Tribe of Doris is a many cultured arts collective that has been running for seventeen years. We use the arts of music, dance, song and ceremony to bring people together, to raise awareness and to encourage respect and understanding of different cultures and musical origins. Our integrated events are totally participatory and educational, inspirational places to learn, have fun and forge lasting friendships. The events are generally outdoors with colourful marquees, yurts, tipis and lovely spaces. This summer our Intercultural Summer School lasts over six days, from 20th to 25th August 2008.

We started out primarily promoting African drumming and dance but quickly broadened our activities to include Asian, Latin American and European forms. In 2001 we stretched up to the Arctic Circle and east to Java and haven't stopped roaming around since. Over the years we have developed a reputation for putting on one of the best organised events in the calendar and inspired others in different parts of Britain to follow our example in format and content. Our communal efforts have raised the profiles of the arts and artists involved and developed lasting networks of friendship, culture and shared knowledge. In 2007 we were invited to bring the Doris flavour to South Korea's oldest cultural festival, the Choeyong Festival in Ulsan. It went down so well that we will be going back in 2008. We hope this is only the beginning of developing working friendships all around the world!

All sorts of people come to the Doris events. Teachers, artists and enthusiasts come to 'do their thing' whilst the generally interested try out a variety of styles and activities. We aim to inspire complete beginners to engage in a lifelong relationship with the arts, music, dance and song. Completely open to people of all cultures, our activities are also family and teenager-friendly, and we endeavour to be as accessible as possible.

If you haven't been to Doris before you can find the full programme from 2005 here (2.1Mb download, pdf file) – that should give you an idea of what to expect and how hard it will be to choose from what's on offer! You can find out who will be teaching in 2008 on the Teachers & Workshops page.

What will I get for my ticket?

The price of a ticket includes seven nights camping in a lovely setting, as many workshops as you can fit into your day - around 40 a day to choose from run by top class teachers from worldwide, art activities, ceremonies and other spontaneous happenings, jamming by the fire, a chance to be creative and to try things you've never done before, happy children, a beautiful sauna experience, clean loos, hot showers, fires, party nights with fantastic musicians from around the world, open mic performances in the cafe to watch and to do, the chance to meet people from all walks of life and many different cultures in a safe, friendly and welcoming space where the magic that brings people back year after year is co-created by you! We are regularly told that this is one of the best musical activity holidays to be found in the UK.