In order to make her trip more tolerable and less like a 19 hour drive, Mab went out of her way to stop off at Cincinatti, Ohio. She was going to visit a friend of hers called Nivek. He is a amazing drummer Mab met at Medieval event. He was a wonderful host. Mab and Nivek did some recording, and we all went around town to see some of the sites. I had always wanted to see one statue, the She-Wolf who raised Romuls and Remus. Nivek knew of the statue and took us to see it. It was a special moment in my life.
But like all things, the time in Cincinatti was too short, Mab continued her trip home. The first weekend she was back, she had to leave again to participate in a Dance/Drum workshop in Stewart, VA. This was considerably closer to home.
The event was hosted on a wonderful location. The event sponsors, Touch the Earth own a 12 arcre farm. there was a large lake w/ paddle boats, a smaller pond full of giant goldfish, big pavillion tents around. To describe the beauty of the place would take a while. I will go into detail later, but for now, I will tell you a bit about the folks that were there.
Teaching the Dance track of the event was a group called Zafira.
They are old friends of Mab's and it was wonderful for her to see them again. They perform American Tribal Fussion dance styles, and have been greatly successful in the dance circuit. This is a picture of me with Zafira and a few other girls who were at the workshop. I think the picture says more than a thousand words.
Teaching the Drum track was anther friend of Mab's, Daveed. He is the drummer for a great band called Turku. He was very helpful and even gave me few lessons. Soon I will be a drum god!
If confronted, Mab would confess that she is a Turku Groupie. Last year she drove up to NYC just to see one of their shows. She claims that Karla, a dancer and davul player from the band, inspired her to pick up the tuppan, (a large 2 headed base drum played with a club and a switch).
After the day's workshops, there was a great party that lasted well into the evening. I was even asked to sit with the band!!! ---->
The musicians from left to right are: Daveed on percussion, Ted Monich on Saz, Me, and Karadenys on Cumbus and Kaval. There was much singing, dancing, drinking, playing, laughing, the party was wonderful! I canna remember the last time I had so much fun!
Unfortunatly, the weekend was short. And, once again, it was all too soon time to go. Mab headed home for a much needed rest. It was still 2 weeks before she had to go again.
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