Pas seulement un artiste, mais aussi une star. . .

Le Centre International d’Art et de Musique de Ouidah, offre une  deuxième édition du « CIAMOStar, »  un programme de perfectionnement pour  les  artistes professionnels et ceux en devenir.


Contact: 66 74 72 52 / 96 82 48 72
ciamobenin@gmail.com

Période du programme : 

Du 4 Juin au 1 Août 2012

L’artiste n’arrête jamais d’apprendre.  Quel que  soit son  niveau  et ses  aptitudes, il est toujours à la recherche du  perfectionnement.  Il veut mieux connaitre sa langue, la musique, et mieux jouer son rôle sur  scène.  Le programme  CIAMOStar est là pour aider  tous les artistes, du plus connus au moins connus.

Le programme offre des cours de théorie,  une occasion  pour vous engager dans la pratique  et une  chance de travailler avec les artistes professionnels.

Engagez-vous dans la pratique. . .

 Cours de Théorie et de  Pratique. . .  En  3 heures de cours  par semaine, les artistes seront regroupés en deux groupes (débutants et avancés) pour l’apprentissage de la  théorie musicale. Ces deux groupes d’artistes auront l’opportunité  de  s’appliquer en même temps à travers l’orchestration et la  performance.

Cours de Chant. . . Apprendre les techniques et exercices pour maitriser votre boite vocale et mieux chanter les partitions.

Cours de Piano ou de Guitare. . . L’artiste apprendra  les bases de la guitare ou du piano et son application dans une composition propre à lui.

Ateliers . . . Les  artistes musiciens  les plus connus  du public béninois et africain viendront animer  différents ateliers théoriques et pratiques.

· GURU Records –  Séance de questions et réponses sur le marché  phonographique du Benin. Qu’est-ce qu’il faut pour réussir ? Comment peut-on  se faire connaitre du public ?  Le Directeur  de GURU Records  vous en parlera.

· Monsieur  Oscar KIDJO,  Voulez-vous  maitriser vos arrangements et orchestrations ?  Mr  KIDJO, Patron  de studio,  il vous  donnera les consignes d’une bonne orchestration pour réaliser les meilleurs enregistrements.

· Monsieur  Magloire  AHOUANDJINOU,  trompettiste extraordinaire du groupe  Gangbé Brass Band, fera un travail sur la fusion des musiques d’Afrique avec les beats du monde pour produire les morceaux  de world musique  irrésistibles.

Inscription : La participation au CIAMOStar se fait par teste de sélection. Merci de vous rapprocher  de la direction du CIAMO pour vous faire programmer.

Frais de Participation:

Artistes : 15 000fcfa, Anciens Participants – 0 fcfa

Période d’inscription:  du 14 mai au 2 juin

Contactez 21 34 10 66 / 66 74 72 52 / 97 95 65 97

End of the Trimester Variety Show

The tradition of Benin was alive in CIAMO's April 4th Variety Show. Spectators were impressed by students' abilities in traditional dance, percussion, theater, and band! Thanks to all who came out to support us!

Let's Teach the Arts

 CIAMO was very excited to hold its first Official Teachers Training on February 20th and 21st, co-sponsored by the Ouidah School District, and a grant from SPA/USAID. Here is a quick recap of what happened!

19 teachers were present, each one from a different school in Ouidah. The training began with a discussion of the arts. What are the arts? Why do we teach the arts? The teachers were actively engaged in these questions, and anxious to better understand the impact of arts on children.

Pascal Avokpo shows how to draw a circle in perspective. 

After, we had two hours of drawing lessons, approaching observational drawing and perspective. These sessions were led by local artist and CIAMO teacher, Pascal Avokpo. 

Lydia helps a teacher to draw a cup. 

 Next, Lydia Dambekalns, head trainer, assisted by Pascal Avokpo and Christian Tamegnon, went through two model lessons. The teachers were invited to attempt each lesson.
 

Lydia and Pascal show examples of the gates that her students created.

The first lesson involved observing gates to compounds and drawing them, as well as inventing symbols to place on the gates. 

Teachers gather outside to draw the gates of EPP OkeAgbede

Observing the final product.

The second project was based off the Flags of the Dahomey kings. These flags are traditionally quilted and involve the usage of animals to symbolize kings. 

Teachers enjoyed the projects so much, many refused to leave during the lunch break! 

Cut out the form carefully!

Just one example of the final product.

Teachers drew animals and cut leftover fabric clipping to form the parts of the animals.

After finishing the projects, Dean Georges Azonaha, the author of Benin's art curriculum recapped the lessons, by showing how they could be used and justified in the classroom. 

At the end all the teachers were awarded certificates of participation by the Superintendent of Ouidah 

Schools. 

Our first teacher training was an incredible success! CIAMO thanks all those involved, especially Peace Corps/USAID and the Ouidah School District. Here's hoping that we'll have many more successful trainings! 

CIAMOStar. . . C'est le show

On February 10th, 2012 at 7pm, the International Center of Art and Music in Ouidah (CIAMO) hosted a concert, “Show des Stars,” to end its three month long program, CIAMOStar. CIAMOStar was developed by the center to aid the professional development of local musicians.

