Current 2010 Calendar
Aug 16-Sept 24: Southern California
Oct 11-22: China & Thailand
Oct 25-Nov 12: Wisconsin, Illinois, & Indiana
Nov 15-26: Louisiana & Texas
Dec 1-20: Southern California

Dates are still available in your area! Contact us for details.

"Thanks for your outstanding assembly. It generated alot of positive energy (which hopefully will carry over to the testing period!) I had an experienced teacher tell me that it was the best assembly she's ever seen - you taught geography, rhythm, etc. and had excellent control (and she's been teaching for 31 years!) Thanks again for providing a real treat to our students." 
- Paul J., Principal of Saticoy School

INTERACTIVE PERFORMANCES
Dancing Drum’s Interactive Performances (School Assembly Programs) combine high-energy drum performance with abundant opportunities for student participation. Within the first minute, audiences are clapping, stomping, and playing rhythms, and the fun doesn't stop! We bring an array of drums from around the world and invite groups of 10-20 students to drum with us onstage several times throughout the show. All Dancing Drum programs integrate music education with geography, social studies, history, and character education, giving audiences an unforgettable hands-on experience of the wonderful world of rhythm.

Choose from 2 different shows:

"Drumming Up World Music"
Rhythms of West Africa, the Caribbean, & the USA
Take an interactive tour around the world to learn about the rhythms and songs of West Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA. Over 100 student volunteers will have hands-on opportunities to play drums and percussion instruments onstage throughout the program. This multi-cultural assembly is full of clapping, singing, dancing, and drumming for students and teachers to enjoy. Drumming Up World Music is an exciting, educational, and community-building program that highlights the diversity and richness of music from around the world. (Grades K-12)

"Drumming Up Character"
A Modern Musical Approach to Character Education
Enhance your school's character education program with an interactive assembly performance of "Drumming Up Character". Students will learn character rhythms, dances, and songs covering character traits like Fairness, Resposibility, and Respect. Over 100 student volunteers will have hands-on opportunities to play drums and percussion instruments onstage with Dancing Drum. This exciting, character-building assembly is packed with clapping, singing, dancing, and drumming for students and teachers to enjoy. Drumming Up Character highlights important life skills and teaches character education to students in a fun, interactive, and musical way. This program is based on Dancing Drum’s curriculum book, “Drumming Up Character: A Hip-Hop Music Approach to Character Education.” (Grades K-8)


ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
Dancing Drum Artist-in-Residency programs can last 1 week to 1 month or more and involve drumming, dancing, singing, geography, social studies, and multicultural arts. Most residencies end in a performance for the school community. The details of these programs are flexible, and many schools require a custom-tailored residency to match their unique schedules, budgets, and performance goals. Contact us to design a special enrichment program for your school.

Choose from 2 different programs:

"Drumming Up World Music"
Rhythms of West Africa, the Caribbean, & the USA
This hands-on program takes students on an exciting  and informative tour of the world to experience the rhythms and music of West Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, and the USA – covering traditional West African drumming, steel drum rhythms, parade rhythms, rock and hip-hop beats, and more. Students learn drum rhythms and dances from each destination and perform what they have learned in a show for the school community. (Grades K-12)

"Drumming Up Character"
A Modern Musical Approach to Character Education
"Drumming Up Character" combines drumming, original hip-hop music, “character raps” and dances to highlight character themes including Respect, Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, Citizenship, Self-Control, Courage, Perserverance and Integrity. During one week, Monday-Friday, participating classes will learn to drum, dance, and sing their way through the Drumming Up Character program, ending in a student performance for the school community. This hands-on high-energy program bring character education curriculum to students in a fun, thought-provoking, and musical way. Based on Dancing Drum's curriculum book, "Drumming Up Character". (Grades K-8)

WORKSHOP-TO-PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS
Host a series of hands-on workshops for your students, and they’ll take what they have learned and perform it onstage with Dancing Drum. Workshop to Performance (W2P) programs function like a condensed Artist-in-Residency. During a 1- or 2-day W2P, participating classes will attend 45-60 minute Dancing Drum Workshops where they will learn to play drums in an ensemble format. At the conclusion of the program, Dancing Drum will direct an exciting Interactive Performance for the entire school, featuring the classes performing what they learned during the workshops. W2P programs can focus on "Drumming Up Character" or "Drumming Up World Music". (Grades K-12)

DRUM WORKSHOPS & DRUM CIRCLES
We bring an array drums and percussion instruments to your site and lead participants through a memorable experience of music, community, and the discovery that everyone has a rhythm to share! Emphasis is placed on learning how to play together through listening, cooperation, respecting, and working together as a team. Drum Workshops and Drum Circles are appropriate for all ages, and we can custom-tailor any program to the age and ability level of attendees.

Drum workshops & drum circles cover the following themes:
- Introduction to the drums and percussion instruments, with lessons on technique and how to play the different sounds on each instrument.
- Learning to play rhythms from around the world - Africa, Caribbean, New Orleans, etc...building multicultural and geographical awareness, as well as musical literacy.
- Creating original rhythms through rhythm play, soloing, and improvisation, building confidence in creative self-expression.
- Drum Leadership - Students of all ages learn tools to lead drumming activities in their classroom.


TEACHER IN-SERVICE TRAININGS
Dancing Drum's Teacher In-Service Trainings aim to equip classroom teachers with the tools they need to incorporate drumming into their school day. Focus is on building basic drum leadership skills, learning beginning technique on the drums, and encouraging self-control, respect, and listening in the classroom.

Drumming Up Character Teacher Training
Learn to implement Dancing Drum's "Drumming Up Character" (DUC) program at your school. Using the educational standards-based content of the DUC Teacher's Guide, CD and DVD, participating teachers will be trained in the basics of leading the drumming, dancing and singing activities contained in the curriculum. Hands-on instruction will emphasize strategies for positive classroom management, building drumming technique and leadership skills, facilitating a community-building musical experience for classrooms, and building an age-appropriate, performance-based program at your school. The DUC program is designed for elementary and middle school students. Teachers will receive curriculum materials and handouts to use with their students. Contact Dancing Drum to discuss different training options for this program.

Community Drum Ensemble Teacher Training
Build a drumming program at your school through Community Drum Ensemble (CDE), and offer a musical experience for your students that is inclusive, accessible, and fun. CDE creates an outreach forum where students from different levels of musical experience can work together to practice and perform drum rhythms inspired by music from West Africa, Latin America, and the USA. Teachers will learn how to introduce, teach, and play the rhythm arrangements using Dancing Drum's Rhythm Phonics method. Effective drum leadership skills and drumming fundamentals will be taught, giving teachers the tools they need to direct a CDE program at their school. The CDE program is designed for upper elementary, middle school, and high school students. Complimentary resource materials provided. This program is based on Dancing Drum's publication "Community Drum Ensemble: Volume 1". Contact Dancing Drum to discuss different training options.

MASK-MAKING WORKSHOPS
Masks and drums have been paired throughout human history, and mask-making is a natural visual art compliment to the musical arts offered by Dancing Drum. In addition to completing hands-on art project, students in Dancing Drum's mask-making workshops learn about the ways that masks have been used by different cultures of the world. Mask workshops require a minimum of 1 hour for simple mask-making, and 2-10 hours for more complex designs. Workshops are led by Lindsay Rust, who has worked professionally as a theatrical mask-maker.