Responding to the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment's opening night performance, audience members wrote:
"it was awesome"
"very powerful"
"just wonderful, phenomenal"
Imagine a collection of deeply personal, powerful and political songs and poems written and performed by 6 talented young women, sanwiched between two skillfully choreographed African djembe rhythms, and you have the She Poets of the Rizing Moon in their debut: "Djembes Have Curves."
The performances are the result of a summer-long program in which young women aged 14-18, all DC residents, met weekly with 9 local artists for workshops on team building, hand drumming, poetry, spoken word, song writing, performance technique, and staging. Artist instructors include drum teacher & facilitator Jaqui MacMillan, Deb Randall of Venus Theatre, and hip-hop artist-activist Princess of Controversy.
"I knew the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project's performances were going to be good, but never did I imagine them to be this good!" Noted local art blogger Alexandra Silverthorne in Solarize This.
"These performances - and the process by which the young women created them - clearly define the meaning of empowerment," states Venus Theatre founder Deborah Randall.
The young women involved have found hidden talents and inner strengths through the process of learning from experienced instructors who have empowered them to create their own material and set list, and perform it.
Says YWDEP member Stephanie Upshur, 18: "I like being part of the project because I think it’s fascinating that women are drumming, and because it has helped me build my self esteem and learn to write poetry, and to play the drum."
And Treasure Chapman, 18: "The drum is such a male instrument. If I can give play it and bring in some female energy, then I feel like I've created something unique and really powerful."
Don't miss the She Poets in their final performances, this Saturday and Sunday at the DC Arts Center, 2438 18th St NW, both shows at 7:30 p.m.
For more information: Contact Kristen Arant at 202-213-7810 or Kristen@youngwomendrum.org, and visit our website at www.youngwomendrum.org.
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The Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project seeks to empower a core group of young women by guiding them in a process of learning how to play hand drums and percussion, along with expressing their opinions and telling their stories. The girls work with local artists to build a strong collection of rhythms, songs & spoken word. The 12-week project culminates with 3 final performances featuring the work of the project participants. Project updates and developments are listed below.
