Rakkasah West 2006, part III, From Drills to Drum Solo Workshop with Jim Boz
Next week I’m going to attend 4 workshops with Atef and Magda Faraq, so I figured I should finish off my Rakkasah reviews.
This was Jim’s first Rakkasah as a teacher, and I truly believe he’s got a lot to share, especially with regards to class environment and organization. Any dancer knows how frustrating it could be when a teacher comes to class unprepared, or when he doesn’t remember what music is used, or when she’s unable to control the students .
Well, Jim’s done his homework! He started the class passing around handouts with exaustive information on what we were about to learn, including the music being used, the outline of the drills, timelined(!) choreography notes and even the goals of the workshop! I mean, what more could you ask for? And yet he managed to surprise me once again. Being a musician, Jim rendered a custom CD to suit our “special needs”. The drum solo was split into short excerpts, with each excerpt pasted numerous times, sometimes half or 3/4 time to accomodate our repetitions. He even introduced pauses in between the music for comic relief. No time was wasted and yet the class was so much fun! Add to this Jim’s approachable personality, his sense of humor and precise technique and you will get a recipe for a perfect 3-hour workshop.
Unfortunately I missed Jim’s performance during second Rakassah weekend (looking for a parking spot, damn it!), but judging from his workshop demonstrations, he’s got a charismatic stage presence and a fine sense of music.
Links
14 May 2006 Sophie