The first Tri-State Drum & Dance Circle meeting took place on June 14th at the UpFront Exhibition Space in Port Jervis, NY. It was the brainchild of Stuart Kessler and his wife Nancy Davis Kessler. They had attended many drum circles but couldn’t find any around here so decided to start their own. Participants came from all over the Tri-State area (Milford, Matamoras, Shohola, Glen Spey, Barryville and Montague, NJ). This was the first time many participants had experienced this community event, but there were also some experienced drummers in attendance.
Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead drummer) defines a drum circle as follows: “A drum circle is equal because there are no heads or tails. People of all ages, religions and backgrounds can participate. The main purpose is for people to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and with themselves. To form a group consciousness…[so that ] When we all play the drums together, a new voice emerges from the group, a collective voice.”
That’s the experience that was born out of this drum circle. There was a trance-like atmosphere. People were moving to the rhythm, sometimes so intensely that they could feel it all the way to their toes. The Kesslers brought several drums and other percussion instruments for people to use, and everyone joined in, either by drumming or dancing to the rhythm. Stu Kessler has been playing drums for 23 years. In fact, Nancy and Stu had their first date at a drum circle, but she preferred dancing to drumming.
Stu acted as facilitator for the group: he started with a very simple 4/4 rhythm and then people joined in, expanding and extrapolating the beat from there.
“I don’t want this to be a teaching tool,” Stewart says, “but I want it to get people started so they can develop their own playing.”
“It’s about listening to each other and having that sense of community, of coming together in this moment,” Nancy says.
In addition to the drums they brought, participants tried out a variety of drums. Experienced drummer Todd Anderson played the handpan drum, a convex steel drum that is played by hand and has multiple notes tuned to different scales.
He invited everyone in the circle to play. Todd’s handpan is tuned to the D minor scale, giving it a deep, resonant, almost eerie quality. Todd has been obsessed with drums for most of his life.
“I’m obsessed with the sound and the energy and healing power of that sound,” he said.
The handpan drum was designed by Felix Rohner and Sabina Scherer in Bern, Switzerland. They made the handpan drum convex instead of concave. There is a hole in the bottom of the drum, and when you hit it, the sound travels up the drum and resonates from the bottom. Todd is an artist who likes to work with natural elements, and the sound of the handpan is a perfect fit for that.
Stu and Nancy invite you to their next drum circle, which will be held on Tuesday, July 19th from 7-8:30pm at the UpFront Exhibition Space, 31 Jersey Ave, Port Jervis. We ask for a minimum donation of $5 to thank Gordon Graff (owner and curator) for providing us with the space. Drum circles are held on the third Tuesday of every month. If you’d like to participate, please bring a drum or other percussion instrument. Todd may let you try out a handpan.
For more information, contact Nancy at nhd106@aol.com.
