Camp Mabina

 I have been involved with African dance and music since age 10 when I was enrolled in a family friend's African dance class for kids. For my next birthday, I received my first African drum, a djembe from Senegal. Over the next few years that same family friend proceeded to teach me how to play the drum, focusing primarily on the left-handed parts, though recently I have begun to challenge myself to learn to play both parts at the same time with one hand.

One of the beautiful things about music is its ability to bring people together and take them somewhere else. This is the feeling people get when they are at Camp Mabina, an African dance and music camp held yearly just south of Santa Fe. There is an overwhelming sense of community throughout the camp atmosphere; whether you have been coming to camp since the beginning or are brand new to the experience, there is no doubt you will be welcomed into and engulfed in this enriching, stimulating environment. It truly is a an alternate reality and I find it exhilarating to be surrounded by so many gifted dancers, musicians, and passionate people.

I was disappointed that I was unable to attend camp full-time this year, but I was there every day I didn't have to work. I set up my tent in the orchard and proceeded to dance almost non-stop for the better part of three days and also managed to squeeze in a drum class. Over the course of the time I was there I took eight classes, the most notable, and one of my yearly favorites, Haitian dance with a teacher whose visible passion and energy exceeds what anyone thought was humanly possible.

The Ande Marimba Band is a local group from Santa Fe who played at camp last year. The four core members of the group have been playing together since before their high school days. They are, to put it simply, amazing and I have been lucky enough to become friends with one of these incredibly talented young musicians.