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Our multi-cultural drum and dance incursions, give the learner an experience of Southern and West African singing, dancing and drumming as well as modern rhythma-culture.

The Rhythm Fix school incursion can be chosen from 4 options listed below or a combination of each.

1. The Drum Circle

The drum circle is a modern phenomenon of in-the-moment music making where participants are encouraged
 to explore their rhythmic spirit on a variety of drums and percussion including bass drums, djembes, bells, blocks and shakers.
They are seated in one big circle (or a number of concentric circles for bigger groups). Our skilled facilitators then guide the group through volume, tempo, timing and seating changes as well as sculpting out sections  of the circle by pitch, timbre, gender and type of instrument.
 Students love the rhythm games, chances at soloing and dance-offs that occur within the heat and heart of the drum circle.

2. The Drum Workshop

The drum workshop is a riveting cultural experience of traditional

West and South African drumming techniques, language, history and rhythms.

Our teachers are the real deal who drum for both love and profession.
They have a perfect mix of patience and passion, effortlessly imparting their knowledge in a fun and easy way, nurturing students toward understanding the importance and relevance of rhythmic entrainment, team work and group dynamics.
Everyone gets their own djembe drum to learn on.

The students aquire confidence, self facilitation, playing, performing and listening skills. 
Come and walk for awhile along the drummers path with us.

3. Song and Dance Workshop

Drumming and dancing always goes hand in hand together. Both boys and girls love to express themselves through our popular song and dance workshops. We include African and other 'world music' choral folk songs.
After initial stretching and 'Afrobics' warm ups we then teach traditional West and Southern African dances step by step in a vibrant and easy way.
African dance is connected to various tribal events like harvesting, celebration, courtship and other village ceremonies.
Younger students love our African animals around the waterhole dance, musical statues and body percussion.

4. The Interactive Concert

The whole school takes part in this popular Rhythm Fix booking as a one off day incursion or as a culmination of a six week course.
Our trio performs songs, dances and drumming on bass drums, djembe drums, thumb piano and marimba through our PA.
  The best aspects from the drum and dance workshops, body percussion and drum circles are interwoven seamlessly together for the school audience.
Students who participated earlier in the day or weeks before in either drum or dance workshops present their skills to the school.

The passion, energy and exceptional competence of the Rhythm Fix-ers had our kids here at Spearwood Alternative School, who are savvy enough to be critical and hold great expectations of those with whom they work at anything, all immediately focussed and feverishly responding.

The gentle and strong direction, clarity of communication and positive expectation conveyed so respectfully by the members of Rhythm Fix hit exactly the right note for the kids to release their own energy and enthusiasm. A sense of discipline and determination was quickly developed and demonstrated – and then there was the dancing!

Seeing and hearing children in drumming circles together with their classroom teachers and dancing together in community was the sort of experience to make your heart sing!

Watching accomplished and avid teachers such as Martin, Alistair and Stacey change and adapt their approach to the ages and natures of different groups is pure delight.

We are delighted to have entered into relationship with them and have plans for a future resonating with a regular Rhythm Fix!

Denise Stone, Princapal Spearwood Alternative School

Students will learn culturally specific parts on the popular djembe drum, traditional dance moves and gain knowledge of African culture and insight into the dynamics of a percussion ensemble.

Personal skills developed include; patience and listening, cooperation and teamwork, and non-competitive self empowerment.
We can provide performances, workshops or a combination of both where the whole school is involved. Our facilitators are experts at making kids feel confident and included.

All facilitators have Police Clearances and Working with Children Permits.

“Rhythm Fix has been an asset to WAM’s Smarter than Smoking Schools Program in 2007/08. Their interactive, informative and engaging performances and workshops have received uniformly positive feedback from participating schools” .

Hamish Jacobsen, Education Officer, West Australian Music Industry Association

‘It was a great incursion.  Teachers and kids commented on how much they loved it.  The main reason from teachers was that everyone was involved they weren't just observing.  The kids loved being able to go a little crazy.  Both Martin and Warren were terrific and entertaining.  Thank you so much for adjusting your normal program to fit in with our financial limits.  It worked really well.  One of my gorgeous, but more reserved students came up to me with a great big smile and said that was the best day she had ever had’.

Benean, Brookman PS

Our Facilitators and what they do...

Martin Phillips

Martin has extensive experience teaching children throughout regional Western Australia on tours with percussion bands Dunumba, Mukwa Marimba, Deredjeff Dubar and the Rhythm Fix trio.

His friendly non-authoritarian approach makes him the ideal guide for the rhythmic journey that students will take part in. At home as a performer or facilitator Martin is full of joy when it comes to imparting his knowledge and skills in the modern and traditional styles of beat making. His weekly students and participants in drum circles throughout the Metro area will attest to this.

