The 30-year-old Baltimore man is not your traditional musician. He relies on a microphone, amp and the incredible range of sounds he creates with his mouth, lips, tongue and voice.

Shodekeh is a beatbox artist, and he simulates sounds ranging from drumbeats to horns, strings and other musical instruments. For the past three weeks, he has been seen in and around the dance facilities at the American Dance Festival, which just wrapped up its 75th anniversary season.

He knew from the time he was 9 or 10 that he could make incredible sounds. He started doing the beatbox about 10 years ago and got his first gig at Towson State University, where a dance instructor was so impressed by his talent that he used him in dance classes. He even beatboxed for a ballet class during a semester.

"This is my second year at the American Dance Festival, and I really enjoy the energy this place has and am glad to be a part of it," Shodekeh said. Shodekeh assists many of the dance classes with his music. Instructor Kraig Patterson recalls the first time Shodekeh came to assist with his class: "I said, 'Oh, well, I guess we're going to have to wait on the drums to come out' and then this voice came out of the speaker, and I said 'Ooohhhkkay!, We don't have to wait.' My energy just lifted. The embodiment of sound that came out of him was pretty spectacular."