Emma Barnett

Descriptive Essay

October 24, 2017

The Kind Drummer

The downbeat resonated through my body as I let it dictate my movements. Crisp, fall

trees above swayed with sounds of ocean waves crashing surrounding this atypical theatre.

Eager to experience the world of dance, stood fresh faces of children on all sides. My heart

beat faster and faster with each step as I approached center stage. However, butterflies in

my stomach vanished as the first note washed over me. The song had a distinct sound that

perfectly matched each step, jump, and stomp. I hit each beat with precision and lost

myself to the rhythm. Suddenly, abrupt silence filled the space. It seemed as though the

wind had ceased to blow and the ocean was still and the world had gone silent. Music had

vanished from my ears but lingered in my body as I continued to execute each step.

Following the beat in our souls, all dancers on stage remained in unison without a

second for hesitation. As if out of nowhere, sounds from an African drum soon matched

the rhythm of our movement and filled the silence with a new, unique cadence. A man

accompanied by a drum from a nearby area turned our misfortune into a piece more

momentous than it had intended to be. Accompanied by the enthusiastic claps of audience

members, the foreign drummer created a unique sonance that harmonized with our

grounded, modern dancing.

The drummer’s hands hitting the surface of the drum replaced the lost sound of more

than twenty professional, recorded instruments, yet his was far more gratifying. Music

from the top of his head coordinated with our choreography flawlessly. I felt a wave of
 Barnett 2

passionate energy as I danced bigger than ever before. A live beat from a kind-hearted Commented [1]: show, don't tell

passerby inspired a community while captivating children with the magic of the arts. We

stomped our feet and glanced at the drummer as he stood up and banged both his hands on

upon drum with a force of a thousand elephants to conclude the piece. Breathing heavily, Commented [2]: awkwards

we all stepped forward and I felt the scabbed hands of the foreign man join with mine as

his drum banged against my side. The crowd, now doubled in size, sounded like the

football stadium when a team makes a super bowl touchdown. As a united arts

community, we raised our arms and bowed our heads with a feeling comparable to no

other. Commented [3]: Great piece -- I wish it were the

required 2 page length.

84%
 Barnett 3

Word Frequency
 Barnett 4

drum 5

drummer 4

sound 4

beat 4

step 3

hands 3

silence 2

kind 2

lost 2

matched 2