In continued celebration of Black History Month, the Rootead Youth Drum and Dance Ensemble (RYDDE) performed in their annual fundraiser showcase.

RYDDE, Rootead’s pre-professional youth drum and dance company, put on two shows at the Comstock Community Auditorium Sunday, their third annual youth showcase and milestone celebration of Rootead’s tenth anniversary.

Funds raised during the showcase are expected to support RYDDE dancers and drummers, including travel expenses, costumes, after-school snacks, and other youth development activities, organizers said.

This year’s showcase theme was Embodying the Elements, focusing on the elements of “earth, fire, water and air through African diaspora dance and drum,” according to Rootead’s Youth Enrichment Director Heather Mitchell.

“We hope attendees (left) inspired by the youth’s passion, with a deeper appreciation for the cultural richness of African diaspora dance and drum, and a sense of connection to Rootead’s mission and community,” Mitchell said.

Performances featured seven drummers and 12 dancers from RYDDE, highlighting Black Diasporic drum and dance with elements of traditional West African, Afro Fusion, and Afro Beats, according to event organizers.

“We spend time building up youth to understand their ancestors, the ancestral heritage and giving them some ownership as to where they come from, as well as providing them with necessary tools social emotional learning, nervous system regulation, all through the expression of art,” Rootead Operations and Development Director, Carmen James, said.

Rootead is a community service organization whose mission is to “reclaim the village by holding spaces for birthing justice, youth enrichment and healing arts.”

Other programs offered by Rootead include:

• Rootead OG’s: Adult drum and dance group focusing on the traditions of the West African Diaspora ethnomusicology
• Retreats: Experiences for wellness and liberation through the tenants of transformative justice, nervous system regulation, generative somatics and the healing arts.
• Birth Justice: Workshops and meetups for young families through pregnancy, labor and birth, and postpartum.
• Community Healing: Some tools used for community healing include drum and dance, yoga and meditation, and wellness-based programming.
• Books and Boogie: Movement and literacy program in collaboration with Kalamazoo Head Start. Provides movement, interactive book readings, letter and sound recognition, and mindfulness activities.

This article was originally featured by WWMT News Channel 3, view the full article here.