Bud, the African drummer

Christopher Brown, the youngest-member of the 40-strong Ton Ko-Thi Dance Company, takes his West African drumming very seriously. Bud — everyone calls him Bud — suffered a serious bike accident in the summer of 2010 that put him in Children’s Hospital for weeks. Two hours after finally leaving the hospital, Bud was at his drum.

Bud is now a Ton Ko-Thi veteran at age 6. In this TCD.tv video, Bud demonstrates his technique and instructs us in African music theory, in particular the six “voices” of the djembe. Enjoy this TCD.tv video by Joel Van Haren and Kelly Anderson.

 

And enjoy Bud and 39 other Ton Ko-Thi members, age 6 to 18, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at the UWM Main Stage Theater, on campus at 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd. Naima Adedapo, a multi-talented UWM dance alum who went deep into the Americal Idol competition, is guest choreographer and will be on hand. Muhammed Sana, a master drummer from Senegal and a member of Ko-Thi’s adult company, will be the guest artist. Angela Jones and Tarence Spencer, also members of the adult company, direct Ton Ko-Thi.

Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors. A special VIP ticket, $75, includes a reception with Naima Adedapo. Tickets are on sale at the UWM Peck School of the Arts box office, 414 229-4308.