Wulaba Drum

Fun at the Teddy Bear Picnic in Lake Placid!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 19:13:00 +0000

What a fun time in Lake Placid with Soma Beat and Wulaba Drum "doing their thing" for the kids and adults at the Teddy Bear Picnic in Lake Placid last Sunday! Lots of smiles going around!

Join us for First Night in Saranac Lake!

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:44:00 +0000

Wulaba Drum and Soma Beats will be performing Tuesday December 31, 2013 at the Saranac Lake Library. There will be two shows: 8PM and 9PM. This is a child-friendly show and there will be audience participation during the Community dance at the end. Come celebrate the new year with us! For the full schedule go to: http://firstnightsaranaclake.org/index.html

Soma Beats and Wulaba Drum Featured on Public Television

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:51:00 +0000

Watch February 23, 2012 on PBS. See more from Mountain Lake Journal.

Wulaba and Soma Beats Performing at Saranac Lake Farmers' Market

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Juneteenth Celebration at John Brown Farm in Lake Placid Sunday June 19th!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Come join Soma Beats dancers and Wulaba Drum West African drumming for the Father's Day Juneteenth Celebration - John Brown's Farm, Lake Placid, NY - Sunday June 19th 2011 12noon - 5pm:

12-1PM - Community Drum Circle - bring an instrument, spoons, pots and pans

1-2PM - Kid's Corner in the Barn -- recycled instrument making class Bring: empty toilet paper and/or paper towel holders

2-4PM - A " Celebration of Freedom "Spirit of West Africa in Poetry, Music and Dance" (Light picnic fare will be provided, bring additional items as needed or wanted)

4-5PM - Community Dance

Summer Drum and Dance Classes Beginning June 21st!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:11:00 +0000

This summer, we have a new home for our African dance classes with Soma Beats! The dance studio is Mountains in Motion in Saranac Lake, NY.

Also new is beginner African drumming classes (djembe drums) with James of Wulaba Drum. You can sign up for both drum and dance class eight weeks for only $80!

If you prefer to sign up for just one or the other, the details are below:

8 week Summer Session: Tuesdays June 21—August 16th (Skip July5th)

6-7pm Beginner African Drum Class with Wulaba
—limited number of Djembes are available
$12 per class; $44 / 4 class card; $80 full series card

7-8:30 African Dance Class
$15 per class; $52 / 4 class card; $80 full series card

Sign up for drum and/or dance classes

Contact: Johnna@somabeats.com, call 518-791-9586, or visit SOMABEATS on facebook for more details. For drumming information, contact James at 518-524-1834

Wulaba Drum and Soma Beats Perform for Reason2Smile Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Below are some videos from our latest performance at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts as part of Reason2Smile's Annual Fundraiser. This Soma Beats dancers have been practicing for months and just got nifty new outfits just for this performance!

Celebrating African Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:34:00 +0000

The North Country came out in support for Jambo Jipya School at the first ever Reason2Smile Arts Night held at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts in early March. Attendees enjoyed perusing the artwork made by professional and student artists, as well as the Kenyan marketplace which filled the lower lobby of the LPCA. The Saranac Lake High School Men and Women’s Ensembles started off the evening and were soon followed by the UVM Top Cats (an all male a cappella group from the University of Vermont). The place was rocking as the Top Cats shared their talent and energy. To end the night with an African feel, Wulaba Drummers and Somabeats Dancers took the stage and got the blood pumping! There wasn’t a still foot in the theatre as the audience got into the African groove! Over $3,000 was raised at the event and was sent straight to Jambo Jipya School! A very special thank you to the LPCA staff as well as to all the performers and volunteers! It was an incredibly successful evening! Thanks a lot to all who attended! We’re looking forward to seeing you at next year’s Reason2Smile Arts Night!

African Dance Classes at the LPCA Annex!

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Join us for Beginner African dance classes Tuesdays at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts in Lake Placid, NY. We dance in the Annex building (formerly the craft center) from 7-8PM. Then from 8 - 8:30PM our Soma Beats dancers rehearse their performance numbers (you can stay and watch).

Cost: $10 per class or 4 classes for $32 through December 21st, 2010. Winter session starts January 7th.

For more information, call James at 518-524-1834

Jeh Kulu Drum and Dance Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:03:00 +0000

Wulaba drummers and Soma Beats Dancers took the trip across the lake to participate in Jeh Kulu's Annual Drum and Dance Festival in Burlington, VT. The majority of the dance troupe was able to come on Saturday to do a couple classes with Jeh Kulu and learn some "new" moves.

