The latest news and updates on our African drumming and percussion events, workshops and parties.
Many companies and organisations are going through a substantial period of change. Our latest client, an international household name in the food and drink industry, was no different. With many well-known products and brands in their expansive portfolio, the client was centralising its operations. This meant that all their brand teams, with very different people, career backgrounds, skill sets, ethnicity and ages would need to work more closely together.
I know it has been said already by thousands of businesses the length and breadth of the country, but I will say it again – it is so amazing and such a relief to be back to near normality once again. It is fantastic to be able to meet people face to face. To talk to a real person and have a real conversation without anyone’s screen freezing or people being muted. And to drum live with other people - that is something I vow never to take for granted again. The theme of this month’s blog is gratitude; because for all the people and things we lost in this terrible year, for many of us a sense of gratitude has been gained.
Our event for Hightown Housing Association was planned and booked in January 2020; two months before the pandemic. Like so many other events, it was delayed again and again over the course of 18 months. Finally on the fifth attempt, it really happened! So last month nearly 250 of the Hightown’s staff came together at Shendish Manor in Hemel Hamptead to take part in their ‘Connect’ day – a special event for staff to have a well-earned rest from their work agendas and take part in a series of fun, creative activities with the company of other colleagues. As you can expect we were providing the ‘unbeatable energy’ with a series of interactive drumming and percussion group sessions.
Throughout the day we ran three big African Drumming Team Building workshops, each for 50-60 participants, plus a big post-lunch ice breaker where everyone participated in a percussion activity using our harmonic ‘Boomwhacker’ percussion tubes.
I had forgotten how exhilarating the sound is from a big group drum session. In the African drumming team workshops, you could feel the rumbling, vibrating bass of the djembes and dundun drums in your belly. You do not get that via Zoom or YouTube! As is always the case, with the support of the big group playing together it was easy for everyone to access and feel the beat. Only minutes into the session, the West African rhythms were in full swing. In fact, it wasn’t long before some of the participants were on their feet dancing!
In the ‘Boomwhacker Energiser’ session it was extraordinary to hear 250 people all playing in synchronicity throughout the room: fusing multiple patterns into one giant musical sound. Who could imagine this had been achieved by the group in only 10 minutes!
So how did such musical magic happen in such a short space of time? I think it is safe to say that everyone was so happy to be out of lockdown and so grateful to interact with others, that the entire group of delegates were always fully engaged throughout. There was no complacency present. All the activities on offer gave everyone a much needed sense of release as reservations were let go of and group positivity prevailed. For corporate events it is rare to see so many participants dance to the rhythms being created. Participants are so enthralled by the rhythms that they really want to get up and dance, but it is often hard to overcome the shyness that comes with dancing in front of other colleagues. That so many felt able to let down their guard and participate, just showed how positive the atmosphere was and how safe everyone felt to express their joy of the music. I very much felt it too.
“SO glad we finally managed to make this happen!! Well worth the wait. The drumming circles were amazing and SO many staff have already commented that they and the Boomwhackers were the highlight of their day! Thanks for the energy”
If your organisation needs to re-connect, please contact us to discuss how we can help.
Whether it's cracking codes in an escape room, whipping up a gourmet dish together, or high-energy drumming classes, these activities bring teams closer and tap into their collective potential in enjoyable and unforgettable ways.
Firstly, it was fantastic just to be at the ‘Underneath The Stars’ Festival. Sitting in a field enjoying live music again was incredible. We loved having actual ‘in person’ musicians playing for us and it seemed those performing were very glad to be back on stage too.
But, my favourite part of the whole festival, was still our two drumming workshops. They were both great fun, but the Sunday morning workshop was particularly special. It didn’t get off to a very auspicious start. Covid meant we were outside and it was threatening to rain. The boss (aka Steve Rivers) after some pacing about and teeth gnashing, decided it would be best to use the Samba drums and hand percussion. Water and the Djembes (African drums) definitely do not mix! This turned out to be an excellent choice. It was raining quite hard as we approached the time the workshop was due to start.
