About Shana Banana
Show Themes and Descriptions
Show Themes and Descriptions
Show Themes and Descriptions
Audience Demographic: Preschool to Elementary and General Family Audiences.
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Length of Typical Show: 45-55 minutes
Shana also gives Teacher Workshops on using music "to teach everything but music."
Monkeying Around
with Shana Banana!
(Preschool to Early Elementary)
A celebration of animals great and small, past an
Audience Demographic: Preschool to Elementary and General Family Audiences.
Audience Size: Any (4-4,000)
Length of Typical Show: 45-55 minutes
Shana also gives Teacher Workshops on using music "to teach everything but music."
Monkeying Around
with Shana Banana!
(Preschool to Early Elementary)
A celebration of animals great and small, past and present, aquatic and terrestrial! Have fun singing and moving along to this musical celebration of all things ANIMALS!
Bananimagination
(Elementary)
What makes a great story? How can you put a LOT into the PLOT? “Bananimagination” is the term Shana Banana uses to describe the wonderful world of delving into your own creative mind and making and enjoying good stories. Using puppets and original songs, she introduces story elements such as plot, excitement, mystery, suspense, etc. Children are kept moving and singing throughout, while gaining an appreciation for reading and the storytelling craft.
Fairy Tales Gone Bananas!
(Preschool to Early Elementary)
A Fairy Godmother who has a fit of sneezes? A not-so-evil dragon prince who wants to plant flowers? A vain and bullyish beetle? An alligator and a dog who want to trade noses? A boy who jumps out of a giant peach? Step into Fairy Tale Land with not-so-classic characters who take children from America to Europe to Japan and beyond. With original songs, Shana Banana and the audience discover that fairy tales involve conflicting characters, magic, overcoming fears and other interesting elements to triumph and learn in some way. Complete with imagination, cultural awareness, and appreciation of individual and intercultural (and interspecies) similarities, this show will keep children entertained, moving, dancing, acting and singing.
Banana Beach Party
(All Ages)
When you cross a Master's degree in Oceanography with a career in children's music, you get a beach party! Award-winning children's musician Shana Banana merges her two specialties in creating a fun, music-based show about our aquatic and marine water systems and the animals that live there. Using puppets that go on an exciting adventure through the water cycle, plus lots of audience interaction and original songs, her program emphasizes the inter-connectedness between ourselves, the earth's water resources and the animals that live there. Includes some Native American (Seminole) references and stories.
Banana Bedtime
(Preschool to Early Elementary)
It’s a Pajama Party! Just because it’s bedtime doesn’t mean it’s time to be quiet…at least not at first! There’s just too much dancing, singing, and more to be done while brushing your teeth, taking a bath, putting on your “jammin’” jammies, telling stories, and singing songs! Join Shana Banana for a musical Pajama Party to remember….one that teaches kids the important healthy routines before bedtime and the opportunity for creativity and story-making…and one that will make your kids want to do the bedtime ritual by going totally bananas!
Banana Yoga
(All Ages)
Banana Yoga: The ancient cure for the blues! A kid’s life isn’t easy: there is homework to finish, clubs, sports and chores after school. Finding a way to relax and ground is important. Yoga can be the answer...just ask award-winning children’s entertainer and yoga enthusiast Shana Banana! She combines music and yoga into a fun, interactive program designed to have fun and get the body moving. Shana sings about and demonstrates yoga with all-original songs. This program requires audience participation and is designed for workshops or venues such as gymnasiums, multi-purpose rooms or festivals where such active participation and movement would be possible.
Merry Chriskwanzanukah
(All Ages)
Merry Chriskwanwhatukah? Not only will children will be wishing “Merry Chirskwanzanukah” to all of their friends after seeing Shana Banana’s holiday show; they will be able to explain a little bit about the cultural traditions, differences and similarities between Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Eid while gaining a new sense of appreciation and excitement about the season. Shana Banana (with her dog puppets Hal and Henson) focus on a variety of cultures in America and how each culture celebrates the December holidays. She also demonstrates that these holidays have much in common, and that children can take the shared traditions of giving, love, food, family, and cultural appreciation to extend the light of the holiday spirit year-round.
Che-han-tah-mo!
(Elementary)
A long time ago, when animals could talk, they might have said “Che-Han-Tah-Mo” (hello) and gone about their way. In this show, Shana Banana tells and sings about many traditional Seminole Indian legends and explains the Tribe’s language and culture with her two dog puppets, Hal and Henson. While not Seminole Indian in heritage, Shana has worked closely with tribal leader James Billie and other tribe members to build an authentic, informative, interactive and fun program for all ages. A optional supplement to this show is a hands-on workshop with activity centers.