During the three months, 8 students participated in classes in theory, composition, guitar, and piano. They also had the opportunity to work with CIAMO’s Artist in Residence, US-based songwriter and producer, Leni Stern. At the concert each artists will present a new song that he composed during the program. Artists include: Ben Kara, Sa Coule, Louïse John, Waniyilo, Bobo Solo, 2Porsco, Sa Coule, Sim De Souza, and X-prim. The teaching team includes Franco-togolese Richard Onissah, American singer-songwriter Carla Seidl, center director John Mark Feilmeyer, and Leni Stern.

The French Ambassador visits CIAMO

On February 7th, 2012 the French Ambassador to Benin, Jean-Paul Monchau, made his first official visit to our center. He was accompanied by a delegation of French diplomats including Patrice Leroy, special counsel on culture, and Remy Secret, head of the Institut Français (formerly CCF).

They got to see CIAMO’s  CM1 class in action, as they created masks out of paper marché. The students also showed of their singing and music reading abilities.  

CIAMO is very enthused to have welcomed the French delegation to the center, and looks forward to future collaboration! 

The Season of Festivals

It is often said that Ouidah is a city of cult and a city of culture. This rich tradition is emphasized during the two month long festival season in Ouidah. The festival Glexwe-Xwe celebrating Ouidah's heritage takes place in early December. After that Festival Carneval Kaleta, the Afro-Brazilian mask festival fills the city center. In January the international film festival Quintessence and the Dance Festival Agogo grab the attention of local people as well as tourists. The climax of the season, though, is surely the National Festival of Vudon which takes place on the beach on January 10th, and is attended by thousands of people.

CIAMO was excited to participate in two events this year. First CIAMO's Petits Poussins de Ganve had the chance to dance in the opening ceremonies of the Kaleta festival. The center also made up a large part of the entertainment by doing an hour long variety show the second day of the festival.  The Petits Poussins danced again at the Vudon Fete to the acclamation of ministers, ambassadors, and Ouidah native, Angelique Kidjo. 

Il est  dit souvent que Ouidah est une ville culturelle et cultuelle.  Sa riche  tradition est hautement célébrée  pendant une saison de festivité qui dure deux mois. Glsexwe-Xwe  est la fête patronale des filles et fils de Ouidah. Elle est un grand moment de réjouissance et célébration du  patrimoine de Ouidah. Elle a lieu chaque année à partir de 8 Décembre (date symbolique). Apres, c’est le Festival Carnaval Kaleta,(Masque  l’afro-brésilien) qui replonge les populations dans leurs pratiques festive d'enfance.  En janvier le festival international de film de Ouidah "Quintessence" et le Festival de Danse traditionnelle " Agogo" obligent  l’attention des populations  et les touristes. L'apothéose de la saison festive de Ouidah est alors  le Fête Nationale du Vodun qui se tient le 10 Janvier de chaque année  à la plage de Ouidah. Plus de 2000 personnes viennent assister.

 

CIAMO est très content d'avoir participé à deux évènements pendant la période des Festivals de Ouidah. D’abord CIAMO’s Petits Poussins de Ganvè ont eu la chance de danser a la cérémonie d’ouverture du Festival Kaleta. Le centre a aussi pris une partie de la programmation du Festival en organisant un spectacle d’une heure au  deuxième jour du festival. A la fête du Vodun, et ceci devant un nombre important de personnalité (Ministres, Ambassadeurs Maires et députés) les Petits Poussins du CIAMO  ont eu la chance de démontrer tout leurs talents artistiques à travers un ballet au rythme du Vodun.Ils ont eu l'encouragements   d'Angelique Kidjo natif de Ouidah et invitée d'honneur de la fête .

Here is a video that includes three of  these events from Ouidah's festival season.  Enjoy!

The Results Are In!

Just before the new year, CIAMO published it's first annual report. It's exciting to look at everything we've done and how far we've come in just one year! The most excited part of the report were the results. In just one year, we've already begun to show the impact of art and music education on children in Ouidah! Here is "Looking at the Results" from our yearly report.

CIAMO’s students showed significant progress during the 2010-11 school year, not only in arts, but also in their other courses. Teachers noticed better scores on exams, increased concentration, and high-levels of contentment and motivation among students.

These comments were confirmed by a series of very successful test results. In the Beninese educational system, the passing rate is sometimes as low as 50-60%. CIAMO’s students at Ganvè Primary School had an average passing rate of almost 80%.

A rare 100% of students passed from the 6th year into secondary school. The CIAMO team is proud to have played a role in the success of these children and congratulates Ganvè Primary School teachers for working so diligently to educate their students.

As a means to measure students’ creative progress, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) was given to second year students at the beginning and the end of the 2010-11 school year. Dr. Gayle T. Dow, the director of the Creativity Research Lab at Christopher Newport University, writes that the Torrance test “is reported to be fair in terms of both race and gender and for persons who have various language and cultural backgrounds.”

Dr. Dow found that “CIAMO appears to have an impact on children’s ability to generate novel and detailed figures as measured by the TTCT-figural test. Considering the economic difficulties experienced and limited educational exposure in the areas of music and art by many of these children, this program has demonstrated to be a positive influence in fostering higher order thinking skills such as creativity.”

Our yearly report can be downloaded here.