We were all ready, but with a few minutes to go, we wondered if anyone else would turn up for a drumming workshop in the rain at 10.00am on a Sunday morning. The first group to arrive were greeted with open arms. We started handing round the instruments and the next time I looked up we had gathered quite a crowd. Hurrah!
I assigned myself to the largest of the Surdo (Samba bass drums), and I soon had two lovely workshop participants join me. Steve very quickly had a really funky multi-part Samba style rhythm going. I loved watching Unbeatable Energy Team Member Amy in her rainbow wellingtons introducing choreography to her section. So, inspiring and joyful.
My next thought was that Steve would quite likely want us to start parading Carnival style. I wondered if I’d regret choosing the largest drum available! I did some experimental steps forwards and back and was relieved to discover it was all quite manageable. When we reached that point in the workshop I set off confidently and we soon had a proper Carnival style procession going. Imagine Rio but with a lot more rain!
At the end of the workshop, one of my little team of Surdo players said ‘That was brilliant. I’ve always wanted to do that’. Unbeatable (or should that be Undampable) Energy helping someone achieve a long held ambition! This lovely lady’s Sister bought me a much needed coffee too!
Now, I just needed to figure out how on earth I was going to dry myself out!
Viva Aquasamba!
By Zoe Jeffryes, Unbeatable Energy team member
Our Drumming events can be adapted to all types of British summer weather. If you are looking a fun and inclusive drumming workshop for your festival, please get in touch.
Our wonderful team members Zoe and Demetri were drumming up some Unbeatable Energy with a fantastic team in the sunny North last week. Read Zoe’s words on how it went..
Corporate Drumming Workshop for MJ Gleeson
By Zoe Jeffreyes
I was so excited to be back on the road again for my first corporate workshop since, what I like to call, the ‘before times’. Just seeing the drums neatly packed and ready to go lifted my spirits. It was a suitably sunny day. I collected my colleague Demetri on the way. We hadn’t worked together since the ‘before times’. It was wonderful to be reunited.
We were soon arriving at the venue in the beautiful main hall of a country estate in North Yorkshire. We were lucky enough to have the domed atrium for the workshop. The acoustics beneath the dome were excellent.
The whole event was very well organised and we soon had the circle of drums set up and ready for some actual ‘in person’ people. And, what a brilliant bunch they were. The bulk of the session was African Drumming. Everyone really engaged in this activity. It was such a lot of fun and sounded great. ‘We smashed it’ said one of the participants.
The other part of the session was the ‘numbers game’ which is basically a route into improvisation using hand percussion. It’s also a great opportunity to think about adapting, changing, listening, working together and finding patterns.
I really enjoyed leading the workshop. We received lots of very positive feedback afterwards and I quote:
“Thanks to you and Demetri for a great session. Lots of learning and many memorable moments for people”– Jonathan Harris Change 2
“It was great to get the full team together and do something that was so different – what a fantastic experience” – Beth Broughton, HR Director, MJ Gleeson Team Leader
Now, we just have to sanitise everything and our work here is done!
Our special thanks goes to Jonathan Harris from the learning and development company Change-2 Ltd for organising this event and including our activity in their client’s programme. We look forward to working with them again in the future!
As restrictions are starting to ease, we are finding a surge of interest from companies looking for a special way to inspire staff and raise their spirits and moral. If you are needing some energy, inspiration and quality interaction between staff in your company do get in touch with us. Our contact page is here.
Feel upbeat for the New Year with the Free Beginners Taster Class
This month marks our 25 year anniversary of running African Drumming Classes in Sheffield. It’s been an amazing journey so far!
A glimpse of the past!
On the 6th October 1994 I ran the first class using 1 Djembe hand drum, 4 conga hand drums, an assortment of plastic tubs, sawn off broom sticks and a variety of pots and pans!
25 years later with more drums and percussion (and a far better understanding of the music and of how to teach), I am still running the class and loving every bit of it! Hundreds of people have joined us for unbeatable beats over the years. To date I know of at least four couples who met as result of the class and are now married with children - including myself and Nicky!
So to celebrate this milestone, we have created this video with a few of the many highlights from the last two and a half decades:
Some of the students started attending the classes when they were aged only 9 or 10. It has been so special to see them grow and develop into such talented musicians over the years. Now grown up, they still continue to drum with us - when they are back from University that is!
