In the Zone

A drum circle, a meditative beat, and a teacher who listens

“Oh wow… I’m not ready,” says Jonah, a student at Ánimo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle School (FLO). “I just zoned out in that last jam. I wasn’t even thinking of my beat.” DrumBus facilitator Ani Marderosian-Garzon smiles.

“That’s okay,” she says. “You don’t need to have a beat prepared.”

Then she reminds the group of something she shared during their very first drum circle together.

“When you’re drumming, your brain begins to shift,” Ani says. “The rhythm moves you into a meditative state — it helps you release your stress, simply let go, and feel present in the moment.”

“Yeah… that’s what it felt like,” Jonah imparts.

Every week Ani arrives at FLO — a small, close-knit Green Dot public school campus in South Los Angeles — where nearly ten students eagerly await her.

She hands out drums, shakers, bells, and scrapers. And the beat begins.

They jam. They dance. They lead. They laugh. The music is wild and free, the rhythm steady and true.

“They’re getting so good with rhythm,” Ani says.

For nearly an hour they drum — playful, immersed, alive. But when the circle comes to a close and the others depart, Jonah and his friend Trevor linger.

They don’t want the drumming to end.

“Let’s keep going!” they say.

“Can we drum for another ten minutes, at least?” Trevor asks.

So they do.
Just the three of them.
Unplanned. Unrushed.

Held by rhythm — and something more.

Later, when Ani reminds them that next week’s circle will pause for the holiday break, Jonah’s voice turns quiet.

“Wait… this is not our last session, right?”

“No,” she assures him. “We’ll have one or two more.”

Trevor chimes in, “It better be at least two.”

Then Jonah looks up and asks, “Can’t we keep the program going?”

Trevor adds, “Will you be the one to teach it?”

Ani tells them she’s not sure. And Jonah replies, softly:

“Well… we want the drums. But we want you to teach.”

These words are the kind that touch the soul, and speak to the heart of DrumBus. Because it wasn’t just the drumming they loved and wanted. It was Ani — the one who gave them permission to zone out. To feel at ease. To feel seen and heard. To find their own way into the beat. And return to it — again and again — through the comfort and joy of the drum circle.