Kumandi Drums & Healing

Individual Drumming Lessons	African Drum and Dance Camp
Group Classes	Drum Making Workshop

African Drum and Dance Camp

25th Blue Ridge Mountains African Drum & Dance Camp

Tuesday, May 4th through Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, North Carolina

You are invited to come and experience the warm, high-energy sense of community created at the 25th African Drum and Dance Camp. Join long-time attendees and first-time friends to create an inviting atmosphere of fun, play, learning and togetherness in the spirit of West African drum and dance. The talented staff of instructors is brought together by Chuck Cogliandro, director of Kumandi Drums, to satisfy everyone from the beginning beginner to advanced-level participant. Come and enjoy:

Five levels of djembe classes
Two levels of dance classes
Classes in sabar, balafon, dunun and krin
Percussive dance instruction
Singing class
Drum-maintenance classes
Drum-making session led by Tom Harris (click for details) – build it Wednesday, finish and play it on Thursday!
Open community drumming
Guinea-style folklore celebration
Free yoga classes led by Karen Thomson
A variety of healing arts practitioners
Grand Finale talent show and concert

All of this takes place in the natural spring-time beauty of Wildacres Retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway above Asheville. All accommodations are in very comfortable, double-occupancy hotel-style rooms with private bath. Delicious family-style, dining-hall meals include vegetarian and vegan options. All classes 90 minutes long. Massage therapy and other personal care will also be available for attendees. (Fees negotiated with and paid to directly to the therapist.) Rental drums are available.

List of Instructors (click here)

These Drum and Dance Camps at Wildacres have been sold out well before the event, and have been very highly regarded (click here to read comments from participants) - you won't want to miss out!

Registration for the 2010 Kumandi Drum & Dance Camp, at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland NC, is now open.

        For the first time the registration and payment can be done electronically. Please go to this website to register:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=dQHbPSPKTlmK7OibKq9Cog_3d_3d

Early registration has been open to previous attendees for over a week and it's over half full now (December 8th.) A couple notes: to register multiple people, just fill in all the names on the form; when you come to the end of the process and see the Paypal payment buttons, you won't find a choice for multiple payments. If you want to register more than one person, then after paying for one, just go back into Paypal and pay either the deposit of $100, or the full payment, for each additional person, and include a memo to me indicating who it's for. That way you don't have to go back through the entire survey again just to pay. Also, the contributions for the scholarship fund do not have a Paypal button yet, so just do the same if you want to give to the scholarship fund to support one teenager coming to the event- go back into Paypal and make your payment and include a note on the memo line. And you can also register online and pay the deposit by mailing me a check. Thanks to Bob Frisinger of Charlotte for setting up the new electronic registration!

About Wildacres: Wildacres was acquired by Mr. I.D. Blumenthal, of Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1936, and was "dedicated to the betterment of human relations" in 1946. Since then it has been used as a retreat and conference center by non-profit groups. It has been operated by the charitable Blumenthal Foundation since 1972, and hosts over 50 non-profit groups annually – musical and choral workshops, groups of naturalists and environmentalists, and groups concerned with education, medical and civic issues. For more information about Wildacres Retreat visit their web site at www.wildacres.org or call (828) 756-4573.

While making music together, people surpass invisible frontiers- as music is the only language which reaches from heart to heart without words or aggression.     -Yacoub 'Bruno' Camara of Fatala

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Organizational Training
& Team Building
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School Programs
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Drum Circles, Lessons
& Classes, Camps &
Workshops
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Performance Ensembles
& Recording Sessions
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Healings, Rituals,
Celebrations,
Personal Exploration
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Drums, Bags & CDs
for Sale, Drum Repair
Services