I would like to thank everyone who has been part of this beautiful weekly event over the years. The class continues to be a total pleasure for me to teach and has become one of my social occasions of the week. You have all been amazing and I look forward to many happy years of rhythm bliss to come!
Why not take the celebration a little further by joining us this season! The group is big, welcoming and the energy is amazing! Find out more about the class here!
Whether it's cracking codes in an escape room, whipping up a gourmet dish together, or high-energy drumming classes, these activities bring teams closer and tap into their collective potential in enjoyable and unforgettable ways.
I have been running regular African Drumming evening classes in Sheffield now for 25 years! The weekly classes remain an enjoyable mid-week activity, however working towards polished pieces and a performance heightens the sense of personal fulfilment, achievement and appreciation. For both myself and the students the performance becomes a crucial motivator on the wonderful journey of music making.
Last month the students from our class performed their very first 30-minute performance set comprised of multiple rhythm and break patterns which have been orchestrated into three musical pieces.
You can see the result here:
Video guide:
1st Piece "Degu Degu Racca Racca" 00:09
2nd Piece "Soko Moolan Chegin Jarafoli" 11:22;
3rd Piece "Kassa Musolu Jarafoli" 22:30.
Musical sources and inspiration: Songalo Coulibaly, Iya Sako; Hans Sutton; Sidiki Dembele; Babara Bangoura; Moudou Diouf.
The Diversity Festival runs every year in Sheffield and is a free celebration of unity and mutual respect between Sheffield's many communities, for people of every gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age and ability. Find out more here
So how does performing to the public enhance the experience for students? Here is what some of our students have said:
Amy:
“Performing at gigs makes me feel alive! Creating an electric, energetic atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy makes me feel like all the practice is worth it. It puts all the learning to the test and gives me a great sense of achievement.
It's so good to know that we do gives others immense enjoyment :) whether that's dancing to us, drumming on the tables with us or tapping their feet to the beat :)”
Louise:
“Drumming classes with Steve are always fantastic fun and highly energising. However, the fact that we're gradually working towards a live performance makes them even more exciting. Steve has a charismatic teaching style and always pitches the classes just right, ensuring that both beginners and more advanced drummers are contributing. The performances we've done over the last year have been great and it's always so good to see the response from the audience. As a group we were particularly proud of the latest one we've done, which included 3 pieces that we've learnt over quite a long period of time. The atmosphere on the day was brilliant and there was such a sense of camaraderie with all our fellow drummers in terms of what we'd achieved. I only discovered drumming just over a year ago and wish I had sooner - it's just the best tonic for lifting your spirits, which for most of us with busy lives is an absolute essential!”
When someone asked me about why I put these performance pieces together I told them,
“The class we run on Thursday nights has been gigging more regularly for the last year after a period of sporadic short one-off sets at charity events. Although these were valuable showcases and entertaining, the performances had no on-going development or legacy. This year, after having done some short performances at various local events, I realised how much I loved composing and arranging.
With such a devoted passionate group of students, I decided it would be great to keep everything we were performing alive so we could build a repertoire. This is the result so far - our first 30 minute set comprising three tracks; each of which is a sort of 3-groove sandwich with funky breaks in between.
This gig I know will be the first of many, but it has been a big milestone in the group’s development and has provided a massive boost of confidence and self-belief.”
Steve Rivers, class teacher and Unbeatable Energy director.
Our African Drumming classes take place every Thursday night in Sheffield City Centre. You don’t need to become part of the performance group to become part of the class and you don’t need any prior experience of drumming or music making. All drums are provided. Over the weeks you will learn the sounds, breaks and techniques towards arrangements which can culminate in a performance. African Drumming is highly invigorating, therapeutic, social and very addictive! Why not come and join us this Thursday! Click here for full details and to book your place.
Whether it's cracking codes in an escape room, whipping up a gourmet dish together, or high-energy drumming classes, these activities bring teams closer and tap into their collective potential in enjoyable and unforgettable ways.
Fancy learning an African song? This was one I learnt a couple of years back after attending an African Drumming course with UK teacher Hans Sutton.
