The Flii Beat Ladiez are BACK for a fall mini-tour!

The 2008 Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project debuted its new members as the "Flii Beat Ladiez" this past September in four shows, "Rythmic Lyfe Explosion," that left audiences' mouths agape!

If you missed out, you've now got another chance to witness the power, inspiration, wisdom and talent these young women exude as they take the stage as the feature at this Monday's Guerrilla Poetry Insurgency, and as the closing act for the Green Festival on Nov. 8.

If you already saw us, come on back for more.

If not, don't miss out again!!!


GUERRILLA POETRY INSURGENCY
WHAT: YWDEP features its beats and poetry at The DC Guerrilla Poetry Insurgency, an anti-authoritarian, collaborative, pro-humanity artists' collective incorporating music, rhythm, spoken word, community and resistance.
WHEN: Monday Oct. 20, 7-9 p.m.
WHERE: The actual CIRCLE in Dupont Circle, at the FOUNTAIN.
The event is OUTDOORS.
HOW: Very easily accessible from both Dupont Circle metro exits (North and South) on the Red Line.


GREEN FESTIVAL
WHAT: YWDEP features at the GREEN FESTIVAL 2008 - a walk through a sustainable community. It begins with finding solutions to help make our lives healthier-socially, economically and environmentally. Individuals along with business and community leaders come together to discuss critical issues that impact us at home and abroad. Organizations and businesses showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Neighbor-to-neighbor connections are formed, and skills are shared to empower people to create positive change in the world.
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 8th., 6:30 p.m. (processional around the festival), 6:45 (performance)
WHERE: Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Pl NW
HOW: The Convention Center is located right off the Mt. Vernon Square metro station, on the Green/Yellow Line.

YWDEP's 4th Annual Showcases ROCK! Sept. 6, 7, 13 and 14

YWDEP's 4th Annual Showcases ROCK! Sept. 6, 7, 13 and 14
The Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project is thrilled to announce its 4th Annual

FINAL PEFORMANCE SHOWCASE!



The Flii Beat Ladiez present: Rhythmic Lyfe Explosion

Featuring:

12 young women ages 12-18 and their mentors performing:

original, riveting, brilliant poetry

tight, funky, groovy rhythms

mesmorizing movement

and

scrumptuous songs



7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 6 OPENING NIGHT - pay what u can (min. $5 please)

7 p.m. Saturday Sept. 13 - $15/$10 for students (must show ID), seniors, children 8 and under

7 p.m. Sunday Sept. 14 - $15/$10 for students (must show ID), seniors, children 8 and under

at the Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts

1700 Kalorama Rd NW

Washington, DC 20009



and a special interactive performance featuring only the rhythmic pieces of our show…

3 p.m. Sept. 7 at the Kreeger Museum’s Open House

2401 Foxhall Rd NW

Washington, DC 20007

FREE OF CHARGE

YWDEP ROCKS!! ....by 2008 volunteer Kiran Gandhi

Indeed, these women ARE EMPOWERED! I just started working with the project three weeks ago and I am blown away. I jumped right in on a warm and cozy Friday evening at the sanctuary of St. Stephen's Church to be greeted by laughter, smiles and kindness. When I heard Kristen's group of talented, young, female drummers rock the stage at Georgetown University's Urban Fare 8 last fall, I knew this was something I wanted to be involved in. The mood and energy of the project was so positive, and the kinds of young people it attracts indicated to the audience that Kristen had created something very special and beautiful within the busy streets of our nation's capital.

I am a drummer and Women's Studies minor part of Georgetown University's Class of 2011 and getting involved with YWDEP is one of the many reasons I feel privileged to study in such a multi-faceted and diverse city. This program brings in speakers and performers from different backgrounds and different types of experiences to give the bright women of the program access to various resources from the city. Supplementing their education at school, Kristen has created this space for them to rock out and bust open their creative side, all the while benefiting from DC's underground music and go-go scene.

Kristen's relationships with those that she works with are so genuine and friendly that it is no wonder this project has flourished over the past few years. Last week I had this moment where I was just admiring her as she laughed with the girls, taught them new beats, patiently explained hand positioning, set up yoga mats, prepared a healthy table full of lunch, danced to a Moby song, shook out her nervous jitters before she performed her own spoken word piece, and threw her head back howling at some of the haiku poems that her girls had written. She loves what she does, and her passion has echoed throughout the project enabling it to gain the momentum it has each year.