Martin is accomplished on drumkit, djembe, hand percussion and dun dun.

Martin repairs and skins drums too.

“Unlike other visiting drumming groups each child had their own drum and, as such, were able to experience the session at a very hands on level which appealed to all our students from kindy through to year 7”.

Jemma Tremby, Deputy Principal, Lancelin Primary

Stacey Walden

Stacey has enjoyed learning traditional African dance here in Western Australia for 8 years. She has been fortunate to learn some traditional dances given to her and others from some local and visiting performing artists such as Alastair van Schoor (Sth Africa), George Joe and Yonah Zoya (Zim), Ziggy Bey Jan, King Marong and Kuukua Acquah, (Senegal) Shona Honeyhill and Lamine Sonko (Senegal) and Odai (Ghana). She has 8 years experience singer/dancer and is developing into an accomplished percussionist whilst performing in a number of African music bands and African drum and dance ensembles. She currently performs locally and tours regularly with Dunumba, a tribal village drum, dance and marimba band. She recorded a cd and performed with Shangara Jive, contemporary African fusion music, for 4 years. She has choreographically collaborated with other African dance performers on a number of performance projects and with drum and dance groups Deredjeff Dubar and The Djembe Dun Dance Troupe. She enjoys sharing the spirit of African dance with her ongoing community workshops and performing African dance with fellow dancers in Dunumba, Organik Dance and Afrotonic.

Dance Workshops

Those who enjoy African dance take home an experience of teamwork and unity among a group regardless of their music background. An African dance workshop is a well rounded class that challenges you physically and emotionally whilst providing a great workout with no pressure. The feeling you get from dancing to the flavoursome rhythms is phenomenal. It can help breakdown barriers and instil a sense of enjoyment among group and individuals.

A typical workshop begins with some stretching and limbering up to a live percussionist. We then start to move our bodies to the beat and enjoy some fun with Afro Aerobics whilst slowly adding clapping and vocal calls. We work with the drummers, who follow the dance moves and give signals to the dancers, signafying when the dance is to change to a different movement, start and finish. Dances are in 4/4 and 6/8.

Some of the traditional African dances we teach from Zimbabwe are "Mbakuma", a welcoming dance, "Gange Mukange", a children's dance about ants, "Baya wa Baya", a worriors dance and a Harvest dance to Dhine drumming. Other dances are "Kuku" and "Djole" from Ghana, a fun stick dance from the Ivory Coast and so on.

Traditionally these dances teach social patterns and values. They emulate how people live, work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community and are commonly performed during ceremonies and festivals, competition, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to encounter spirits.

Dances are related to culturally specific drumming parts taught in Rhythm Fix drumming workshops and the two can be linked together along with the traditional song to make up the triad.

Warm down is essential and involves stretching and winding down to a gentle beat.

"Stacey's approach to teaching African dance classes is very professional with lots of fun!
I look forward to that weekly work-out which helps me get fit whilst learning some great dance moves".

Glenys Muller. Student

Afrobics.

As part of the Rhythm Fix school concert participants follow Stacey in simple segments of traditional movements in sets of four or eight changing each time to a new move. This is sometimes combined with body percussion, hand claps and vocal sounds all to the beat of the music. We take an elemental journey through Africa, and sometimes Australia, emmulating different animals and everyday village activities like working the fields, picking fruit or celebrating a good havest. Great for lower Primary School kids.

Having fun with one class

Dont forget the teachers

"Rhythm Fix performed for Nollamara Primary School as part of our Harmony/NAIDOC week celebrations and wowed the whole school community with their skill and talent. The high energy performance had every student’s attention captured for the whole performance. The real value of the performance for our school community was the way Rhythmfix tailored their performance to include a group of our own students. Rhymfix came to the school and ran two one hour workshops with a class of students. These students then performed with the group.  I highly recommend this group for incursions and workshops for school communities who want to celebrate the richness of life in WA".

Helen Williams, Nollamara Intensive English Centre

"Hi Stacey, just wanted to let you know how we really enjoyed the guys' visit. Everyone loved it and the staff,and some parents were very impressed".

Liz Packwood, Warriapendi PS

"Hi Stacey – I brought my Year 8 class to your workshop today at the Library. It was fantastic!! The students had so much fun and the way that the performers interacted with the students was brilliant. My students are non-elective students, few of them learn instruments and are musical, I really appreciated that they were still able to get involved, have fun and learn something".

Rebecca Oakey, MUSIC SPECIALIST

“Lots of students came to see me after their departure and asked me "when they would come back" or if "they could come here everyday"... which is a simple testimony of how much they appreciated this excellent workshop!”

Emmanuelle Dupart, French Language Assistant, Boyanup Primary, WA