In this school performance at Cornwall Elementary School in Pennsylvania, AJ taught about how traditional didgeridoos are eucalyptus trunks hollowed out by termites and he taught the students how to make many of the basic didgeridoo sounds by buzzing the lips, squeezing the cheeks, moving the tongue, using the voice, and pumping the abs. He got the kids singing the twangy “wee-you” sounds which characterize the overtones of the didgeridoo drone and, of course, he gave them lots to dance about.
The same day at Cornwall Elementary, AJ conducted four Make and Play Didgeridoo Workshops for 100 5th graders who all took home their own didgeridoos to keep!
Here’s a shorter edit of “The Outback Dance”:
Dance along with the sounds of the didgeridoo in the “Outback Dance”
Here are the moves (watch the beginning of the video for a demonstration of each):
- Hop like a kangaroo
- Flap your wings like a kookaburra
- Howl like a dingo
- Get down low
Traditional aboriginal didgeridoo playing is inspired by the sounds of the bush. Here the didgeridoo imitates the sounds of the kookaburra and the dingo and plays a rhythm for the “hop” of the kangaroo. AJ Block learned these sounds from aboriginal didgeridoo artist Lewis Burns and put together the Outback Dance as a way to teach about Australia in his didgeridoo performances for kids.
Special thanks to our stage assistants Freedom and Cedar Flowers and our camera operator Chad Mummert. Extra special thanks to the Cornwall PTO for bringing us to Cornwall Elementary School!
*Book AJ Block to come to your school or community: info@didgeproject.com // 347-871-3866