Manor students were gifted with a treat on Friday, Feb. 3rd, as roots Blues artist Kat Danser visited the Manor School to share some sounds with the students.
Danser, born in the community of Waldron, near Melville, now hails from the city of Edmonton, and was in the area thanks to her involvement with the Deep Winter Blues Revival in Forget.
"I started doing school shows about 12 years ago now," Danser said. "But it's been at universities and colleges."
"This is the first time I've been invited to a (primary and secondary) school."
Danser is one of the few dedicated roots Blues musicians in the west, and it was her involvement in the tight community of artists that led to her being in the area.
"I had heard quite a bit about the scene in Forget," Danser said. "When I received the invitation to come play in the area, I jumped at the chance."
Working with youth is something Danser has done quite a bit with over the past many years, a factor that led her to the shores of Haiti recently.
"I work with a lot of choirs," Danser said. "I worked with the Haiti Youth Choir, and not too long ago I had a chance to go to Haiti."
"I found the whole experience immensely revealing," Danser continued. "There were people with no place to live, with little food."
"It reminds me that we're all in the world together."
It was that connection with other people that makes Danser's Blues music so delicious.
Carrying a sense of understanding, Danser performed songs for the students that had the children tapping feet and singing along.
Performing for the grade school children and the high school students separately, Danser was asked between the two sets what it was she hoped that students would draw from her performance.
"That we're all human, and we all share the same things," Danser said. "And that music is one way of dealing with your troubles."
