Week Three: African Dance and a visit to the Artisans

Week three was filled with a lot of exciting activities for our students but some of the highlights of the week were on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, students had an African dance workshop and on Thursday students visited an artisan complex.

The African dance workshop took place in an association for refugees located in the outskirts of Rabat. The refugee association receives funding from the UNHCR (or the UN Refugee Agency) and works in conjunction with Amnesty International Maroc. At the association, refugees are given some basic training and it also facilitates workshops so their transition to Moroccan life is easier. Of course, even though refugees in Morocco receive help from associations like the one we visited, they still face many struggles and lack of acceptance among locals. Before the dance workshop started, the facilitators got to share their story of how they immigrated to Morocco. Many of the refugees that the association supports are from Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone and the Congo. After the facilitators shared their personal stories, students were able to ask them questions and learn more about their life in Morocco.

The dance routine that students were taught had influences from both West Africa and East Africa. Little by little students were taught parts of the dance and at the end they were able to dance the entire routine. Some students even played the drums and freestyle danced.

On Thursday students visited an artisan’s complex, which had various products like ceramics, tile, baskets, tea pots, and pottery. Students had the choice between participating in a mosaic workshop or pottery workshop. At the mosaic workshop students were able to choose from endless piles of broken pieces of tile. While students were forming their mosaics with the smaller pieces of tile, the artisan would help shape them with such ease. At the pottery workshop, students got to get a glimpse of pottery from start to finish, from the clay to the forming of pottery pieces. Afterwards, students made their own pieces and designed them however they liked. Before heading back to the states, students will be able to take their little piece of Morocco with them that they made with the artisans. These workshops allowed students to get a glimpse into the hard work and daily life of artisans in Morocco.

PL Andi