West African Drum and Dance 1.33

West African Drum and Dance is regular weekly class every wednesday from 6-8:30 @ Wagner hall on Lewes road bn2 3, classes are £6 each. there isn't parking at the hall but free parking can be found in surrounding streets.

The class comprises of two sections -firstly drumming tuition, learning Djembe and Djun rhythms From 6-7:30 and secondly Dance tuition from 7:30 -8 which is accompanied by the drummers. Drummers will recieve written notation of rhythms ,breaks and some solo as well as recorded material to aid learning. They will also be given room to improvise and solo on the rhythms taught.

Drum and Dance tuition will be taught by Tom Camidge and Palaye Seck respectively who share 20 years of teaching experience between them.

Tom is Brighton based and plays as an individual percussionist with local bands such as Lakuta, King Nommo, Bloco olofi and more .He began his career with Djembe and has been to West Africa to study, initially Learning with kurachow cultural dance troop in Gambia, living and performing with them for 6 months, and has also studied at home in England , mainly with the great musician and Djembefola Sekou Keita. He has also had the privilege of meeting , learning from and performing with Masters of Djembe Mamady Keita and Adama Drame as well as Conga master Giovanni Hidalgo while teaching Djembe at Okay Temiz Ritim Atolye (percussion school ) in Istanbul.
Palaye Seck is a master dancer of both Djembe Ballet and Sabar styles of African dance hailing from Senegal. Palaye has grown up in a culture of dance and drumming and has gone on to work, performing and teaching all over Senegal and Europe with One heart cultural dance group and individually at all kinds of events ,institutions and festivals like Womad and Drum camp.

Tom and Palaye met fairly recently and quickly discovered they share a passion not just for the individual disciplines of drum and dance but of practicing and performing them together, along with song, holistically, as it is more commonly found in Africa.
The aim of these classes is to bring that holistic experience to participants while giving them comprehensive tuition and also freedom to improvise and express themselves. We want to have fun while learning and playing ofcourse, but that said we are also aiming to give a stuctured course and reach a good level , without wanting to offend this is not a drum 'jam' or 'hippy drum circle'. we are open to all levels of ability and will do our best to include those who are beginning and challenge the more advanced.
I would also like to add that drummers will need to bring their own Djembe or Djun's. if you would really like to attend but have difficulty with this for any reason then i may be able to provide one or two djembes but not a large amount.
Hope to see, play and dance with you all very soon! :)