Last Saturday the group had the privilege to perform at the Art of Living iLead Be The Change event. Let me tell you, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. We did not hold back. Singing and playing two of our pieces, Fanga and KuKu, we pulled the scattered guests from around the venue into the main performance hall as they put their delicious Indian dinner down and clapped their hands or tapped their feet to the soulful rhythms. The girls laid down the beats that Kristen had worked with them on during previous sessions, and we played loud and proud. At the end of playing for a solid twenty minutes, the MC asked if we could rock out for an encore performance and he invited everyone to get up and dance. AND THEY DID! We grooved into this great jam session and get nearly 30-40 people up and rocking to the sound of many young women playing drums like NOBODY'S BUSINESS. It was just so awesome.

With a group like this under Kristen Arant's leadership, there's no telling where the future of YWDEP will go. I only hope that I can continue to be a part of something so powerful.

YWDEP veteran drummer talks about our 4th summer in action...

(the below was posted by YWDEP member Miya Nashonne Upshur-Williams, now in her 4th year and working on the YWDEP mentor staff team. Miya is 17 and attends the Duke Ellington High School for the Arts)

The Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project summer intensive has just completed its third week of its 2008 program. With exactly half of the program completed, six spanking new, extremely unique members and four funky returning lady-veterans (a long with assistance and guidance of founder Kristen Arant, a gypsy band of kick ass volunteers, and paid local artists) must band together to create, produce and perform YWDEP highly anticipated 2008 show. In preparation for this, highly anticipated show, these young women have participated in workshops and activities that help build confidence to express oneself, openness, self-awareness, drum technique, positive thinking and empowerment. Each and every week the young women have begun each Thursaday and Saturday sessions with hatha yoga instructed by Durga Vasquez and Ximena Savitch. These yoga sessions provide time for the ladies to get in tune with their thoughts and bodies by constantly encouraging self-awareness through breathing and mastering the postures. Yoga also allows the perfect transition into the workshops and actual drum sessions. After yoga (or firstly on Fridays), the ladies play ice-breakers such as handslap or mirror. While the games are just all out fun, they allow each person to get to know one another and establish a sense of comfort with each other. Her and throughout the session you can see everyone laughing and joking with each other.

So far the young women have successfully learned two African rhythms on the djembe and the dun-uns: the sangban, kenkeni, and dununba drums. Fanga, a rhythm of welcoming, was taught during the first weeks of the program by Kristen Arant. The groove is funky, the ladies seem to enjoy and the sound is also familiar. Toro, the second rhythm, taught by drum master Mahiri, is groove worthy rhythm for initiation. Both rhythms are polyrhythmic and challenge those playing them to listen as musicians of another kind--there is a call and then there is a response, timing and intuitiveness are essential. The ladies have also has the pleasure of moving, dancing and laughing with movement extraordinaire Bina who believes in the philosophy of loving and moving your own booty.Local musician and actress, Princess of Controversy has also visited and taught the young ladies performance technique and the art of owning their creations and words.

Support YWDEP and HAVE FUN!!

you are cordially invited to....

DRUMMING WITH FRIENDS!!!
A fundraiser for the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project's Fourth Annual Summer Enrichment Program!

Saturday May 10th- 6:00-8:00 p.m.
at Java Green Eco Cafe, 1020 19th St NW, Washington, DC 20036
(At the corner of 19th and I Sts NW, Farragut West metro station)

Featuring: drumming, performances, raffle prizes and delicious organic food provided by Java Green! Suggested donation: $25. We hope you can join us on these dates to support this wonderful programming!

PLEASE RSVP! info@youngwomendrum.org or 202-213-7810


The Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project strives to create a safe space for young women to build unity, and fearlessly express their authentic selves through drumming, poetry, spoken word, song, movement, and performance. YWDEP is a a ONE COMMON UNITY program.


LETTER TO OUR COMMUNITY:

We've had quite a year of losses and gains, enough to make my head spin!! We still mourn over the loss of our dear friend and mentor, Henry Moses, and now are also mourning the loss of 6 stolen drums, which left us on April 27 when they were stolen along with a vehicle, in broad daylight.
We still have faith in our community, however, who has stepped up to the plate time and time again to ensure our programs continue to grow strong!!

