parisian guitarists Tété and Eric John Kaiser charm all of Ketcham ES’s AFEI students in their gym-turned-music venue.  Fresh from their performance the previous night at the Smithsonian’s Baird Auditorium, the two musicians received a warm welcome from an expectant audience.

When time came to do the honors, Tété started things off with a few acoustic tunes.  Immediately stepping down from the podium and away from the mic, the Sénégal-born prodigy made a point of walking by the students or sitting down near them while playing, in order to create an intimate, interactive performance.  The mood was friendly and subdued, with the children hanging on to his every word and soothed by his warm and generous touch.

Eric John Kaiser was a different story.  Determined to give them the show of their lives, he pumped up his electric gear to please the students with a high-energy festival of sounds they will never forget.  The now Oregon-based entertainer looped the sounds of his motifs to give him liberty to add layers of melodies on top of his grooves, particularly during a creative reprise of Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, proving himself worthy of the likes of psychedelic wizard Keller Williams.  At the end, he led the students into chants in pure rock’n’roll fashion, but with a French touch, grooving to the words “bonjour”, “merci”, “au revoir” and the like – thereby ensuring AFEI’s mission to promote openness to French culture, both linguistic and artistic!

Aurélien Kairo workshop, November 12th, 2009

 

3rd grade students of Randle Highlands Elementary School participated in a workshop conducted by French hip-hop dance sensation Aurélien Kairo.  After leading the class in various warmup exercices, Aurélien guided the several dozen boys through a series of dance moves such as the “locking” and the “rolling,” amidst the ostensible excitement generated by their challenging nature.  The workshop ended with a highly energetic series of solo breakdances, courtesy of Mr. Kairo himself as well as the students (and even their professors), delighted in this chance to demonstrate to Aurélien their knowledge and practice of hip-hop.  This was the perfect conclusion to another overall educational yet ludic clinic facilitated by the AFEI program. 

2008-2009 Activities

"Giving tree", throughout December 2008

In December 2008, the Alliance Française de Washington invited members and students to donate books, classrooms materials, gloves to schools participating to the AFEI program. Thanks to the generosity of our members, the Alliance Française managed to give every school some pens, pencils, textbooks and many other gifts. 

Winter celebration, December 9th 2008

The Alliance Française de Washington invited more than 200 children to the Maison Française to attend a play, inspired by the Fables de Jean de la Fontaine, performed by Histrio. Alice Rousié and her pupils from River Terrace school sang "Le Corbeau et le Renard" and "Frère Jacques". The director, Laurent Mellier and the AFEI Program Manager, Sophie Mededovic awarded Brianna Smith from Burroughs School for her drawing used for the Alliance's greetings cards. The children enjoyed a gouter with juices, viennoiseries and sweets before going back to school.

Opera Lafayette, from January 7th to January 31st 2009

Opera Lafayette, an American ensemble based in Washington DC taught a three-part series of in-classroom educational sessions about opera to 5th graders at two DC public schools: John Burroughs Elementary and Horace Mann Elementary. On January 7th, children attended an introductory session on opera by Betty Byrne, master teacher for Opera Lafayette. The day after, Mrs Catherine Turocy, director of the New York Baroque Dance Company, taught and demonstrated the roles of dance and pantomime in the genre of comic opera. On January 14th, the students learned and sang the simple chorus that was to accompany the opera's opening and closing musical themes, lead by Ryan Brown, artistic director of Opera Lafayette.

On Saturday, January 31st, students and their families attended for free the opera, Le Déserteur at the Atlas Center for Performing Arts.

Honfleur Gallery, January 27th 2009

 

 

 

The 4th graders from Ketcham Elementary School went to the Honfleur Gallery to see the exhibition from John K. Lawson, Fragile. They got the chance to see the whole exhibition gathering installations, paintings and drawings. John K. Lawson met the children and took time to explain his work to them.

Balafon, West African Dance, March 18th 2009

The children from Ketcham Elementary School got the chance on that Wednesday morning to discover the artistic world of Balafon. Balafon is a west African dance ensemble, gathering djembé players, dancers and a singer. After a 45 minutes lasting show, they set a workshop so as to make the children dance and play music. The boys were on each side of the stage learning a short djembé performance while the girls were being trained to dance like in West Africain countries. The workshop ended with a competition for the best dancers and musicians.

Uppercut, French Slam, March 19th 2009

Uppercut, a French slam duo touring in the USA, met the pupils from Randle Highlands School. They answered many kids' questions, all curious about French slam. Then, they gathered in a circle and were introduced to the concept of rythms and "human beat box", claping their hands or creating a noise one after the other. 

The workshop ended with kids writing sentences to introduce themselves in the way that Uppercut does. They were proud to read it in front of their classmates.

A successful workshop for the kids and a wonderful opportunity for the artists to share their talent.

Mime Guérassim Dichliev, May 14th 2009

Children at River Terrace Elementary School were visited by a special guest this past Thursday, mime-extraordinaire Mr. Guerassim Dichliev, whose performance in the classroom showed kids the beauties and wonders of imagination. The students were visited by a variety of characters including a Chef, an Apple Tree, and a Gondolier from Venice, and were treated to giant balloons, apple pie and a ride on the back of an elephant. After the exciting finale which drew laughter and got everyone out of their seats, the kids were given a chance to ask all sorts of questions to Mr. Dichliev as part of River Terace’s career day, learning what it takes to perform as a mime and how working hard in school can lead to future success.