Guinean Dance and Drum classes at the Dance Hall

What a community that has grown through Guinean dancing and drumming at the Dance Hall since April of 2011. We’ve loved the opportunity to share some of Guinea’s rich culture in hundreds of weekly classes at the Dance Hall, dozens of guest workshops, and many performances at schools, libraries, festivals, and other community events. And we love that it’s all continuing!

You can join us Thursdays at the Dance Hall in Kittery, ME. Drum classes with Namory are 5:30 – 6:30 pm. In each class, Namory will teach several parts – accompaniments and solos – of a Malinke rhythm from the Hamana region of Guinea. Be sure to bring your own djembe to class or let us know ahead of time if you’ll need to borrow one. Class is $20.00. Dance class taught by Liz follows from 6:45 – 7:45 pm. Dance class begins with a warm-up, a combination of stretching and aerobic movement. This is followed by a high-energy class where you will learn a traditional dance from Guinea, including some of the context around it. Some weeks we will dundun dance, a combination of drumming and dancing together. Dance class is by donation. Each week, half the dance class donations (after rent) are contributed to a local regional, or national BIPOC organization. Over the past three years we’ve made contributions to Black Lives Matter Seacoast, Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, Wabanaki Public Health, Tree Street Youth, Soul Fire Farm, Somali Bantu Community Association, Equal Justice Initiative, International Institute of New England, Wabanaki REACH, among many others.

Namory will be traveling in Guinea for the months of January and February, but we’ll continue on with Thursday classes as the weather allows! To confirm that classes are happening, you can follow us on Facebook or send us an email seacoastdanceanddrum -at- Gmail.com