Cold Hands Warm Drum Frustration, Joy, Bagpipes and Progress
Background People Untied opened an application for local artists to develop their practice using the 136 beach hut on Herne Bay beach. I Applied for this and asked if i could practice my Djembe. Which came through successful. Yes i am a dance artist, but I picked up Drumming as a hobby last year. Dance and Drumming go hand in hand. Like in this amazing video https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VmCXkrfm-3Y (8mins in is one of my favourite bits). I wanted to use this opportunity to see if i could join them up in my Addiction and Mental health dance work. I also Drum with a weekly drumming group, this is ran by the fantastic Shelly www.djembejam.co.uk . Shelly organises regular performances for us to do. So the beach hut allowed me to practise the rhythms I learnt there. practise
Some days id pick rhythms up really quickly, other days it would take me HOURS. I remember trying to get one rhythm for so long that my eyes actually started hurting. - this is why it was useful that i started drumming when the weather was cold and wet, because it meant that barely anyone heard me getting very stuck between ‘base’ and ‘tone’ notes. Playing to a metronome is really important for being able to stay in time. It’s sometimes brilliant and sometimes soul destroying. But what i liked about this is that I pushed past the bits that got hard/ frustrating/annoying/boring and came drumming through the other side. (Once your hands know the patterns of the rhythms they feel great to play) public
Project
This has been the biggest performance to date in my addiction and mental health work.
The piece we performed (Take The Seat) would not have been what it was without the initial act of kindness from People United. I also used my time at the beach hut as a stress reliever from a sometimes very challenging job.. Kindness does make a difference So thank you
1 Comment
Trudy
6/8/2018 11:06:58 am
A great project and lovely way to connect with the local community. Weekly Djembe performance at Herne Bay beach hut - wow! Thankyou for sharing x
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