We were most excited to learn the dance to Sinte. Why? Because Wulaba drum knows that rhythm and we hadn't created a dance to it. How wonderful to see the "real thing" as taught by Jeh Kulu's Sidiki Sylla.

The drummers took advantage of the djembe classes, krin, balafone and dunun classes. Our "craziest" wild woman dancer, ShoShana, took nine dance classes and one drum class over two days!!

Art Walk Saranac Lake, August 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:32:00 +0000

We enjoyed playing for the Art Walk in Saranac Lake this August. It was two hours of almost straight drumming! Our favorite part is having a two year old boy dancing away to our music...and it was cool when a big dog howled after we finished!

Blue Mountain Lake Community Dance to Tiriba

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:12:00 +0000

Here is our video of Tiriba, the community dance - the last dance of the night where we get the audience involved. Notice the high energy and booty shaking going on! The song starts out with our Soma Beats dancers doing their solos, followed by the community being invited to dance along.

This performance was at the Adirondack Arts Center in Blue Mountain Lake, New York in July 2010.

A Night Full of Talent and Laughter

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:50:00 +0000

Johnna MacDougall of Soma Beats (left) Karen Kan and James Gann of Wulaba rock the Concert for Jambo Jipya.

Saturday March 6th marked the 2nd Annual Concert for Jambo Jipya held in the Saranac Lake High School Audito- rium. This year’s event proved to be even more lively than last year. Quite a crowd of people from across the north country showed up to enjoy an evening of high school musical talent, energetic college acapella, as well as African drumming and dance. Those who came certainly weren’t disap- pointed. Each group proved to be incredibly talented and seeing the college students on stage being led by Wulaba Drumming and Somabeats in African dance, was a real treat! If you missed out this year, be looking for information on next year’s event. It truly is an evening you don’t want to miss!

Thank you very much to all who participated and all who attended. A special thank you to Gail Meyer and her team of volunteers for all their help running the African Marketplace and making the night a true success!

NEW Solo/Dance West African Drumming CD released!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Want to Solo Like Master Djembe Drummers?

Well, now you can. James Gann had that same desire when he began West African drumming classes. The problem was that he was too intimidated to solo in class. At home he tried practicing his solo technique, but found it challenging without the accompaniment.

His Senegalese drum teacher used to say, “In order to solo well, you need to have strong accompaniment”. Now, a decade later, as a drum instructor and performer, James created this CD especially for drummers like you to help you rapidly improve your solo drumming ability with the drum accompaniment of popular West African rhythms.

“This CD will help your confidence. Feel free to find your own solo style that works for you. Give it a shot!" – James Gann

“Whenever I would attend a drum festival, I was nervous about soloing in front of strangers. Now I’m not because of this CD! I love it!” – Karen Kan

Also Great for West African Dancing!

This CD also makes a perfect practice CD for West African dancing, whether it is in the privacy of your own home or in dance class – with or without a live Djembe soloist!

Ten percent of revenue from the sale of this CD is donated to Reason2Smile, www.reason2smile.org, a charitable organization that supports Jambo Jipya The Future Child School (located just north of Mombasa , Kenya ) whose mission is to educate, clothe and feed orphaned and at-risk children of Kenya .

Bonus tracks with each purchase!

You can drum at any age!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Here's young Maggie learning how to play the Dununs to KuKu with an appreciative mom, Traci, playing the djembe. James was teaching both this past summer.

Wulaba Motivates ADK Marathoners in Schroon Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Volunteer Tony Kostecki jumped into to play with Wulaba!

While Wulaba Drum leader, James Gann, was in Africa doing an intensive training, the skeleton crew of Karen Kan, Christina and Dusty Grant, made their way yesterday to Schroon Lake for the annual Adirondack Marathon.

It was a chilly morning at about 40 degrees when we arrived so everyone was thankful they brought layers. Wulaba was stationed at mile 11, 22 and at the finish line having short break between drumming session. The first ten minutes were a bit challenging as our hands were cold and a bit stiff (karen had gloves on at first!), but we warmed up quickly.

As marathoners ran, walked or biked by, most gave us a wave, a thumbs up, a smile and a, "THANK YOU!" as we drummed them up the next hill. Given the 5:30AM wake-up call for us, I can say it was well worth it to see the difference we made!

One woman, as she ran by said in an incredulous voice, "Who ARE you guys? You are incredible!" We were surprised but obviously thrilled with the comment. My guess is that the drums reverberated among the trees and rocks to be heard for well over a mile along the course.

One man on bicycle (and later on foot) actually slowed to a stop to ask where he can buy an djembe. Luckily we had Wulaba cards for John Paul. So we hope we'll be hearing from him soon!

