Season's Faire prepares for 23rd year
By Charles Trowbridge
Voice News & Features Editor
Posted 10/29/2009
About a week ago a cushy "assignment" fell into my lap.
"Could someone cover the African hand drumming workshops this weekend?" read an email sent out to the newswriting community.
I hadn't hand-drummed in a long time, probably close to two years, but I know a sweet gig when I see one.
"I'll do it," I said.
From the flyers posted throughout the school and the community, I gleaned that the guest artists, Sarah Lee and Karim Koumbassa, would be conducting workshops the weekend of Oct. 24-25 in drumming and dancing.
Now, while not confident in my drumming abilities, I at least knew I could catch on with a little repetition. Dancing, however, was a completely different story.
I'm the guy who, when dancing, stands in one spot flailing his arms like an epileptic hitchhiker. I decided that when the time came, I'd sit the dancing out and take pictures.
The first drumming workshop began at 1 p.m. on Saturday. I arrived promptly at 1:30 after ransacking my room for a good twenty minutes searching for my camera.
Some might feel shameful, or disrespectful, at late arrivals such as this, but not me. "Just walk in like you own the place," is my mantra.
OK, maybe I did feel a little shameful. I hung quietly on the fringe of the semi-circle and watched as Karim demonstrated the different accompaniments on the kenkeni, sangba and dununba.
After watching for a few minutes, EOU music professor John McKinnon graciously located a chair for me, and I joined the circle.
Following the dununba demonstration, Karim sat down and showed the group the different sounds one can make on the djembe.
"There are only three sounds," he said. "Some may think there are more, but there are only three: bass, slap and tone."
We then proceeded to learn the three accompanying djembe parts for the song "Sofá".
I was rusty, to say the least. But after tying my arms into a double-bowline knot, I managed to relax and get in the groove.
"It's very easy," Karim said with a smile.
The drumming workshop ended at around 2:30, and then it was time to learn the dance. I decided to give it a try after all.
"I only have two requirements for this," Sarah Lee said, "That you're smiling and that you're having fun!"
After a rousing warm-up, which quickly reminded me that I completely lack coordination in my feet, we began to learn the accompanying dance to "Sofá".
"Sofá" is a hunting song, so all of the movements were abstractly related to hunting: creeping, listening, looking and pursuing game.
"Are we having fun?!" Sarah Lee periodically yelled out.
I can proudly say I made it through half the dance, before my memory, feet, arms, legs—my body in general—failed me.
To hide my embarrassment, I grabbed my camera and went to join the drummers.
After putting it all together—the dance and drum accompaniment—we called it a day, agreeing to return on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. to learn a new song.
The following day I arrived on time, for once, and we proceeded much like Saturday: learning the drum parts first, the dance second. This time, however, I stayed exclusively with the drummers.
Again I tied myself in knots trying to remember the drum parts, but Karim, ever patient, repeatedly showed me the correct rhythm.
As the dancers whirled and spun, and the drummers grooved, Sarah Lee shouted "Are we having fun?!"
Judging by the ear-to-ear smiles on everyone's face, I believe the answer was a resounding "Yes!"