This year we have much to PRAISE! THREE of our graduated young women (who have been with YWDEP for 2-3 years) will be employed through the DC Dept of Employment Services' Summer Youth Program. They be working for YWDEP, leading our Mentorship Program and facilitating workshops with our young women to build unity in the group. These fantastic women are also all artists in their own right, and will be assisting our new girls with their poetry, drumming, dances and songs.

In addition, we will be bringing adult female volunteer mentors to our workshops. These women will HOLD THE SPACE for our girls, giving us at least a 4-1 ratio of girls to women. Through this we will build intergenerational community partnerships that will extend out to all of our work in communities in DC and the surrounding area.

We have also forged alliances with two fantastic organizations who are also working with young women - the Teen Life Clubs girls program at DC Children's Hospital, and the DC Boys and Girls Clubs' FBR branch girls project, which is held at THE ARC, a fantastic performing arts center in SE DC. We are in touch with both of these groups and have plans in effect to collaborate in the fall.

With all this said, We hope you will join us THIS SATURDAY for a fundraiser celebrating these wonderful milestones, and to offer your continued support of YWDEP!!!!

thank you,

Kristen Arant
Founder and Director, YWDEP
www.youngwomendrum.org

YWDEP Accepting Applications for Fourth Annual Summer Enrichment Program!!

Do you work with or know any young women who love to express themselves through poetry, song, dance, or rhythm? Do you know any young women who would benefit from 6 weeks of mentorship from exemplary female artists in the DC community; daily yoga and teambuilding sessions; and from a safe space that allows them to fearlessly explore and express their authentic selves?

If so - please let them know about an incredible Summer Enrichment Program through the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project (YWDEP). Young women ages 13-19 will meet 3 days per week for 3 hours each day, and work with artists to develop their own poetry, songs and movement while learning how to play West African Djembe (hand) drums with talented local drummers including Kristen Arant, Jaqui MacMillan, and Mahiri Keita Edwards.

The program runs 6 weeks starting July 10 and ending August 16. After a week-long break, girls will reconvene during the week of Aug 25 to prepare for 4 final performances for the community at-large, staged at a local theatre in mid-September.

The application deadline is May June 1 (early deadline May 15), and the application process is simple: girls can go to www.youngwomendrum. org and fill out an online application with one click. Scholarships are available upon request! Girls who apply must be available to attend a group interview on May 21 from 6-8 p.m. at St. Stephens Church, 1525 Newton St NW.

Please direct all questions to:
info@youngwomendrum .org
202-213-7810

Successful culture shop fundraiser!

Check out the video! Lots of rockin and jammin...Courtesy of your neighborhood videographer, Mark Loeffler (thanks mark!!)

The video is 45 minutes long so we recommend you skip to the middle portion if you don't have time to enjoy the whole thing, which is really like a community-style documentary on YWDEP.

YO!Drum Fundraiser for YWDEP! Wed Feb 6, 7p.m., St Stephens Church

Yoga + Drumming = Awesome
"Yo! Drum" - is a 2 hour healing arts and skills building workshop. Are you stressed at work, fatigued often? Tired and unenergized about life in general? Or, do you just need some inspiring people to be around? This is your opportunity to become ONE with the drumming of Kristen Arant and experience the poetry and yoga of Hawah.

This new workshop for 2008 called, "Yo! Drum," will be offered from 7 - 9 PM on the first Wednesday of every month, and offers 50 minutes of yoga and 50 minutes of drumming. Explore your inner self, stretch, unwind and experience the power of community vibration. We will liven your ears and tickle your senses. If you have one, bring a yoga mat, a drum and a musical instrument (if not, no worries, we have extras). Most of all, bring an open heart and mind. The workshop session will be accessible and taught for all student levels.

Come Early! These workshops are fundraisers for One Common Unity and the dynamic Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project. Registration is $25 per class, you can pay upon arrival. Scholarships and barter exchanges are available, so contact if needed. For those who are interested, you can sign up for the entire year, a special 11 classes for $200.

Fore More Information visit:
www.OneCommonUnity.org

These great workshops will help support the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project's 4th summer of providing free performing arts workshops to female teenagers in Washngton, DC. So come, bring friends, and spread the word!