<< Front page Arts March 12, 2004

The low beating of the tom-tom

Essence show displays striking deliberateness

Drummer speaks through drum: Senior Adam Barr provides the rhythm and the energy for junior Yukiko Shishikrua and the surrounding dancers.
 

“My relationship, not just to the dance, but to the drum itself, is one of give and take; call and response.” Senior Adam Barr does not have to prove his relationship with drums. He has been drumming for Essence performances as well as Diaspora programs for years. “Unentered House,” his senior show, is a look into himself and his ancestry.

This spring’s Essence show opens with a soundscape of fabric ripping. The dim lights come up slowly and illuminate a boxy house structure covered in flowers and rural decorations. A figure clothed in white is struggling to free himself from white strips of cloth that bind his hands to the house. The space is transformed into what the audience learns is Barr’s subconscious, and they become aware of his struggle with the drum and his calling to rhythm.

Once he is free, Adam’s voice expresses his struggle and relationship with the drum, and his voice announces, “I am a drummer. With my hands, I activate a living instrument which sends out a call to the dancers and singers around me.” Soon he is surrounded by women in white wearing sunglasses and singing. They create an energy around him and the lead singer, junior Jadele McPherson, gives him the beaded gourd at the center of the stage. Her voice seems to be calling out to the chorus of women. He begins to play the gourd by shaking and hitting the bottom of the instrument with striking deliberateness. The first section of the performance mainly uses dances from Cuba to punctuate his process toward drumming. The show is punctuated by conversations between the rhythms of the drums and the dancers on the stage.

Flags with faces of Barr’s forefathers and mothers are suspended from the rafters, floating above the performance space, representing Barr’s ancestors. The faces seem to stare out into the crowd. Barr speaks to his familial past in this section, called “Fabric of Faces.” He addresses the fact that his hands bleed when he plays and asks why, while answering this question. Barr speaks for himself when he says, “The way that I play the drum hinges on the way that I carry myself. The way that I carry myself hinges on the way that I carry my ancestors. The cuts on my hands prove that I have tried to carry my ancestors, and myself, with integrity. The cuts also prove that I have been, in some way, unable. I’m looking back for guidance.”

He must come to terms with his past and with his ancestors. Thus, he chose to confront these difficult issues through a poem by Emma R. Howell (1981-2001), called “The Map.” There are referrences to deserts in the poem “How do I carry with me the empty and salted lands?…How do you build a basket of reeds?” Blood is another rich symbol, Barr refers to it as “The gift left from those who came before”. Blood represents the ancestors and their constant presence.

The show moves smoothly with stellar dance performances by senior Rachel Schaffran, junior Pia Monique Murray, sophomore Sherece Kadian Donalds, and junior Yukiko Shishikura. These women danced with emotion and excitement. The dancing gives additional meaning to the speaking that Barr and the other drummers do through rhythm.

The rhythm section was situated in the spot light, giving the audience the chance to watch and absorb the vibrations of their beats. At the end of the show the dancers make their exit to leave the drummers under the fresh lights. Barr then uses his drum to lead the other drummers in a complex melody of call and response that seems to come up throught the floor and shake the air. This show was a soujourn and an opportunity to witness what it takes to come to terms with rhythm.


 
 
   

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