This from Sister Ife, Thursday night Afro-Cuban Dance Instructor ...

We look forward to seeing you Thursday at 6pm. We will begin to work on a skit for the Arkansas Sustainability Network. We are also looking around for more space to accommodate growing community enthusiasm. Please let us know about other price friendly venues that would allow us to stretch out and dance.

Please Read:

Originally, tradition of African dance was rooted in a worldview of continuous interaction between spiritual forces and the community. A central trait of African dance is that it is polycentric. This means that the body is not treated as a unit but is segmented into several centers of movement (shoulders, chest, pelvis, arms, legs etc.) that may be moved according to different rhythmical components of the music. This may result in very complex movements "inside" the body, Africans dance in all sorts of occasions to express their inner feelings, whether of joy or of sorrow.

Dance is used as healing therapy. Dance is for physical exercise, an excellent way to stay in shape, promotes self confidence and esteem . Dance is also important as an educational tool. Repetitive dances teach children physical control and stress accepted standards of conduct. And dance is for fun. In an African community, coming together in response to the beating of the drum is an opportunity to give one another a sense of belonging and of solidarity in which young and old, rich and poor, men and women are all invited to contribute to the society. There are religious contexts in some areas dances are designed to be performed during funeral rites. Thus, dance plays also a cathartic role during the key transition from one social state to another.

Beginning almost 30 years ago with Katherine Dunham techniques, Sister Ife was a member of Ballet Koumankele & Rhythms of the Village where she performed throughout school districts, Festivals, the Rose Bowl, L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles, San Francisco locations and several theaters. Prominent performances include, Motown Anniversary, Welcome Nelson Mandela to L.A. Coliseum. Open for Stevie Wonder and many local venues. She has danced in Ghana West Africa and is an honorary member of internationally famed Djoliba of Guinea where she helped and trained with their productions in L.A., Washington D.C and New York. She and master percussionist, Stephin Booth welcomes you to live an exciting experience.

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Loose, workout attire is necessary. Keeping in mind that traditional dance was done on grassland or swept earth. Bare feet is traditional, but light, heelless dance slippers may be worn for hard surfaces.

Drum call. Usually classes begin with a warm up call from the lead drummer who will begin his particular rhythm to let you know he is ready. You’ll know it, when you hear it.

End of Class or training. If there is someone who has extra energy they want to demonstrate or “speak”. That person is never interrupted, but encouraged to also share his movements. No one is ever laughed at unless it is an intentional comedic display.

Contributions/Donations: Usually monetary, but can also be gifts.

Cool down. Announcements.

What makes the Heart Beat?

In the heart there are cells specialized in producing electricity. These are called Pacemaker Cells. They produce electricity by quickly changing their electrical charge from positive to negative and back. A small pulse of electric current initiates a normal heartbeat. The electric activity starts at the top of the heart and spreads down and then up again, causing the heart muscle to contract in an optimal way for pumping blood. Because of the heart muscle cell's ability to "spread" its electric charge to adjacent heart muscle cells, this initial wave will be enough to start a chain reaction.

Drumming cultivates life force energy. The resonant qualities and attributes of these rhythmic phenomena are universal and come into play whenever we drum. Many cultures place great emphasis on drumming, for the drum unites masculine and feminine energies, generating the force that weaves the web of life. The sound waves produced by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind, and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves, and spiritual energy centers begin to vibrate in response. Drumming also maintains a grounding Earth connection.

These powerful effects can best be described in terms of their influence on the subtle energy centers known as chakras. There are vibratory centers within the human body. There are seven major chakras situated along the vertical spinal axis from the genital region to the crown of the head. Chakras function much like electrical junction boxes, mediating spiritual energy throughout the entire mind-body system. They are the interface among the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of one's being. Drumming creates a vibratory resonance that activates, balances, and aligns the chakra system.

The Heart Chakra

The heart chakra and is located in the center of the chest between the two nipples. It influences the heart and is associated with love, compassion, and affection. Drumming activates the heart Chakra. From the heart, these harmonious energies resonate outward into the web of life. Researchers have found that drum rhythms affect the heartbeat. The heart's pulse may speed up, slow down, or gradually entrain with the pulsation of a drum rhythm until they are locked in perfect synchronization. In fact, many shamanic cultures use a healing heartbeat rhythm pulsed at around sixty beats per minute; this is the average heart rate of a person at rest.

The heartbeat is one of the reasons that people so strongly and naturally connect to the drum. Each of us enters the world, having spent nine months listening to a heart-drum in the womb. We are imprinted with rhythm from the very start, and rhythm is the heartbeat of life. Shamans around the world believe that the drum is coming into power again to awaken our hearts, for we must now learn to live from the heart. If we focus on the heart center, we can hear divine will. Our actions then spring from divine will rather than the ego. To live from the heart means to walk the "rainbow path”, to walk in balance like the colors of the rainbow, to respect all pathways to wholeness. The rainbow symbolizes unity, wholeness, and balance. When humans lose it, they create imbalance within the web of life. It then requires the unity of all colors, all cultures, working together to bring the web back into balance.

The Rainbow Fire

The Rainbow Fire symbolizes illuminated mind, clarity of all aspects of consciousness. Drumming is one way that we can cultivate the fire of clear mind. The drum's beat ignites the Rainbow Fire within, illuminating the path and showing us the way. With clarity of mind, we can readily perceive what aims are in accord with the cosmos, not wasting energy on discordant pursuits. Through the insight and understanding of illuminated mind, we can bring enlightenment to the world!