Once we made the move from the forest to the highway, we were in full sun and layers of clothing were peeled off. In fact, we all got a sun tan! Much to our surprise, we attracted another drummer to play with us! ADK Marathon volunteer, Tony Kostecki, general director of Seagle Music Colony, joined us for KukuKase, Kakilambe and Triba after a quick 10 second lesson from Karen.

We met our dance teacher, Johnna MacDougall at the finish line where her and her band of happy massage therapists were doing their thing for all the athletes. We also got to say a quick hello to Stuart Paton from Burlington Taiko who was also on hand with his group drumming around the last corner before the finish line.

Drum and Dance at Lake Placid Center for the Arts

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Wulaba Drummers celebrated Salute to the Arts Day at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts on Wednesday August 26th together with two members of the Soma Beats Dancers, Tammy Loewy and Melanie Niemczura. On Thursday August 27th, Wulaba was on hand to present live drumming before and after the incredible film, Throw Down Your Heart, a story of how virtuoso banjo player Bela Fleck travelled to parts of Africa searching for the origins of the Banjo and playing with traditional musicians. Inspired by the film, movie-goers got to dance and try some drumming of their own during the after-movie Drum Circle celebrations at the LPCA (see above pictures). Nine year old Mistra, originally from South Africa, led the dancing.

Wulaba and Soma Beats Heat Up Will Rogers!

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:08:00 +0000

On Saturday August 22nd, they performed on stage at the Will Rogers retirement community. Retirees on foot, in wheelchairs and with oxygen tanks came to watch as did children and other community members. Despite the multitude of fans in the room and on stage, Wulaba and Soma Beats drummers and dancers worked up such a sweat that the pre-alarms went off (fire alarms) because of the temperature rise in the room! Although somewhat reserved, a few Will Rogers residents got up the courage to shake their bootie and dance. Everyone, of course, enjoyed the "kids dance" where the kids got up on stage to strut their stuff. Nine year old Mistra, a member of the junior dance troupe was there to encourage all the kids.

Latest Wulaba Drum - Soma Beats Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Check out our Wulaba Drum Videos link for videos from our June 2009 performance in Jay, New York at the Julia and Amos Ward Theatre (Jems Group)

Jems Community Dance June, 2009 - Maraka Don

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:03:00 +0000

African Dance Classes at LPCA

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:12:00 +0000

African Dance Classes Lake Placid Center for the Arts

17 Algonquin Drive Lake Placid, NY

Tuesdays 7-8:30PM

June 9th to August 4th, 2009

Class Fee: $15/class

Multi-class discounts available

For more information: www.somabeats.com

James Gann of Wulaba in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:56:00 +0000

James Gann, born in 1973, was a "free-range" child, unfettered by convention. His mother raised him in a small California biker-hippie community. He was to navigate his way through a number of obstacles before finding the right beat for the rhythm in his life.

Looking back, James remembers his younger years as a fun era, surrounded by musicians, art, some degree of discipline and a large degree of freedom. At age fourteen, he moved to Lawton, Okla. to be with his father and stepmother. Living in the city in an over-sheltered, highly restrictive culture was a radical change. He tried his best to behave, but found nothing he did was considered acceptable. Earlier, at the age of five, his mother had introduced him to drumming. He loved and practiced it for many years but after his move to Oklahoma, found it a skill which was neither approved of nor encouraged. Hard as those years were, he stuck it out through the 12th-grade. He tried to please his father, who was a drill sergeant in the military, but never seemed to do the right thing.

James had little interest in school but was an excellent athlete and much admired for his skills in ROTC classes. Partly for his father's sake, he had planned on joining the military after graduating. To James's surprise, his father, a Vietnam veteran who had known his share of suffering and indeed loved his son very much, talked him out of it. Instead, James was sent off to the National Education Center in Phoenix, Ariz. to study graphic arts. Sprung loose from the restraints of his Oklahoma home, he soon fell into the drug scene, his grades plummeted, and he dropped out of school a year-and-a-half later.

Returning to California, he adopted the gypsy life, rather enjoying the varied experience of living in different places. When he met a girl named Tara, life turned around. They went out together for two-and-a-half years before marrying in 1995 and settling down in Salinas. He stopped all drug use, took a job at UPS and another as a part-time roofer, made good money and had a nice home. The two of them were quite religious, joining first the Church of Christ and later the Pentecostals. Not quite satisfied with what he found, he slowly dropped away from formal religion. Today he says that he has found a stronger relation to God and one that is more joyous than he experienced in earlier years.

