Story source spellings: Dave Stehouwer; Gail Nowels; Jean Brownlee; Annalee Huey; Cindy Stephenson
When Dave Stehouwer hears the thunder, he wonders if he has somehow caught lightning in a bottle.
The Parkinson’s patient, with a mix of medicine and a boisterous Asian art known as Taiko drumming, has seen his tremors disappear and a measure of confidence reappear. The 81-year-old Columbus resident is one of about 40 total students in teacher Gail Nowels’ literally and perhaps figuratively booming one-hour classes offering a righteous rhythm and a warm spirit.
“I didn’t have any sense of rhythm before,” Stehouwer said about his class arrival in the spring, just after Nowels received a grant from Voelz, Reed and Mount Foundation to use drumming to help those with Parkinson’s and related challenges. “I was concerned about even being able to do this when I got here. But all the people are so helpful.
“And when I realized I could follow along, I’ve felt like I really accomplished something.”
The Japanese word Taiko literally means “big drum.” And around Columbus, Southern Indiana Taiko that Nowels co-leads through dynamic performances at events such as Ethnic Expo, means explosive energy via choreographed movements, semi-African-style beats and more.
Classes, including the Silver Taiko class that Stehouwer is in are much different than performances. The sessions at 1130 Ruddick Ave. in Columbus are structured enough to include the encircling formality of the Asian welcome and farewell. But they are loose and informal enough for ample humor and laughter, including Nowels giving silly labels, such as Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs, to some of the rhythms that she patiently teaches.
“I sometimes will even use limmericks to help students remember,” she said.
Students easily recall the fairly fast impact of Taiko classes, Cindy Stephenson, who acknowledged that she frst came to class to deal with an unresolved trauma, is as emphatic in her belief that the drumming is healing as she is in her purposeful, physical class beats.
“This has reinvented my life,” said Stephenson, a lifelong music teacher. “I’ll do this until the day I keel over, I guess. This has become my happy place. I leave here every time on a real high.”
Nowels, a retired high school teacher, instructs students from elementary grades to far into the golden years at a cost of $50 per month or $15 for a single drop-in participation. The other day, she led a workshop with 40 school students. The drumming can be adapted for any level of limited movement and for those who are sedentary or using wheelchairs.
“At this point, these classes are really for anyone looking for exercise that’s lower impact and moving at a somewhat slower pace,” Nowels said.
She makes no specific promises about the drumming’s positive impact for each enrollee. But she has read several studies about how the movement and rhythm sometimes can help rewire parts of brain function.
Class member Jean Brownlee joked that her husband drug her to the first class. Now, she sees it almost as a therapeutic drug of choice. Or as a way to go from hum-drum to just drum, perhaps.
“I initially came here with a lot of skepticism,” Brownlee said. “But this is such a blast. It’s like great therapy, but you don’t even actually think of it like that.
“And in the midst of it all, you become friends with people in class.”
About the classes
Instructor: Gail Nowels, a Taiko drummer who trained in Japan and has been teaching for years. She is co-executive director of the performing Southern Indiana Taiko.
Held: Various days and times at Southern Indiana Taiko’s studio at 1130 Ruddick Ave. in Columbus, with groups ranging from children to retirees.
Adjustable: To any fitness or sedentary or ambulatory level.
Information: Nowels at 812-581-0130 or [email protected]
