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The Athens-Haitian eksperyans:
DANSE DAMBALA
"Dancing to the drums is just about the
coolest thing that there is to do," says Ellen
Bleier, when asked why the colorful and dra
matic ceremonies of the Haitian Vodou reli-
aion nave Decome a maiot focus for her "It
has positively enhanced mv lire, and I want to
increase other peoples awareness on Haitian
dance."
Tnat s exactlv what Bleier s weekly classes
in Watkinsville are all about. But the Santa fe
transplant and her highly dedicated ensemble
or musicians are not the only ones to beneht
hem this passion. Danse bambala »which con
sists of founder Bleier; veteran members Ryan
Wendell. Nathan Hale and Kane Stanley; and
newcomers Luke Smith and Eric Cosby) has
ennehed the Athens community with a
number of performances, including delivering
music and choreography for "In The Time Of
The Revolution." a play by renowned
Guadelupean author Maryse Conde, which was
staged in fall 1998 at the Morton Theatre.
Bleier says she got involved in Haitian
dance workshops while living in Santa Fe and
quickly fell in love with the elaborate rituals
and rich spiritual background of Vodou. Upon
moving to Athens, she looked for ethnic per
cussion groups to work with, specifically
Haitian drummers. When none could be
found, she held a West African drumming
workshop. One who was drawn was Chris
Eckenroth, who, along with Hale, had just
moved to town from rural Pennsylvania with
their band. Space Voyage... Ahem. Eckenroth
has since left the group, though others have
come and gone. In the three years Danse
Dambala has been together, members of bands
like Squat, Atomic Cafe, Velvet Jones and the
Sex Appeal and Jeet Na Ju have joined or
floated through the group.
Last October, some of the ensemble's mem
bers experienced the thrill of a Vodou cere
mony first-hand, an experience they say was
both exhilarating and scary. ("Halloween is a
major holiday in Haiti,” Kane says, "and we
could hear the drums all over Port-au-
Pnnce.") Vodou ceremonies are held outside
and led by a medicine man/pnest known as a
hounqan. He leads the congregation in
chantina and drumming to bring one or
Vodou s many spirits, or 1 wa down to inhabit
a person or obiect. The ceremony the group
sat in on was in tribute to L wa Ghede. a mis
chievous God wno is apparently half crippled
begqai and hair mack daddy — sort of like a
vodou Flava Flav
I ask Ellen how she feels about beina a
white woman teachinq a style of aanc-
immersed in African roots. "Its somethinq Ive
done a lot of soul searchinq about," she says
"I try to teach in a positive way. My guvs are
the oieatest bunch — I feel blessed, and
we ve done everything to make what we do
totally authentic and true to Haitian culture.
I consiaei myself a torchbearer for a culture
that is often misunderstood."
It would be wrong to dismiss the group as
a new-age mama and her charlatan crew of
skin-smackers. The drummers possess a
wealth of knowledge equalled only by theii
prowess in putting it into action. "It s a style
of drumming that requires a lot of discipline,"
Ellen assures me. Says Nate: "Even oui own
variations on parts have boundries to stay
in."
Though drum rituals are closely linked to
Vodou possession states in Haiti, Bleier says
her classes focus on a more universal goal.
"Most important to me is the incredibly trans
formative healing power of the drum and
dancing to the drum," she says. "And the fact
that it's really fun."
Greg Smith
Danse Dambala performs at 10:30 a.m. on
April 17 at the State Botanical Garden of
Georgia. To join Danse Dambala classes, call
Ellen Bleier at 742-5605.
"Classic City Made Niggaz"
THE B-TOWN PLAYAZ
Local soon-to-be rap stars B-Town Playaz are a tight-
knit group of 10 "blood brothers" who grew up together
in Bethel Church Homes. They've been performing
together "forever — since we were born," according to
Tedero Echols, alias T.D., B-Town's producer and unoffi
cial spokesman.
"When we were little, we'd be rhymin' and be-boppin’
together, you know, we've just always done it."
Influenced by groups like N.W.A., L.L Cool J and Tupac
— but most of all, they say, each other — the B-Town
Playaz exhibit a fresh, catchy flow on their latest self-
released CD, the 4-song Eye 4 Eye (featuring the Athens
shout-out "Classic City Made Niggaz"). Their next effort,
a 12-song CD tentatively titled Represent Yo Clique. is due
out April 3. Theu mission? Echols says as far as rap is
concerned. "We want to put Athens on the map."
"I just want people to know that Athens is a hip-hop
city too, know what I'm saying? Like with Master P, you
always hear about New Orleans — New Orleans this. New
Orleans that. And with Wu-Tang: New York this, New
York that. Jermaine Dupri: Atlanta this, Atlanta that.
What about Athens? We up there too!"
The boys say a B-Town show is guaranteed to be,
"Real wild, no fighting, nothing like that, just gettin'
crunk. Hyper. We might pull some girls up on the stage,
and they love that. We might be up in the VIP, know
what I'm saying, well have on our B-Town shirts, and
we might take 'em off and just give 'em to a girl. Theyll
be all excited, like 'Gotta brace myself!'"
The Playaz won't hesitate to tell you that they plan
on taking B-Town worldwide. However, says Echols, they
also plan to remain in Athens after they blow up. "I ain't
goin' nowhere," asserts Echols. "Of course I*m going to
travel, but — everywhere I go: Where you from?*
Athens, Georgia, right there across from the University
of Georgia. Come down there!'"
Molly McCommoot
Look for The B-Town Playaz at Athens' own Club Zebra
or Gub Connection in Greene County.
y /
t
Yes yes, y'ail. To the beat, y'ail. Don't stop, y'alJ...
ATHENS TURNTABLJSM
One of the fastest growing scenes in Athens today is hip-hop. With 100%
Productions showcasing fresh talent at Mean Mike's on Tuesday nights,
stores like Wuxtry, Connections and Michael Lachowski's Candy stocking top
name hip-hop albums, and local DJs like Chrisis and Ryan Raheem making
names for themselves, Athens has been experiencing a turntable revolution.
An unparalleled source of the latest hip-hop trends both locally and
abroad since 1997 has been the radio show "Organic Compound" on WUOG
90.5 FM, hosted by Chris Frankenberg. On Saturday nights between 10 p.m.
and midnight, Chris specializes in a number of styles — hip-hop, trip-hop,
down-tempo, future-funk — all of which Chris sums up as "arid-jizz-
abstract-hip-hop."
"One time I was playing Le Gooster — he's from Belgium, and there's this
French guy rapping in the background," Chris says. "This guy called in and
said, We're not from France; take that shit off tne air.' So I play as much for
eign stuff as I can possibly find."
When Chris isn't spinning records or mixing it up on the air, hot shot DJs
like Faust and Shorty (Atlanta), Ryan Rasheed (Athens), end Sky and DJ
Rage (Atlanta) stop by to flex their muscles. "I was looking at this article in
Spin magazine that had the top 13 tumtablists in the world. Faust was No.
5, and I was like, Whoa, I had him on my show!' I just didn't realize that
people elsewhere realized how good Faust was."
As long as 100% Productions continues to expand (they're working on a
new recording studio), record stores like Candy continue to feed the need,
and radio shows like Organic Compound persist in spreading the word, the
local revolution will continue. Stay tuned.
Stephen Miko
WUOG 90.5 FM's Organic Compound aits 10 p.m. to midnight.
B FLAGPOLE MARCH 10, 1999