|
There are several ways to get in touch with drum and dance
activities on Oahu, other islands, and even continental USA:
·
Many events are posted on
facebook.com. Make sure to sign up for Drum and Dance Hawaii group. (You will need to have a Facebook
account first and set it up to receive email from groups.)
·
Sekou and Moussa have
their own web page.
·
Or, ask dhiradi@yahool.com or imanhawaii@yahoo.com to add you to
their email list.
·
There is a web
page in-making about current events. (Currently it is off my web page
but will have its own home soon).
·
Or show up in class and get the
latest scoop! The latest updates might be just by oral tradition :)
There are several active drum classes on
Oahu:
·
Regge McGowen teaches West African djembe and Latin/Afro-Cuban conga drums
on Sundays on North Shore. Regge teaches and
performs other kinds of music too, like jazz, etc., and drums for Emily’s
dance class. themac1@hawaiiantel.net
·
Moussa Bangoura teaches
drums Saturday at 2:30pm in Kalihi District
Park community center (next to the police station off LikeLike
highway). He performs with Sewa Fare group. He
is a djeli, or griot,
meaning he is from a traditional West Gunea
family that through many generations has been in charge of playing music.
In old times, only certain families could perform music. Their duties
also involved passing on oral history, keeping peace, and advising the
king. It was a very important role and not to be taken lightly, as music
was played as an integral part of daily life (e.g. Africans drum as they
work the fields, etc.) and the impact of music on people was well
understood. 375-3036.
·
Sekou Camara is a djeli too (read above), a wonderful smiley spirit,
and a very very patient and good teacher. His
specialty is the stick drums (dunduns) bit he
also teaches djembe, etc. Sekou sometimes
teaches Saturday class, and has his own drum class on Wednesdays at 6:30pm
at Kakaako park, next
to the museum. 232-3384.
There are several active dance classes on
Oahu:
·
Emilu Uriba teaches Congolese dance on North Shore.
Locations and times keep on changing as various locations close or become
available. Also, they area always looking for
good drummers. Call Emily to confirm, 636-2092.
·
Emily Uriba
also teaches an "Afro-Cuban workout" class.
·
Micheal (and
rarely Ty) teach West African dance on Saturdays 1:30am in Kalihi District park, next
to the police station, just before the drum class. This class might
be moving too, so call Michael at 358-2056 to find out where they are at
currently. Sekou and Moussa
drum for this class, so even listening is a treat.
·
Michael or
Cherice sometimes teach at UH Outreach college,
those classes are only 8 weeks and typically at the start of the
semester. Call Michael at 358-2056.
·
Ty teaches a mix of Congolese and
West African dance on Thursdays at 8:00pm in Art Smith studio in China Town.
Call 277-7347. When she travels, Michael and other teachers will
teach instead, so if you don't get a direct response, call them or call
the studio.
There
are two performing African
drum/dance bands, Badenya and Sewa Fare. They have their web pages on Facebook too.
There are many drum and dance visiting
teachers who come through, as well as drum/dance camps:
·
Moustaffa Bangoura and Le Bagatae
(click on this to hear it!) troup - they
also have instructional dance DVDs that are excellent
·
Yousuff Koumbassa
- click on "bio" and scroll down to
see him dance - WOW! the best dancer ever. Check
out his camp Fareta and his instructional DVDs.
·
Mabiba
·
Denise
·
West African Guinea camp, on North
Shore, recently every year, around May. This year we had Yousuff Koumbassa and his
wife give 4 classes. Other master teachers that come are Karamba Diabate, Fara Tolno, Nabi, and Fode. Starr Anastasio organizes this conference.
·
Conglese camp on Maui,
yearly, around February-March.
Online resources
rhythmtraders.com Mamadu
Keita has a book, DVDs with individual rhythms. Abdoul
Doumbia has a book with CDs. The visiting
teachers have their own sites and DVDs. There is also the Rhythm Reference
Project.
The music is traditionally not recorded but learned by listening and
practicing with a live teacher. That works for African village where you
hang out with the teachers, hear the music, and drum and dance every day.
In modern western life, when there is one-two drum or dance class per
week, it is harder to remember what you played/danced last week. It is
possible to bring a tape recorder / camera to some classes, but most
professional teachers do not allow recording. TO THE RESCUE:
Master drummer and dancer Fara Tolno
compiled 50 West African rhythms: Rhythm Reference Project
So for $40 you can download the traditional version of it. For $100 you
can download traditional, ballet, and master teachers (e.g. Mamadu) versions of the same rhythms. Each rhythm has
many different parts, so all together it is about 500 different pieces.
This is a good deal! The money is going to help open a school in Guinea,
West Africa, for traditional teachers to share their knowledge of drum,
dance, balafon, cora,
etc. and other aspects of the traditional African culture. Which is quickly dieing. It
needs to be preserved. The quality of that music is extremely healing. If
you want to read my opinions and experiments with it, read below and also
read my
blog and my
articles.
Mamady Keita has wonderful self-study DVDs
and CDs.
What to bring and how to prepare
Some teachers have loaner drums, and some do not. Ask them
before you show up. If you don't have a drum, you can only watch :)
Regge at themac1@hawaiiantel.net
makes djembe drums in case you need one. It costs about $400.
Dunduns (stick drums) need to be
bought in a store, they are typically cheaper
than djembes.
Conga drums are easy to find used, usually cheap. They do
need to be commercially made and can be cheap or costly when new.
For dance classes, just come dressed in a comfortable shirt
and wrap, if you are female, or shorts/pants for men.
And most importantly, bring the right attitude - of
community, respect and celebrating life.
=======================================================
Playing and dancing African music is extremely healing
because it engages higher parts of the brain, and joins mind and body. It
heals grief and makes us relax into God.
Read more about this healing music therapy on my African
page.
|
