Salaka: Interactive Drumming in Sydney
Hands-on! Every student has a turn on the drums!

African Beat presents a well-structured, informative and highly interactive performance called “Salaka”, which means “Sharing” in Ghana. Students are immersed in the rich culture and rhythms of Africa, in an entertaining and educational way. Best of all – it’s hands-on!

The Salaka school incursion is performed by Tuza Afutu, a Master Drummer from Ghana. He has over 15 years of experience performing at thousands of schools across Australia. Tuza is also accompanied by an African dancer. Tuza is a favourite among students, who love his colourful, traditional African clothing, his unrivalled talent, humour and exuberant energy.

Bringing literally hundreds of drums to your school, every student will learn and play an authentic African rhythm. Salaka will transform your students into a dynamic percussion ensemble. The students will learn a traditional African song to accompany the drumming rhythm and experience African dancing. Students will be transported to the tribal villages of Africa.

Modern and relevant issues that affect children and families in developing African countries are discussed in a positive way through music, from a performer who speaks from direct experience. The folk tales and stories that are integrated throughout the show, give students an informed perspective on village life and culture in Africa. This is a meaningful and valuable way for students to gain cultural sensitivity for their counterparts on the other side of the world.

The show introduces students to an array of traditional African instruments of all shapes and sounds, including the ‘talking drum’, djembe drum, kpanlogo drum, box drum, bells and shakers.

Salaka is authorised by the Department of Education NSW and interrelates with core aspects of the syllabus including music, drama, physical education, dance, geography, history and HSIE. All our performers have Working With Children Checks and Public Liability Insurance.

Fees

• Cost per student: $5.50 plus GST (for more than 145 students per performance)
• Min Cost: $795* plus GST (for up to 145 students per performance)
• Suitability: K-12
• Duration: 50-55 minutes
• Teachers Resource Kit $70 plus GST (with detailed preparation activities and music tracks)

*Reduced Fee of $635 plus GST will apply for smaller/special needs schools – please contact us for more info.

Prices quoted are for schools within 60 minutes of the Sydney CBD. Schools further away may be charged slightly more depending on location – please contact us for a customised quote.

Learn more about our Interactive Drumming Shows: FAQ’s

www.findschoolworkshops.com is a directory of school shows, workshops incursions and assemblies. Browse a large range of Australian workshop, incursion and assembly providers for Primary and Secondary Schools.

Testimonials

“I just wanted to let you know how much we all enjoyed Tuza’s sessions yesterday.  The students had a wonderful time and experienced the excellent model of teaching that Tuza demonstrated. He is a truly gifted performer and teacher and we were all privileged to have this time with him. I really hope that we will be able to work with Tuza again next year.”
Kathryn Marsh, Sydney Conservatorium of Music

“Wonderful. They loved every moment!! The performance was amazing, particularly the way the performers connected with the audience. An unforgettable experience for all. Thank you very much!”
Christina Rooney, St Patricks Parish School

“Merrylands Public School had a fantastic time. All children were involved and enjoyed every minute of the performance. It was humorous and educational. Thank you for a wonderful musical experience”
Mrs Meredith Douglas – Principal of Merrylands Public School

“Lots and lots of great feedback. Can’t say enough good things. Thanks for organising”
Steven Bamford – Our Lady of the Rosary Primary School, Kellyville

“The performance was fabulous-the students were on a “musical high” as were the teachers. We all have intentions of a return performance next year.”
Karen Unicomb Warilla High School

“An excellent performance engaging all students. We will have them back again next year.”
Alison McLuckie Gymea North Public School

“The most engaging performance for children we’ve had at the school. Excellent.”
Bernard Hortense, Our Lady of the Nativity School, Lawson

“All the students, staff and parents who attended were amazed and thrilled by their hugely entertaining interactive and dynamic performance. Congratulations to them and your whole organisation on providing a fantastic experience for our school community.”
Hugh Miller, Tempe Public School

“They were exuberant! Loved it! Every child and teacher were fully involved in the experience. We would invite you again.”
Mrs Broome, Brooklyn Public School

“I liked when you jumped in the air it was really cool! I also liked when you let us play on the drums. I really enjoyed you. Thank you for coming and showing us how your country is different from ours”
Jessica, Yidarra School

“Students were wrapped – enthralled. Fantastic performer – Tuza had everyone involved – students loved performing.”
Jane Burkitt, Burwood Girls High School

“Enthusiastic, interested, moved, clapped, sang, enjoyed. The Teachers Notes were easy to follow. Glad we did activities from book/CD because students had no inhibitions. Recommend highly.”
Ronelle Hewes, Carlton South Public School

“Fantastic! Awesome! Best ever! Held all the students’ attention from K-6. Involved every single child!”
W.E Tierney, Tower Street Public School

