The word "drums" doesn't just stand for those round things you hit to make noise in a circle under the full moon, anymore. Not in Fort Lauderdale, at least. Nope. Nowadays, DRUMS indicates "Dancers Raw Underground Music Session," a free dance class that incorporates percussive elements, worldwide cultural moves and sounds, and your body. DRUMS offers every kind of movement you can think of, from Zumba to yoga, to capoeira to dancehall.
Each class starts with a half hour of proper instruction, then continues to freestyle dancing, where you can bust any move, pop, lock, whatever. "The concept of this half hour class is to expose different ideas of movement, as well as open the minds of our youth and give them positive outlets for expression," says Brendan Eldom, founder of the Oceans Deep music label and, this, the House of DRUMS.
In addition to talented (and maybe not so talented) dancers and good vibes, you can expect a good mix of house and dance sounds from South Florida DJs. You can find "your own" dance at DRUMS.
"The play on word of the title DRUMS comes from the music played at the event," says Eldom. "We play a lot of cultural percussive driven music. A sound we call, South Florida soul, which is a mixture of Latin-Afrocentric rhythms, deep house, soul, funk. A great mixture of music to bring all ages and many individuals of different backgrounds together on one dance floor."
That's what the program is all about. Diverse elements working in harmony, and hitting hard. Eldom says, "our intention with DRUMS is to build community and encourage others to dance, creating a space where we can really experiment, practice and 'be free to feel free' was really important to us."
DRUMS, 9:30 p.m. to midnight, every Tuesday at Muse Center for the Arts, 99 SW 14th Street, Fort Lauderdale. Classes are free. Visit facebook.com/OceansDeepSFL.
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