SKF NOTE: If you have recently spent time on social media you have likely seen one of many dance videos, such as the video included here from choreographer Moga Almeri.

What struck me most, the very first time I saw this video, was the contrast between James Brown’s very staccato, precise, up-down rhythms, and the joyful fluidity of the Beat Surf Tendo Dancers interpreting Brown’s rhythms.

The very best drummers I know, famous or not, hear that same fluidity, play with that same fluidity. There drumming is less like a pile driver, more like a flowing river.