I can’t think about the Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble without thinking about Robert and Wanda Dickerson, the husband and wife duo who took their vision that they created years ago into a performing arts school in the heart of Camden. They made their dream and their vision a reality. All these years later, the members of the Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble are still kicking, still drumming, still dancing, and bringing much joy to all audiences favored with their talents.
It all started in North Philadelphia, although today, the Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble has a home base in New Jersey. North Philly is where the love story began between Robert and Wanda.
“Wanda and I first met when we had signed up to take a karate class in North Philadelphia. For me, it was love at first sight. My wife was the prettiest girl in all of North Philadelphia, and she decided to accept me as her boyfriend and then her husband. While Karate was what first bought us together, eventually Karate morphed into dance and then drums and other musical instruments,” explained Robert Dickerson.
Wanda Dickerson recalls her attraction to dance and joining some local dance troops. “We had a praise dance troop, and I put all the girls together, and we would practice and practice until we thought we had perfected our moves. Next we started learning African dance, and a lightbulb sort of went off in my head. Because, now I understood this was more than just dance–this was our culture. We were learning about our African culture. We wanted to know who we are, where we come from, and be proud to perform and dance and teach others about our culture. Basically, that’s how the Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble came about. We just kept dancing, practicing and performing whenever we were invited to perform.” At the same time, without even realizing it–we were beginning to get a strong reputation for excellence as dancers and musicians.
**********
Thank you for reading Thera Martin’s article on scoopnewsusa.com. For more on “Universal Dance and Drum Ensemble; A Love Story to Behold”, please subscribe to SCOOP USA Media. Print subscriptions are $75 and online subscriptions (Print, Digital, and VIZION) are $90. (52 weeks / 1 year).
