Music & Dance

Music
Archie Merwin The guy's weird, I have to be honest here. And I don't know if it was the small group of kids that came to the program, but he seemed really tentative in his performance, like he was some guy we asked off the street to come & perform. Really odd, considering he's been around. When he got some songs going he was ok, but I wonder about the wisdom of performing Love Potion No. 9 and having the 4th grade kids enact the song.

Classics 4 Kids I was lucky enough to book James Woodward, the author and composer of When Rebecca Woogie Came to Town, along with Dana Mambourg Zimbric, the Music Director for Classics 4 Kids. They put on a fun, educational, and completely entertaining show. Dana engages the children by explaining different elements of music. We used the piano here at UC, but other musicians are available. Just contact her, she has several stories that can be accompanied by music. This was a good quality program that I highly recommend. (Michelle, UC)

Cowboy Bob – Bob Snavely Cowboy Bob did a wonderful Spanish and English program at UC. He brings 3 instruments-guitar, harmonica, trumpet; before and throughout the program he lets the kids dance while he plays harmonica. The original intent was to do both stories and songs, but given the young age of the crowd he stuck with songs. Good repertoire both in English and Spanish; he could very well do an English-only program. Bob is a former teacher and can tailor his performance to the crowd at hand. He has good energy and welcomes audience participation. FYI, he raised his price to $50…still an awesome bargain! (Michelle, UC)

Craig Newton Craig is a lot of fun. He has a bunch of instruments out which he shows the kids and talks a little bit about each. Then he plays them and has the kids participate. It is a great way to introduce kids to musical instruments and history. Really simple and very entertaining.

Georgette Baker (storyteller, musician) She's quite an accomplished children's performer and has appeared on many TV shows. Very energetic and fun. My one complaint is that she appeared to not see that 90% of my kids are from Spanish-speaking families, yet she continued to teach kids basic Spanish words in her Jungle Bugs show. Could've been more observant. (Erwin, City Heights)

Hullabaloo Steve of Hullabaloo is great with the 0-5 age group! I also bought his CDs to use in my baby/toddler story time. I highly recommend him. (Leslie, Rancho Penasquitos Library)

Steve did our End of Summer Reading Program in 2007 and was awesome! We had a very wide range of ages in the audience and he managed to entertain them all. He's definitely an instant hire for my SRP '08 performers lineup. (Erwin, City Heights)

If you need a program for toddlers and preschool-age children then Hullabaloo is a perfect choice. Parents love this program too. Steve Denyes used to be a teacher and is skilled in working with this age group. Thumbs up for Steve Denyes - Hullabaloo. (Lynne, Point Loma)

8/09 update: Apparently Steve now has a kind of groupie following among some parents/kids. According to longtime staff, his recent performance here drew the largest program crowd ever seen at the Clairemont Branch Library (over 200 attendees! in our little branch!). Good thing the fire marshall was not around. We had several parents tell us that they go to his performances all over San Diego whenever they get a chance. Better get ready to book Hullabaloo as early as you can for next year's SRP -- Steve is becoming some kind of rock star!

Jackstraws We just had a performance of the Jackstraws at the MV Library and it was a success. Audience participation is welcomed. Their costumes were great and the kids and parents just loved them. The Jackstraws combine theater and folk music, with colorful (and culturally accurate) costumes. Themes range from Irish and English folk music, Bush Band, and Renaissance music to pirate ditties and nautical songs of yachtsmen. This group would work well for all ages, class visits, or just adults. They came and did a pirate performance here and informed me that they are also creating a maritime theme show to go along with the 2010 SRP. (Brenda, MV)

Raggle-Taggle (Jean & Mike Stewart) This group really epitomizes what we are looking for in a library performance: fun, involving the audience, affordable, good length of time, and promoting literacy! I think this was our best program this summer. The audience really enjoyed it too. (Leslie, RP)

Jean's the former head of the Central Library Children's Room and was part of SDPL for a long while, so she's not only well aware of what libraries seek in a good performer but she also is quite familiar with the libraries & communities in San Diego. You can pretty much trust in Jean & Mike for a great show. Don't hesitate to book them! (Erwin)

Stu Mulligan (music, juggling) Very fun performer. He plays music, then does a funny juggling routine. Recommended. (Erwin)

Culture Shock Dance Troupe This is a hard review to write. The actual performance was very good, but I don't think it is worth the money to book them. They were very hard to reach when I was booking them and then confirming, and then the performance was only 30 minutes. We had discussed an hour performance, but I didn't get it in writing. I suggest that if you do book them, request a length of performance to be written into the contract/invoice. They are also very expensive. They normally charge $500, but I did get a discount to $350 because I arranged a multiple library booking. $350 for 30 minutes is a little more than I want to spend. So in April of this year I asked about their availability for SRP at City Heights for July. They responded with a series of waffling emails about their availability for the date I requested. Finally in early June they said yes, they're available for that date. I asked for an invoice and confirmation so that I could go ahead with the promotional stuff. I never got a response. I assumed they changed their mind and scratched them off from our schedule. Flash forward to the July date I had requested -- they show up at the Performance Annex but staff rightfully inform them that they are not scheduled to perform. They leave. What the fudge? - Erwin

Dance
Pualani's Dance Studio. Fun and interactive Hawaiian dance performance. The studio uses the money they make to purchase performance costumes, so they really are non profit. The price is affordable (around $75) and it is fun for the whole family. (Kirby @ Central)