Digging the Drumming and Dancing

I just attended the BEST drumming and African dance workshop this past weekend. As soon as I heard about it being offered, I felt compelled to go. It was as though my spirit was calling to me and I had no choice but to listen to the calling and attend. I can tell you, I loved every minute of the experience.

My drumming story starts when I was a little girl. My brother was a hard rock drummer and I was a drummer “wanna be”. Unfortunately, being the little sister, I was told not to touch my brother’s drums or I’d die! Everyone has an older brother like that, right? Regardless of me not being allowed to play his drums, I grew up loving the beat. The first time as an adult I got to play a big hand drum, my soul screamed with joy. I went nuts on the drum and the instructor said I was a natural and needed to buy my own drum.Years went by and I finally bought my first, small hand drum in Bahamas during my Soul Sauna retreat this past March, 2012. The drum called out to me. As I was scanning all the little booths at the straw market in downtown Nassau, one drum stood out from the rest. It was probably due to the fact that on the bottom of the drum, it was spray painted to be an ocean scene with dolphins jumping and palm trees on the beach. Being a water baby by nature and a Pisces, the drum with the ocean scene was mine. I had never seen one like it. For only $45, I now owned a drum.When I returned home after my trip, I happened to meet five people after one of our improv shows. These people were drum makers, drum teachers and African dance teachers. Coincidence? Never in my mind. My angels were orchestrating something bigger and I was ready to see what it was.Finding out that a drum and dance workshop were being held in the next two weeks, I signed up immediately.Joining a group of approx. 25 people, we first learned an amazing African dance. We practiced the steps and learned the routine while four people played the drums to provide us with a rhythm. After two hours of dancing, sweating and smiling, we then got to learn the drums. The part that amazed me was that we learned the exact same drum routine as our dance. After two hours of drumming, we were able to provide the music to match the dance. How powerful. Some of the participants jumped up to dance while the rest of us played the drums. I felt transported back into time. It was very tribal and the whole experience felt connected to our roots in life. Feelings of being blessed, honoured and excited ran through my body.I realized after the workshop just how “blissed out” I was. During the whole four hours, I was completely present in the moment. My mind did not stray to the past or the future. I was in the rhythm of the moment. My body was exhilarated, my mind was relaxed and my soul was singing.This is only the beginning. I’ve found a new area in my soul to feed. I’m continuing African dance classes as it’s so grounding, fun and a great workout. I’m going to participate in drumming circles which is also extremely grounding while being very spiritually awakening.I suggest if you are interested in connecting with your soul, sparking your creativity, connecting spiritually, remaining in present moment and meeting like minded individuals, try dancing and drumming. I hope your experience will be as profound as mine was.I’d like to thank Terri at Rhythmic By Nature and Elisha at Spirit in Motion and Shaw Percussion for showing me a new path.

Here's the dance we learned. Due to time, we only learned the first half. So inspiring!