“The African Beat show was FANTASTIC! EVERYONE just loved it, all the staff and children together! Tuza was so energetic and engaged the children all the way through. One teacher even went so far as to say it was the best ‘in-service’ she had ever experienced!!!”
Cathy Moore, Holy Cross College, Woollongong

“Students were actively engaged in the performance and enjoyed the hands on interaction. They were also very impressed with the accomplished skills of the performer. It was highly enjoyed by staff as well. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Carol Muscat, Head of Music, Bede Polding College

“Tuza’s performance brought an incredible energy to our music camp. The reaction of the choristers was extremely enthusiastic and it was great to have EVERYONE involved in singing, dancing and fantastic drumming. Amazing!!”
Timothy Marks, National Artistic Director, Australian Youth Choir

“I just wanted to let you know how wonderful today was. The performer was amazing. I have had a lot of feedback from all the teachers about how much they enjoyed the experience. It was magic to see all the children on stage and all their hands working in unison (well almost!) and the performer was so skilled that we still sounded great! Just amazing.”
Jayne Jefferson, St Marys South Public School

“I just wanted to tell you how outstanding the guy was who entertained us. He was so in tune with our kids needs and was so patient and understanding.
We had a fantastic time and please pass on to him how wonderful he was.”
Lynn Bornstein, Moriah College, Camp Sabbaba

“I just want to thank you so much for an amazing experience our kids had at band camp on Wednesday night. The performer was incredible, obviously very talented and was so engaging. Kids, parents, teachers – we all loved it! I will gladly be recommending you to anyone I can.”
Janine Seelig, Forestville Public School

“On behalf of the Teacher Aides Professional Development Committee from Woody Point Special School, we wanted to let you know how well received your team was today. Everybody had such a great time and the performers were fantastic. We had nothing but positive feedback from all our participants. Your team was very obliging and helpful with setting up the drums and they were quick to remove the equipment also. Please send on our thanks to them for an invigorating session. It was a wonderful experience for all. We would certainly recommend African Beat to anyone.”
Jenny Nesbitt, Woody Point Special School

“Every student enjoyed this performance. Fabulous – you will be invited back.”
Sue Dennett, Karonga Special School

“I want to thank you for our excellent incursion yesterday with Tuza. He was brilliant with the students and every child and teacher at St Lucy’s enjoyed themselves. I would recommend this incursion to any special needs school or any party.”
Ali Picone, St Lucy’s

“The kids absolutely loved the show, though I think the teachers liked it more. It was funny that I took my class back to class after recess for their spelling test and they all started singing ‘Ki Lay Lay, Ki Lay Lay, Spelling Test Ki Lay Lay’ Then I took kindergarten to the library after their show and they were also singing the same except ‘Library Ki Lay Lay”. Thanks very much, superb performance.”
Adam Hall, Cecil Hills Public School

“It was magnificent & all the teachers & children thoroughly enjoyed it. Students were totally engrossed from start to finish”
Our Lady of the Rosary School

“I just wanted to say that our students loved Mohammed’s performances so much (he did a great job and was really engaging and understanding)! They really enjoyed his singing. On behalf of Fowler Road School, I just wanted to say thank you :)”
Mario El Haddad, Fowler Road School

“Students had an absolute ball!! They walked back to class tapping, clapping, talking about the performance. Students loved the participation – the chance to sing, dance, play an instrument with you! Everybody was delighted with the concert! Absolutely engaging, educational, energetic, a lot of fun with real WOW factor!!”
Suzie Whitaker, St Kevin’s Primary

“The best musical performance we’ve had at our school.”
Natasha Lilly, Glenfield Public School

“The guys were sensational and the kids absolutely loved them. An outstanding teambuilding activity and great way to end our learning conference”
Daryl Butler, Jamison High School

“Our boys in Year 8 absolutely loved the session. One of my most vivid memories of the African Beat experience was how each boy in year 8 sat with his own djembe under his seat for 35 minutes without touching it as they were so captivated by the presenter/musician out front. Now that’s a huge behaviour management miracle for Year 8 boys but they were so taken with the energetic performance and personality of the musician they didn’t care about the drum under their seat. However, when they finally got to play the djembes, they let loose and had a ball. What a fun learning experience your team provided for them.”
Alan Dawson, St Josephs College

“Salaka was everything I had hoped they would be; colourful, energetic, professional and a wonderfully positive presentation of their music and culture.”
Tanya Harne, Ripponlea Primary School, VIC

“Outstanding, A great enthusiastic performance, wonderful interactions.”
Fi O’Shaughnessy, St Cecilia’s Primary School

“Everybody thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The performers were very professional and pleasant. They varied the show to suit the different age groups. Definitely one of the best performances we’ve had”
A Radic, Fairfield West Primary School