Mrs. Constancia Wendt is ready to embark on her journey. Photo by: Ashley Combs
By Ashley Combs
Recently Plymouth High School teacher, Mrs. Constancia Wendt, received a grant to go to Peru for six weeks to learn Afroperuvian dance. She now gets to go to Peru to learn a dance that she saw performed a few years ago and loved.
Mrs. Wendt learned about the chance to go on this trip from Mr. Peden. “Mr. Peden told me about it a couple years ago. Then he mentioned it again this past fall. When I told my husband about it, he suggested that I apply,” she explained. After weeks of waiting, she got the grant. The grant is through the Lilly Creative Teacher’s Fellowship.
Lima is the capital of Peru and also the first stop on her journey. She is going to visit a few tourist sites and go to a place that shows folkloric dances from the entire country. In Lima she will stay with friends and then they will head to Machu Piccu where they will stay for four days. The last four to five weeks she will be in northern Peru.
June 9th is her day of departure and she will return on July 22nd. “My daughter said if it were her, she would walk directly out of the school building on June 7th and drive straight to the airport, but I think I would like to take a few minutes to breathe and gather my wits first!” Mrs. Wendt said.
While there she will be learning Afroperuvian dance. She said that “the dance is unique and high-energy, and I love the sound of the music which is heavily percussion. In some cases, it is all percussion. They play regular congo drums, a cajon, which is a wooden box that the players sit on, and they also use burro jaws that make an awesome clapping sound when struck.” She will “also have the opportunity to go to the women’s prison and share the gift of dance with them.”
Although she is a little worried, she is excited. One concern that she has is her ability to keep up with the dance because it is generally high-energy. “I have been jogging to build up my stamina though,” she said. Going to Machu Piccu is something that has been on her “to-do” list for a long time. “I have always wanted to visit Machu Piccu and I am so..um, what do the kids say?… I am so amped about learning this dance,” she explained. Mrs. Wendt would like to learn how to play the instruments also. She said, “I am hoping to be able to continue enjoying the music once I learn and I would like to teach some people how to play it.”
Mrs. Wendt getting this grant and being able to go to Peru to learn Afroperuvian dance is a once in a life time chance. She hopes to come back and still enjoy the music and dance. “I hope someone will be interested in learning!” she said.