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Arts & Entertainment

Drummers Set the Rhythm at NARA Park

Weekend event brings drum and dance circle experience to community.

Saturday evening’s pleasant temperatures and clear skies were a perfect backdrop to a multi-cultural, multi-generational drum circle event at NARA Park, where residents of Acton and nearby communities had the chance to listen to, and participate in, a mix of traditional African and other drumming while enjoying other entertainment.

The community drum circle was built around the idea of “creating an amalgam of music based on different African traditions, yet creating something new together,” said event organizer Jim Salem, an Acton resident who had participated in other such drum circles over the years before launching the first one in Acton five years ago.

“I wanted to share and introduce the drumming circle experience to a broader range of people,” Salem said. “I've had a lot of help from many people, the town has been very supportive, and NARA is a beautiful place for it.”

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The event attracted drumming enthusiasts of all ages and experience levels, from those “just trying some things out,” said Ayer resident Moragh Ramage, to professional drummer and music teacher Tom Foote, owner of Concord-based Footnotes Music and founder of Rhythm Kids, an interactive drumming program for children, who was attending the drum and dance circle for the first time and called it an “awesome experience, very much like I pictured it to be.”

“It’s much less common in this country than in other places I’ve been to see these types of spontaneous music gatherings,” said Foote. “There’s a nice mix of experience levels, and it’s good to see all different generations.”

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Among the youngest in those generations was five-year-old Damon Abetz, a student of Foote’s, who, after some initial hesitation at the scene before him, joined the more seasoned players, eventually making his way to the front row of performers. As Damon played his drum and sat transfixed by the sounds surrounding him, his mother, Wendy Abetz, said, “He’s so enthusiastic about drumming. He really loves it.”

The audience—which Salem called “a much higher turnout of spectators than we expected”—included impromptu visitors like Padmanabhan Ramadurai, who attended with his wife, two daughters and family friends and said the beautiful night enhanced everyone’s experience.

“We love the music, and the weather is wonderful,” he said.

Frank Flowers, an Acton resident, said he attended the drum circle a few years ago by happenstance—he was fishing at NARA when he heard the drumming—and enjoyed it so much that he made it a point to attend again this year.

“There’s an interesting mix of people here you don’t always see at other Acton events,” said Flowers. “If you look around town, there’s a community of artistic types here. It’s just not always obvious.”

Other such “artistic types” included dancers, both amateur and professional, who engaged in various African-inspired and free-form dances around the fire while the drummers provided a steady beat, as well as fire spinners, who capped off the evening’s entertainment.

Alice Heller, who teaches African dance at Yoga & Nia for Life in West Concord, said the dancing is another part of a “great community event” that lent itself to people enjoying themselves in a way that may have surprised them.

“It bridges traditional African dance with other styles and once (participants) decide to get out there and let go, they have fun,” Heller said.

The fire spinners added an exciting element to the end of the evening, with performers providing a swirling light show for enthralled audience members as the drummers continued their percussions. Salem said the fire performers got involved with the NARA drum and dance circle early on and that their presence complements the evening’s intent.

“Fire spinning is very much a rhythmic activity, so it fits well with the drumming,” Salem said. “Fire spinners often like (performing) with drummers.”

For more information on the annual Acton Drum and Dance, visit their web site at www.actondrumdance.org.  There are many other drumming events in the area including the popular Concord Drum and Dance run by Earth Drum Council (www.earthdrum.com).

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