Move your Hands, Move your Feet, and Them some ...

     I have recently gotten involved with the local Dance Hall here in Kittery, Maine.  They offer classes such as tap, belly dance, ballroom, african dance, hoop dance, and others, as well as, hand drum classes.  And they also bring in wonderful music and dance artists to perform on the weekends.  thedancehallkittery.org
     I discovered the little venue from a Spot Light article in the local paper.  They were having a performance featuring Guinean dancers and drummers.  I love African sounds and dance, so I grabbed my friend and we went.  This was last October.  The performance was amazing, and on top of that I discovered that this little venue right around the corner from me offers great classes at a very reasonable price!
     Well, as I've been able, I have taken classes there.  The drumming class is so invigorating.  The teacher, Namory Keita, is very patient.  He is great at working with drummers from any level, and even as a beginner I felt like I was able to learn the song that was being taught to us.  What I underestimated was just how sore my hands would be after that first class.  WOW!  It really takes some getting used to.  I liken it to the first time you ride a bicycle as an adult or the first time you take a spin class.  Your butt is very sore when you get off, but after a few times you don't even notice it =).
     Now, I've never taken any dance classes, unless you count the zumba classes at the gym, but I love dance.  And, African dance intrigues me, in fact so much so that I finally decided to join a class.  I thankfully picked a good night to start, because there were several other first timers there.  The teacher, Liz Fowler, is amazing!  She is joyful and exuberant, and takes you through every little step.  She dances in a really great medium ground, so that you don't feel like you have to kill yourself to keep up with her.  I got to stomp my feet, flail my arms, shake my butt, play drums, connect with neighbors, scream and holler, and get my sweat on!!  How can you go wrong with that?
     So this past weekend they did another performance featuring Guinean dancers and drummers.  It becomes an all day event, because they also do drum and dance workshops throughout the day.  I said, why not, I might as well take advantage of the artists while they are here in town, so I signed up for ALL of them.  Now, in hindsight I may have been a little over zealous.  I don't think I put much thought into what my body would be saying to 2, hour and a half dance classes back to back.  And clearly I underestimated the amount of energy it would take to do all the work shops.
     But, I started the day gung ho, with a drum workshop.  Ismael Bangoura was our teacher, and he is so much fun!  Always smiling, making you forget you are concentrating, and making you smile too, his energy is contagious.  If I had had him as a teacher when I was little, I would have wanted to drum 24/7.  His son was there drumming too, and he was better than all of us in the circle.  Two amazing talents right here in little Kittery, Maine.

     My first dance class of the day was with Sidiki Sylla, Now, don't let his age affect what you think this man is capable of.  Ten minutes into the warm up and I'm already short of breath and sweat is poring off me in rivers!  OMG I still have 80 minutes left of this class!  Unfortunately for me, I was in a room filled with people that have been taking African dance classes for quite a while now.  They picked up this dance the first time every time!  That left me in the back row, flailing my arms in the completely wrong direction, going right when I should be going left, standing up when I should be squatted down, and completely lost, but still sweating my ass off!
     Well, needless to say, I did not make it to the last dance class.  But, I did come back for the performance that night.  And it was everything that was promised.  Liz Fowler's classes got to show off what they have been learning, the Guinean dancers and drummers got to give us a little taste of what the celebrations in Guinea would be like, and the audience got to participate with singing and dancing.  Overall, a very exciting, joyful evening in the Dance Hall, that I hope all the neighbors got to hear, because the drumming was spectacular! pianobycheri.com