Fall/Winter 2026 · September 8 – December 18

Come sit in the circle.

Weekly drum and dance classes at our studio in Mount Rainier, for ages three through adult. Fourteen weeks. No experience required, and no one gets rushed.

Early payment saves $50 — through September 7.

Don't Miss This Opportunity To Join The Most Sought-After African Dance & Drum Classes in North America!

Fall/Winter session begins September 8, 2026

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Children and a teen drumming alongside an instructor in the youth class

What a child gets here is not a music lesson.

A three-year-old learns to wait for their turn, to listen before playing, and to hold a part while four other people hold theirs. A nine-year-old learns that the rhythm they are playing belongs to a real people in a real place, and that it was trusted to them. A fifteen-year-old learns what it feels like to be good at something difficult, in a room full of people who expect them to be. Some of the young people teaching in this studio started here at four years old. That is the point. We are not running an activity. We are raising the next set of carriers.

It is not too late, and you are not behind.

Adults arrive here for all kinds of reasons. Some have wanted to do this their whole lives. Some come because their child started and they got curious. Some are trained musicians who want to understand a tradition their training never touched. All of them are welcome, and none of them are treated as beginners for longer than they need to be. The adult drum class assumes nothing. The advanced classes assume you have put in time. Come to whichever is honest about where you are, and we will move you when you are ready.

Adult students drumming together in the studio, smiling mid-class

The Schedule — Youth

Tuesday, 6:15–7:00pm — Dunun & Djembe · Ages 3–5

Tuesday, 7:15–8:15pm — Dunun & Djembe · Ages 6–8

Friday, 6:00–7:45pm — Pre-Teen / Teen Drum · Ages 9–15

The Schedule — Adult

Wednesday, 7:30–9:30pm — Adult Drum

Thursday, 6:30–8:00pm — Advanced Drum · Ages 15+

Thursday, 8:00–9:30pm — Advanced Dance · Ages 15+

Tuition — Youth

$450 for the session

Pay in full, early: $400, by September 7 (saves $50)

Pay in full: $450, by September 18

Two payments: $250 by September 7, $250 by October 19 ($500 total)

If tuition is the only thing standing between your family and this room, write to us. We would rather have the conversation than lose the student.

Tuition — Adult

$575 for the session

Pay in full, early: $525, by September 7 (saves $50)

Pay in full: $575, by September 18

Two payments: $325 by September 7, $300 by October 19 ($625 total)

If tuition is the only thing standing between your family and this room, write to us. We would rather have the conversation than lose the student.

What to expect.

Come ten minutes early. Wear something you can move in. Drums are provided — you do not need to own one, and we would rather you play here for a season before you buy anything. Parents are welcome to stay for the youth classes, and most do for the first week. After that, most children do better if you wait outside. You will see everything at the end of the session. You will play on the first day. Not well, and that is fine. Everyone in the room started in the same place.

Hear From Families and Students Already in the Room

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I signed him up not knowing what to expect — would it be too much stimulation? Too much structure? Three months later he carries himself different. He listens. He takes it serious. And he loves it. I didn't know culture could do that for a child.

— Parent of an 11-year-old student

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My daughter is autistic, and a room full of people used to be too much for her. Nobody rushed her. They let her find her own way into the circle. Now I hear her voice in it.

— Parent of a 9-year-old student

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I walked in at forty-two having never touched a drum in my life. Nobody looked at me sideways. By the third class I had my hands on a djembe and a whole room pulling for me.

— Adult student, Wednesday class

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I came for the workout, and my body did change. My arms, my back, my wind, all of it. But I stayed for what it does for my spirit. No gym ever grounded me like this.

— Adult student

Class Class

Student Adult student name (if registering yourself) Youth student name (if a minor) Age Gender

Contact Email Adult cell phone Youth cell phone (optional)

Emergency Contact Full name Relationship Phone number

Experience Returning or new? Outside percussion/dance study, and where

Accommodations Any medical, learning, physical, or other accommodations we should know about? If yes, please describe

Referral How did you hear about us?

Releases

Photo, video, and likeness release (required)

I grant Farafina Kan permission to photograph, film, and record the student named on this form, and to use that student's name, image, voice, and likeness in promotional, educational, archival, and marketing materials — including print, web, and social media — without compensation.

I grant permission (required to register)

Liability waiver and assumption of risk

I understand that drum and dance instruction is physical activity and carries an inherent risk of injury. I voluntarily assume those risks and release Farafina Kan, its instructors, staff, and volunteers from liability for injury, illness, or loss of property arising from participation.

I have read and agree to this waiver (required)

Transportation waiver

Farafina Kan staff may on occasion transport students to and from classes, rehearsals, performances, and related activities. I consent to that transportation and release Farafina Kan, its instructors, staff, and volunteers from liability arising from it.

I consent to transportation I do not consent to transportation

Signature Name Relationship to student Signature (type your full name) Date

The Studio

3802 34th Street, Mount Rainier, MD 20712

Session: September 8 – December 18, 2026

Baba M · 301-252-9643

Fourteen weeks. One room. Everyone from three years old to grandparents.

Registration closes when classes fill.