Recent discussions about “inclusive, co-creative drum and dance circles” have prompted me to reflect on what this means in practice. We often find inclusivity and tolerance challenging, not just in drumming circles but in many areas of life. The paradox of...
These elements of vocabulary are intended as supplemental information for Rhythm Arise students. They are frameworks for learning, understanding and embodying rhythm in it’s many varieties. The names are convenient ways to refer to rhythmic structures and should...
I just had a conversation with a friend that touched on cultural appropriation in the context of world percussion and drum and dance circles. It can be a sticky subject but I’m glad that folks have developed some sensitivity to it because it goes hand in hand...
I recently came across a discussion on social media about how people feel about facilitated drum circles and I saw that there were some differing experiences about what a facilitated circle is and what it even means to facilitate a circle. For sure, the term has been...
I grew up in a multi racial home. Half of my family was African American with post-slavery roots in the American South and half was white people from the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Music, rhythm, and dancing were part of every day childhood. A physical...