Zimbabwean Dance with Chris Berry- Hotchkiss, August 9th
Zimbabwean Dance with Chris Berry
Dance Workshop
Saturday August 9th ~ 2 pm
Memorial Hall, 1st & Main, Hotchkiss
$15/class.
Drum class Friday at 6pm.
Mbira classes also offered.
Call 970.872.6004 to register and for more information.
Chris Berry’s musical journey took flight at age 18, when Berry and his mentor—African drum master Titos Sompa, with whom Berry had been studying since age 13—boarded a plane for Congo’s Brazzaville. After a ten-day boat trip up the Congo River, Berry arrived in a remote village and immersed himself in the culture and music. His fascination of Zimbabwean mbira (thumb piano) music eventually lured him to Harare, where he settled and studied under legendary mbira master Monderek Muchena for ten years. During that time, Berry put together his band Panjea, whose pioneering blend of indigenous music, dance hall, and hip-hop earned platinum album sales throughout Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and beyond. Since that time Chris has been teaching drum, dance & mbira and performing in the United States and abroad.