Arabic Dumming, African Drumming, Asian Drumming, Latin Percussion and more! As we started out in 1991 as a 'Drumming Convention', it’s not surprising that Doris’s heart beats with the drum!

From complete novices to experts there is something for everyone to stretch yourselves and learn. Each morning there are six different levels of djembe and many other drumming classes throughout the day, as well as the famous drum circles with Simon McCarty where you can experiment with all you have learnt.

Workshop levels have been introduced to make everybody’s learning experience better, it’s not a judgement of your quality but an acceptance that we are all different. You are always welcome to sit in on a more advanced class and listen. A description of levels and abilities can be found in the Workshops FAQ.

“A good drummer listens as much as s/he plays”  - Indian proverb

  For more advanced players, many of whom are professionals in their own right, the opportunity to play for the dances classes alongside Senegalese, Guinean or Arabic artists is a wonderful training and inspiration.

  In 2007 we introduced a new workshop for drumming in performance groups. Working with Hans Sutton and members of the group Shekere we explored ways to perform dynamically, play as a group and stretched your abilities in new ways.

If you’ve never drummed before there is a class for complete beginners run by a patient and talented drummer who knows how to coax, encourage and inspire. Doris is a space where you will feel safe to make mistakes and get it wrong because mistakes are understood as essential steps to learning! That’s why there are classes for all different levels of ability and experience.

Some workshops will be more in depth than others and will ask for a commitment to work hard to improve and deliver a fine performance at the end. Teachers of these classes will be asked to push the students. Most classes will be given the opportunity to show their skills in Sunday's finale.

There will be  samba classes in the youth area everyday, as well as daily percussion workshops in the children’s area.
 
If you don’t have a drum you can hire a fairly-traded one from Ghana Goods - you should contact them before you come on 0117 935 4132.
There will be stalls selling drums and goods from Africa, India, Tibet and more besides.