In 2000, still in California, James felt a certain lack of purpose in his life. Accomplished in several areas such as snowboarding, art and drumming, he excelled in none. Walking to the mailbox one day, he put it out to God: "I want to be really good at something." A few days later, it came to him what that something was - he wanted to become a master drummer. He found a mentor by the name of Abdulaye Diallo, a West African master drummer from Senegal who "took him under his wing." James bought a drum and upon going to Abdulaye for lessons, discovered the drum he bought had once belonged to his teacher. It seemed a good omen. Abdulaye, seeing talent in James, pushed him hard. At first it was real agony, his hands hurt, his shoulders and arms burned. But he persevered, advanced quickly, became passionate about West African drumming and grateful to his mentor for sticking with him and pushing him toward greater achievement. Unfortunately his wife, Tara, was not so enthused about his drumming. It gave her a headache every time he played.

The marriage, already sagging, ended two years later; the drumming did not. James pursued it with intensity for six years, doing some teaching and playing in his mentor's band, Casamance, named for the place he came from in Senegal.

Then, in 2005, walking to the mailbox again (was it something about communicating?), he spoke to God. "I need a partner, a woman with whom I can share mutual interests, one who is spiritual and one who does not get a headache when I play my drums!"

Once more, his wish was granted. Karen Guenette, a Lake Placid resident, was in California for a workshop on intuition. She met James when he was teaching an outdoor drumming class. Having learned to listen to his own inner rhythm, James now sensed that he had finally found the right person. On that beautiful day in July, Karen, following her own intuition, sat down to drum along. From that moment, the relationship grew, continuing by phone after Karen returned home. Six months later, in January 2006, James packed his belongings and moved east to join her.

Now living in Lake Placid, both their lives have expanded. Karen is a dedicated and accomplished figure skater who shares James's love of drumming, playing with him in performances. James, exceptional athlete that he is, learned to figure skate. Amazingly, in 2008, they skated together to take a Gold medal in the silver pairs level at the Nationals Skating Championships. They truly share one another's passions.

Today, James has been awarded two grants, gives lessons in West African drumming and collaborates with a colleague, Johnna McDougall, a West African dance teacher. He teaches in schools and at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. Community is important to him. He reaches out to children and adults alike, encouraging them to join him in the joys of drumming and dance. He has performed at JEMS in Jay, NCCC in Saranac Lake, Pendragon, the Saranac Lake Art Walks, the Winter Carnival Rotary Show and was honored to play this year at the opening ceremonies for the Empire State Games.

When he runs his drumming workshop at St. Joseph's Rehabilitation Center, he happily shares the rocky road that finally brought him to fulfillment. In 2006, he traveled to Senegal to improve his West African drumming technique; he looks forward to returning again in September. He also plays with Jamie Whidden's Capoeria group, an African-Brazilian dance and acrobatic art. Enthused and bubbling with energy, James has indeed finally found the right beat in his own life. --- Based on an interview with James Gann. Caperton Tissot can be reached at Tissot@SnowyOwlPress.com.

Wulaba and Soma Beats First Summer Performance in Jay, NY

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:44:00 +0000

Wulaba Drumming & Soma Beats African Dance Saturday June 6th, 2009 Time: 6:30 pm At the Amos & Julia Ward Theater Located at the Green in Jay Admission: $5.00 Join us next Saturday for our first summer performance on stage at the Amos and Julia Ward Theatre (Jems Group) in Jay New York!

Wulaba and Soma Beats Rock the NCCC International Festival!

noreply@blogger.com (Wulaba Drum) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Soma Beats dancers, led by Johnna MacDougall, debuted two new dances: SoKo and Yankadi-Makaru. The SoKo dance, choreographed by Johnna MacDougall, was meant to signify the "cutting of chains" from captivity to freedom. It represents the freedom of all human-kind and is a rejoicing of that transformation. Dancer and yoga instructor, Mimi Wacholder Frantz, brought back the dance of Yankadi from her trip to Mexico where unexpectedly, there was an African dance class. The Yankadi dance is the dance of seduction. Flowing movements and lots of "hip" make this dance sensuous and playful - a courting dance of sorts. Then without warning, Yankadi becomes Makaru, a spirited fast-paced dance where traditionally the "couples" that have formed during Yankadi, dance at a feverish pace together. One of the highlights of tonight's performance at the North Country Community College International Festival was the Community Dance done to Kakilambe, a dance of healing celebration, where the audience is invited to participate, as well as the Circle Dance where free expression inside the "circle" reigns. Children to adults enjoyed the rhythms and shook their bodies to the delightful sound of the drums! videos to come!

Wulaba and Soma Beats Slideshow!

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Kan, MD) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:59:00 +0000