Thomas House smiles while leading a dance line at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park’s drum circle, photo by Peter Martin Photo.

Few events showcase the diversity of the District more than the weekly drum circle that takes place at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park. Whether you want to break out a djembe and jam along with dozens of drummers, do some acro-yoga or just put out a blanket and people watch, there is hardly a better way in the city to spend a lazy afternoon. Many colorful figures grace this scene, but few stand out more than Thomas House, the drum circle’s de facto dance master. On any given Sunday, House can be found leading lines of novice dancers through steps he choreographs to the pulsating beats of the adjacent drummers.

“It’s more a healing process for me. A lot of the African drumming and dancing is about healing,” House told DCist during a recent drum circle, explaining why he comes out week after week.

House is proficient in a variety of dance styles that come from the West African cultures of Guinea, Senegal and Nigeria. After starting out as a hand drummer at age 8, he switched to dance at 12 and began training in these forms.

“I saw that the dancers were getting a lot of publicity. The drummers were backstage,” House recalled. “I’m like a ham, so I said, ‘I got to switch.'”

With his imposing build and gregarious personality, House has been hamming it up at the drum circle for over two decades, since his mid-20s. Leading two or three dozen dancers at any given time, it is not uncommon for him to draft new recruits with a combination of laser-like stares, grunts and unreserved flirtations that would land the average man a slap in the face. But House’s wide grin and the sheer joy he takes in his movement are disarming, and folks keep coming back.

“I have a couple people who have been coming here for the past 22 years just to see me come up here and dance,” House said proudly. “I think that’s one of the highest compliments you can get from a human being.”

Having participated in the drum circle for so long, House has seen the changes time has brought. Most notably, many of the older drummers that started the circle have passed. But while newer faces have appeared, House maintains that the park’s genial atmosphere remains the same. Of course, some of these newcomers reflect the shifting demographics of the surrounding community.

“A lot more Caucasian drummers are coming out,” House observed. “A lot of them take lessons with some of the master drummers around the city and then they come play here.”

A D.C. native, House now resides in Capitol Hill and spends his days in Silver Spring, working as an engineer. In addition to dancing on Sundays at Malcolm X Park, House works with African Heritage Dancers and Drummers, a community-based performing arts group that originated in the 1960s. Though House has been dancing for decades, he has no desire to slow down.

“I’m afraid to stop dancing,” he joked. “I’ve been dancing for so long, I’m scared I would fall apart.”

The drum circle at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park takes place on Sunday afternoons from approximately 3 to 9 p.m. and is open to all.