GROW with Shana Banana!
Everything comes from the DOWN in the ground, and everything grows UP. Explore origins and growing with Shana Banana as she and her two dog puppets Hal and Henson plant a Banana tree and watch it grow, all the while singing interactive songs about our connections to the Earth and to each other, and how important it is to be healthy.
Appropriate Ages for Show: Preschool-4th
Going BANANAS for Peace--Bullying Has No "A-Peel!"
(Elementary)
When it comes to bullies, don't "monkey" around--join Shana Banana as she sings about positive words, friendship, peaceful playing and what to do if someone who is supposed to be a friend doesn't act like one. Shana Banana developed this anti-bullying program for the PreK-2nd grade set after learning that so many of the seeds of bullying in middle and high school actually begin at this stage, and that children in this age group are not always given good techniques to not only thwart actual bullying, but also to simply learn to communicate in new and more wholesome ways that may break the cycle before it even begins. The program is informative, but mostly it is interactive and FUN, using music, rhythm, puppets, and movement. We'll go BANANAS and create a happier world!
GEMM Circle
(All Ages)
Good Energy Magical Music Circle--Shana Banana invites kids and adults of all ages to co-create a music circle to raise the good energy vibration of the whole world. Find your voice!
www.ShanaBanana.com
352-215-0000
Banana Bio
Show Themes and Descriptions
Show Themes and Descriptions
What happens when you get a Master’s degree in Oceanography, have a mom devoted to Early Childhood Education, have a career as a singer/songwriter and a teacher, have two amazing children, and have a passion for helping and motivating kids? You become a national children’s “edu”-tainer, of course! After working and teaching on a marine r
What happens when you get a Master’s degree in Oceanography, have a mom devoted to Early Childhood Education, have a career as a singer/songwriter and a teacher, have two amazing children, and have a passion for helping and motivating kids? You become a national children’s “edu”-tainer, of course! After working and teaching on a marine research vessel through the University of South Florida, Shana Smith decided to take a leap of faith and explore her creative talents in singing and songwriting. Her mother’s preschool in Gainesville is where Shana discovered and developed her incredible joy of writing songs for children. Over the years, she became nationally known as “Shana Banana” and earned a reputation as one of today’s top children’s entertainers, with a voice that delves into blues, jazz, folk, and spiritual music as well.
Performing at major festivals, schools, libraries, and performing arts centers across the United States, Shana Banana has earned many prestigious awards along the way, including: two first-round Grammy nominations, Parents’ Choice, NAPPA, Kids’ First Coalition for Quality Children’s Media, and, in 2004, she won “Best Children’s Song In the Country” by the Just Plain Folks organization. Her music has taken her to the White House, Seattle’s Whirligig, the Florida Folk Festival, Merlefest, Seminole Tribe Indian Reservations, the Bluebird in Nashville, and various jazz, Americana and blues events across the country, as well as to yoga studios, spiritual centers and festivals for her “Chanting to the Open Heart” kirtan circles and yoga for adults and children.
Shana continues to develop a variety of live shows, study guides, and workshops for teachers, parents, and of course, kids. She has stayed close to her love of the environment and her home state of Florida by writing songs and educational programs for both children and adults, featuring mostly original music. Through her work with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and her connection to the environment, she has developed a wonderful musical program for adults entitled “From Mangroves to Orange Groves: A Musical Tour of Florida.” She also has a children’s version of the program, entitled “Banana Beach Party.” Both programs introduce audience members to the environmental and cultural wonders of Florida through music, and include discussion on today’s issues which affect those wonders. Shana continues her mission to effect global change by endorsing the Earth Charter and serving on its Board of Directors. She initiated an Earth Champs Chapter in Gainesville and St. Petersburg , Florida , and wrote a song for the Earth Scouts entitled “Heartbeat of the Earth.” She especially loves to use music to celebrate a child’s natural love of Life, Earth and the deep connections we have to each other, and our responsibility to be good stewards, and to teach and foster healthy lifestyles. Her decades-long mindfulness and yoga practices infuse her shows with love and kindness.
Shana Banana Live Booking Info:
352-215-0000
Schedule of Performances
Show Themes and Descriptions
Schedule of Performances
SUMMER 2023 "Good Vibrations"
Tour Dates to be Announced Soon!