A feature Documentary Film
We are in production on an amazing project.
“Dancing Flea-the Ukulele Craze”
will explore the current resurgence of the ukulele
in the music world, concentrating especially on the
interest shown by today’s youth. Kids from England
to Hawaii are creating unique and entertaining
covers of their favorite songs using the ukulele as
their primary instrument. Focusing on several
accomplished, young players, this film will provide
some historical significance for the ukulele and
discover what is at the heart of this diminutive
instrument’s universal appeal.
“Dancing Flea-the Ukulele Craze” will be an exploratory documentary. We will follow along as our host travels across two continents to interview the young ukulele players inspiring this project. We will interview Pocketfox and Orla Gartland, two staples of the YouTube ukulele scene and we will also follow Honoka and Azita, two girls performing at the Ukulele Festival Hawaii which has been held in Hawaii for the past forty-five years. We will look for the motivating factors behind these young musicians love of the ukulele and the different means which they use to express this to the world.
A contest will be held in Greenville, South Carolina to seek accomplished players in this Bible Belt city. High school students (and maybe others), will be encouraged to bring any type or genre of music to demonstrate their talents. We are also hoping to find a connection between the excellence of these performances and the impact school music programs have on these performances.
Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. A 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the intrinsic pleasures and stimulation of the art experience do more than sweeten an individual's life -- according to the report, they "can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing," creating the foundation to forge social bonds and community cohesion. And strong arts programming in schools helps close a gap that has left many a child behind:'' says Eric Cooper, president and founder of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education.
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