Dance and Drum with the Berkshire Rhythm Keepers
At the June 5th First Fridays at Five, on North Street at the South end of the road closure, will be “Dance and Drum with the Berkshire Rhythm Keepers.” There will be a free Berkshire Rhythm Keepers performance from 5:40 to 6:25 pm, followed by a free dance class with Noel Staples-Freeman featuring live drumming by Aimée Gelinas, Dan Cohen, and the Berkshire Rhythm Keepers advanced drummers from 6:45 to 7:30 pm.
The Berkshire Rhythm Keepers are an intergenerational, multi-level community drum and song group founded and led by Aimée Gelinas M.Ed, Director of the Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center and co-founder of Gaia Roots and Trio Candela. The group is assisted by Dan Cohen. BRK participants attend Aimee’s weekly Monday evening drum and song classes at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield, which is open to beginners, intermediate and advanced drummers. The group performs traditional music on folkloric instruments from West Africa and the Caribbean, as well as original creations. Members of BRK have been studying and performing together for 15+ years.
Aimée Gelinas M.Ed is a musician and naturalist educator who has been performing and facilitating educational programs for 30+ years. She is a skilled and seasoned nature educator and outdoor guide as well as a master percussionist and singer specializing in West African and Caribbean music specifically folkloric percussion such as Djembe, Doun Doun, Conga, Shekere, and more.
Daniel Cohen is a musician, music educator and outdoorsman. He co-founded and is the trails & intern coordinator for the Tamarack Hollow Nature & Cultural Center in Windsor, MA. Dan is a master guitarist in both electric and acoustic styles and skilled percussionist specializing in West African Doun Doun drums and percussion. He is a member of the world music ensemble Gaia Roots and co-founder of the groups Trio Candela and Sifer. He assists leading two intergenerational student drum performance ensembles: The Berkshire and The Valley Rhythm Keepers.
Noel Staples-Freeman is a cultural bearer, choreographer, and teaching artist whose work sustains African and African Diaspora dance as living traditions. She is the Artistic Director of Uprising Dance Theatre and the Berkshire African Dance & Drum Collective (BADD), offering intergenerational classes, workshops, and performances throughout the Berkshires. Sister Noel trained at the Billie Pope School of Dance, the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, and the Boston Conservatory, and earned a B.S. in Children’s Theatre with a minor in Dance from Emerson College. Her artistic lineage includes The Art of Black Dance and Music, Inc. (ABDM), directed by DeAma Battle and Bamidele Osumarea and Koumpo West African Dance Company under the direction of Master Drummer Ibrahima Camara. She is a teaching artist with Berkshire Pulse, CATA, Multicultural BRIDGE Solidarity House, OLLI, and Jacob’s Pillow, and holds community classes at the Berkshire Music School in Pittsfield. Noel is a graduate of the Blackshires Leadership Accelerator Program Cohort 3 (2025) and the EforAll Berkshire County Accelerator (2025). She serves as an Adjunct Professor of African Dance Theory.
In the case of inclement weather, “Dance and Drum with the Berkshire Rhythm Keepers” will be at WANDER, 34 Depot Street.