African drumming, dance offered in Columbia Falls
<p>Bob Sherrick instructs a group on African drumming at the Imagine Health and Wellness Center in Columbia Falls in January.</p>
<p>Marti Kurth, front, Kay Lynn, Patsy Bowen, Leanne Bowen, and Nancy Gresham practice their drumming.</p>
<p>Leslie Yancey leads the Afrofusion dance class at the Imagine Health Wellness and Wisdom Center in Columbia Falls. </p>
Dance instructor Leslie Yancey offers people the chance to move to the beat of their own drums.
Literally.
Yancey has been teaching an “Afrofusion Dance” class at various locations around the Flathead Valley since 2010. She said she wouldn’t describe it as an exercise class, even though “it is an amazing workout; it’s intense.”
“It’s creative movement,” Yancey said. “Everything is connecting and there’s a vibration between the dancing and the rhythm and pulse of the drums ... It’s all there live together, and it’s just a different way of being.”
The class incorporates live drumming, provided by Dr. Bob Sherrick and Bill Kint, with Yancey’s choreography to create a unique experience.
“I wanted to keep the integrity, the authenticity of traditional African dances,” Yancey said. “It’s not thinking, it’s feeling. There is structure, but there’s a lot of room for creativity and interpretation within that.”
The class generally begins with a warm-up, followed by learning choreography to a dance routine and ending with a cool down and stretching.
Afrofusion Dance is offered on Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. at the Imagine Health Wellness and Wisdom Center, located at 305 First Ave. W. in Columbia Falls. Each class costs $10, and no registration or long-term commitment is necessary.
“It’s an open-door policy,” Yancey said. “I want it to be accessible and affordable and fun.
“It’s all about sharing the art and connecting with people.”
In addition to the weekly dance class, Sherrick and Kint also teach a monthly African drumming workshop that is open to anyone who wants to attend, with no prior musical experience required.
“Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to drum,” Sherrick said. “The class ... It’s fun. It’s a community exercise.”
The next class teaching the rhythms of the African hand drum will be on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Imagine Health Wellness and Wisdom Center.
If participants do not have a drum, contact Marti Kurth via email at martik@centurylink.net and a drum will be provided. Fees for the class is a sliding scale between $5 and $10.
Yancey said that both the dance classes and drum workshops are fun and casual ways to connect within the community, and that it’s the connection through art that’s important.
“Technology in our world today is wonderful,” Yancey said. “But it’s important not to lose our humanness, our oneness.
“The movement and community and feeling [music] provides ... It’s all connected.”
For more details, call Leslie Yancey at 406-748-6778 or visit www.yanceydancetheatre.com.
Entertainment editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.