EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
Let’s Get Physical! by Jazelle Hunt
E
very Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this past June, accomplished West African dance instructor Sylvia Soumah breezed into the sun-filled smaller studio at The Washington School of Ballet at THEARC like a gust of enthusiasm and humor. Her drummer silently prepared his djun djun drum while participants chatted and exchanged smiles. With a silly anecdote, a compliment to the newest person in the room, a word of encouragement, and a pulsing beat, Soumah’s Moving Wisdom class began. Sometime during the routine she yelled out, “Now we add the shake! Everybody shake something, I don’t care what it is!” Established in 2011, Moving Wisdom was designed for senior citizens to improve their quality of life and overall health through participation in dance classes that provide physical, mental, and social stimulation in an artistically enriching environment. The six-week classes are structured around an original, low-impact African dance routine, which is learned and rehearsed each session. “When I come teach my seniors, they go all out and don’t hold back because they know how precious time is. I love it, it makes my day,” says Soumah. “I’ve met some really wonderful women [through the series]. It’s like being with your mother or grandmother.” The program, funded by the DC Arts Commission and offered for free, served about 16 AfricanAmerican women of varying ages and abilities. There’s Geraldine Howard, a Government Accountability Office retiree who has danced all her life and is currently in her 18th year with one of D.C.’s prominent African drum-and-dance circles—despite having a pacemaker. There’s Mary Buckley, a retired State Department agent who exercises regularly, but 40 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM
Moving Wisdom participants practice the routine to the beat of the djun djun. Photo: Jazelle Hunt.
ended up in class in an attempt to book Soumah’s dance company for a performance at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church in Shaw. There’s Kathleen Bradford, a retired Government Printing Office instructor who has never taken a series of dance classes, but put herself out there to try something new. And there was also Colanna L., who found out about Moving Wisdom on its last day and brought her six year-old budding dancer, Amanda along to participate. Even THEARC staff members joined in—theater director Kimberly Douglas came to dance on her lunch break, and volunteer “Mama Lu” participated when she was at THEARC to work at the front desk. Some of the women are familiar faces who’ve seen or danced with Sylvia before, either with her company, Coyaba Dance Theater, or in the first Moving Wisdom series. Others come for one or two classes. All are there because they’re interested in improving their health. “A reason I work [east of the river] is because there are a lot of ailments over here than can be taken care