The history of several musical genres and dance was brought to life June 15 as the TMM Project visited the Denham Springs-Walker Branch of the Livingston Parish Library.
The audience was treated to lively, educational, interactive and humorous music and dance performance offered by the TMM Project.
The True Mission Matters Project is the creation of Terrance Michael Morgan, who started the educational music and dance revue about six years ago in Acadiana, the home base of the four performers.
Joining Morgan for the show were Torrez VaβShaun Hypolite, Kenrie Martin and Nick Sedita.
Morgan, Hypolite and Martin were whirlwinds of movement as they danced their way through the performance while keeping a constant conversation going on with the audience. The three demonstrated a variety of dances that included jumps and falls along with intricate steps and even some stunts that involved jumping over one another.
Morgan explained at the outset that the four are involved in arts in education and that they entertain at schools, in libraries, at fundraisers and other venues where they are afforded the opportunity to share lessons about music and dance and in some cases, life lessons.
The quartet has performed at Jazz Fest in New Orleans and at other concert events in different states.
βWe want to welcome people of all ages to the world of music and dance. We want our audiences to have fun and to be entertained while we teach them about the joy and fulfillment that can come through music and dance,β Morgan said.
For the Livingston performance the four spotlighted jazz, hip-hop, break dancing and what was termed street music and dancing. Martin on saxophone and Sedita on drums provided the only live sound but they made plenty of music with only the two instruments.
Throughout the performance the audience was considered part of the show. The dancers brought children up to join in a several numbers and the show ended with a rousing βsecond-line" that involved all who cared to join in the happy procession.
All that jazz
An explanation and examination of jazz was the first offering of the afternoon. As Martin blew a snappy tune on the sax Sedita would respond with beats on his drums and cymbals. When the music stopped, Hypolite explained that jazz was all about improvisation; musicians talking to each other through their instruments.
βJazz includes many different musical forms and gave birth to others. Music associated with jazz are blues, ragtime, spirituals and even military marching bands,β he said.
To demonstrate the latter, he led the audience in a dance that included saluting and use of what he called βjazz hands.β Several children joined the dancer as he showed time some special steps associated with dancing in jazz halls of old.
The history of street dancing then moved west to Los Angeles where a dance style known as βlockingβ was invented by teenagers who later became performers on βSoul Train,β the dance show that entertained millions on television each week. The name βlockingβ came from a part of the dance when the dancer would βlockβ into a certain position before starting to move once again.
Lessons in hip-hop
Hip-hop music, Hypolite explained, was born 50 years ago. He said that hip-hop was born of the generation that also spawned graffiti as an art form. βMaybe graffiti doesnβt agree with everyone, but it is art and some of it is even moving art, what you see on the sides of boxcars. It was all part of the culture,β he explained.
Break dancing was the next genre demonstrated by the four. Morgan called up a half-dozen children for a lesson on basic break dance moves. He and Hypolite then offered a polished performance that included jumps over each other that elicited claps and cheers from the audience.
In a salute to Juneteenth, Morgan said Juneteenth was, βall about freedom and the celebration of everyone being free.β He pointed out that many African Americans made great contributions to the nationβs music and dance legacy. He then asked the audience to name their favorite African American musicians. The audience responded with a litany of names that have become part of the nationβs music treasury.
The show ended with the second-line that gave all who wished the opportunity to be part of the show.
