HISTORY

The Young Women’s Drumming Empowerment Project (YWDEP) was founded in 2005 by Kristen Arant, a performing artist and percussionist focusing on West African style drumming. Kristen began drumming as an activist in 2000, and soon became enthralled by the djembe. She co-founded the Rhythm Workers Union in 2001, a group dedicated to using rhythm and song to promote peace and unity, and began studying West African drumming more seriously. After holding numerous posts promoting social justice, economic justice, and non-violence, Kristen began teaching drumming workshops in DC schools. After a year of positive results, she decided to embark on creating her own organization.

Having experienced a troubled and chaotic adolesence herself, Kristen wanted to create a safe space for teen young women to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of reprisal or ridicule; seek an alternative venue from societal pressures and challenges; and gain an appreciation, knowledge and understanding of the healing influence that the arts – specifically drumming, music, movement and poetry – can have in fostering an environment that nourishes their personal development, allowing for greater self-confidence and self-awareness.

With funding received from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Young Artist Program, Kristen enrolled young women for a summer-long program of weekly workshops led by local female artists in team building, African hand drumming, poetry, song writing, rhythms, theater/movement, performance technique and staging. The young women used the material they crafted in these workshops to build their own set list for a performance that stunned audiences in four final performances in September 2005. The performance featured six girls, all DC residents, drumming together and performing their own original pieces including individual and group poems, African rhythms, original songs complete with staging and skits, and choreographed dance.

Because of the magnitude of inspiration generated by the performances, along with their own commitment and shared belief of self and one another, the 2005 YWDEP members (who collectively called themselves the She Poets of the Rizing Moon) performed at more than a dozen venues proceeding the September 2005 shows.

YWDEP continued its summer programming in 2006, once again receiving funds from the DC Arts Commission. In order to create an even more welcoming environment, three returning She Poets participated in mentorship training sessions prior to the summer workshops and became mentors to the new recruits, continuing their own development within YWDEP. The summer workshops included performance participation in local community events, giving the young women added meaning to their quest for knowledge of self, the performing arts and the community at large.The graduates of 2006, a.k.a. the “Goddesses of Rhythm,” developed a unique repertoire of performance pieces including a group rap piece called “Education Reformation,” a choreographed dance-poem, and rhythms that ultimately brought audiences to their feet for the second year in a row.

YWDEP’s Summer Enrichment Program continued to thrive in 2007 & 2008. In 2007, YWDEP partnered with organizations assisting homeless youth in its enrollment process, and in 2008, the program expanded further by offering paid mentorship positions to 4 of its graduated members, as well as adding yoga workshops and 5 steady adult volunteers to the program. YWDEP is now preparing for its 5th summer, and has grown into an intergenerational community of young women, artists, peer and adult mentors, supportive parents and receptive audiences.

During each school year, YWDEP performs at local events on request. In 2008, YWDEP performed at more than 30 events in the DC area including the Cherry Blossom Festival, WEAVE’s Speak Out against dating violence and the 24th Annual City-Wide Kwanzaa Fair.  YWDEP has already performed at nearly 10 events in 2009, including Coyaba Dance Theater’s Intergenerational Showcase.

YWDEP receives the majority of its funding from small grants, fundraisers and community donations, including the ROOTS Project, which enrolls sustainer donors for monthly deduction donations. YWDEP merged with the 501c3 non-profit More Than A Drum in 2009, filed for a name change, and is planning year-round programming in expressive arts education and empowerment for the near future. YWDEP shares an office with the local non-profit One Common Unity, located in St. Stephens Church in Columbia Heights DC.