Finding their groove in African dancing, drums

Maryland through the eyes of Sun photographers

Ninth-graders at the Academy of College and Career Exploration in Baltimore showed off newly acquired skills in African drumming and dancing Thursday for their teachers, family and friends. The girls were participating in Careers in the Arts Community Sharing. Representing Young Audiences of Maryland, Daniel Ssuuna taught dance and Moziah Saleem taught drumming as part of Careers in the Arts, a new, yearlong program offered to all ninth-graders at the academy. Ssuuna is a nationally known Ugandan dancer and teacher who has performed at the World Bank, the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center. Saleem, a percussionist, has played with such acts as Afrikan Zulu, the Wailers, the Oakridge Boys, Neil Young, Ashford and Simpson, Bruce Hornsby and the Neville Brothers.