Kadodo Drum & Dance School Otaki 26-28 February, 2021
3pm, Friday 26 February - 5pm, Sunday 28 February, 2021
A rare opportunity awaits you to learn from the source, learning intensively from Ghanaian West African Drum and Dance tutor extraordinaire, Koffie Fugah, while also getting some fun sessions with local Wellington tutors!
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!! ALL WELCOME!!
This years Kadodo Drum & Dance School will be set in the relaxing and inspiring natural beauty of Riverslea Retreat by the Otaki River. At this stunning venue, you have the wonderful opportunity to go deeply into spirit-lifting rhythms and dances with Koffie and our team.
For the fifth year running, Kadodo Drum and Dance School invites you to partake in this unique opportunity. Extend your current skills and grow your abilities by learning traditional West African Djembe, Duns, and, of course dance! Immerse yourself in the rhythms and grow a deeper understanding behind the instruments, dance, song, and the culture in which they come from.
What are you waiting for? Come and join us!
Tutors:
Koffie Fugah (kadododrumanddance.co.nz) - Drum/Dance
Jenny Bloomfield (moringadancers.co.nz) - Dance/Yoga
Simon Elwell (djembe.nz) - Drum
Uber Early Bird = $390 until 15 December
Early Bird = $420 until 15 January at midnight
Full Price = $450 from 16 January until the event
All meals (vegetarian and made with love) and high quality dormitory style lodge accommodation are included in the camp price.
What to bring:
~Bedding : duvet/blankets/sleeping bag and single sheet
(Each guest is supplied with a pillow, pillowcase & 1 flat sheet)
~Djembe drum (if you have not booked a drum hire)
~Any instrument you might like to play in our jam sessions
~Something to share for morning/afternoon tea
Drum hire is $10, reservations essential.
Lots of great dancing, drumming, morning yoga sessions, delicious food, and lovely accommodation!! Get amongst it!!
Proposed Timetable (subject to change):
FRIDAY
3pm Arrivals (there will be some afternoon tea supplies you can help yourself to, and relax, explore and enjoy the lush surroundings and settle in)
5pm-6pm Shared Dinner
6pm-7:30pm Drumming (Beg/Int) w/Koffie
7:45-9pm Dance (Beg/Int) w/Jenny
Opportunity to casually hang out and/or jam after the program finishes for the night, drumming needs to finish by 10pm, but quieter instruments like mbira and ngoni can continue peacefully later into the night.
SATURDAY
8am-9am Yoga w/Jenny
9:15am-10:45am Drumming (Beg) w/Simon
11am-12:30pm Dance (Beg/Int) w/Koffie
12:30pm-1:30pm Lunch
1:30pm-3:30pm Drumming (Beg/Int) w/Koffie
3:45pm-5:15pm Dance (Beg/Int) w/Jenny
5:30pm-6:15pm Singing w/Koffie
6:30pm Dinner
8pm-10pm JAM SESSION - all instruments, voices and hip shaking welcome!
*jamming/hang out can continue later in a quieter way without drumming after 10pm*
SUNDAY
8am-9am Yoga w/Jenny
9:15am-10:45am Drumming (Beg-Adv) w/Koffie
11am-12:15pm Dance (Beg-Adv) w/Jenny
12:15pm-1:15pm Lunch/pack up
1:15pm-2:15pm Drumming (Beg/Int) w/Simon
2:30pm-4pm Dance (Beg-Adv) w/Koffie
4pm-4:30 Break
4:30pm-5pm PERFORMANCE!!!
Any questions or queries please contact Jenny: jenny@moringadancers.co.nz 0276996918
About the tutors
Koffie is the primary tutor for this school/retreat, and will be bringing us the chance to learn from the source and really delve in deeply to these traditional art forms. He has a gift, challenging all levels of ability, and making everyone feel comfortable and confident. He brings his students to the next level while bringing a smile to their faces and leaving them all wanting more! A highly skilled facilitator and a talented and passionate artist, we are so lucky to have him here in NZ.
Koffie grew up in a village called Abor in the Volta Region of Ghana where traditional music and dance is part of daily life. He undertook his training Ghana's capital, Accra. Before coming to New Zealand, he taught African dance and drumming for 15 years both in Ghana and abroad.
Since making New Zealand home in 2013 he has established a network of drummers through drumming groups and running workshops around New Zealand. Kadodo represents his desire to connect with people throughout the country and unite them through their love of West African drumming and dance. Through Kadodo he has developed a supportive team of talented musicians who have a genuine desire to support him in his mission to share the joy and passion of his culture.
kadododrumanddance.co.nz
Simon's love of African drumming, rhythm and song started 10 years ago upon meeting and experiencing the amazing rhythms of Africa through Mohamed Bangoura at the Organic River Festival. His passion for African percussion led him to community music leader Julian Raphael who teaches African rhythms, song and world music in Wellington and throughout New Zealand.
During his 6 years of drumming with Julian, Simon also learned inspiring and uplifting African rhythm and music face to face from several other drumming masters and percussionists including Mohamed Bangoura, Chris Berry, Robert Fugah and King Marong with whom Simon had the privilege to perform with. He has also been influenced by the teachings of Mamady Keita, Babara Bangoura and Fara Tolno.
Simon has been teaching and facilitating drumming groups in and around Wellington since 2011. He performs regularly with his percussion ensemble Kubatana, leads the drum group for Jenny Bloomfield's African Dance class in Newtown, and is currently studying the magical sound of the mbira.
Simon’s quirky sense of humour, attention to detail and fun nature make him a very popular tutor.
djembe.nz
Jenny has been dancing her heart out, performing, teaching, and creating community in and around Wellington since 2005. She is the founding director and teacher of Moringa Dancers African Inspired Dance performance group. She has a passion for collaborating with drummers, often co-creating performances with Kubatana percussion ensemble and with Kadodo West African Drum and Dance School. She will be bringing her fun and engaging style of teaching to this retreat, empowering students to find freedom through the connection of rhythm and movement. Her infectious joy in dancing will leave you uplifted!
Jenny's love of African dance began as a teenager, and now she has been dancing for most of her life! Fortunate to have grown up in northern California, where there are many amazing African dance tutors, she had the great privilege of being exposed to a lot of different styles of West African dance in her formative years. This led her to visiting Ghana in 1996 and studying intensively with Maputo Mensah. The cathartic experience of the welcoming West African culture and the warmth shown to her by everyone she met there blewJenny's mind, and changed her life forever, and she just returned to Ghana for more adventures and dancing with Koffie on the Kadodo Tour in 2019. Jenny has recently studied African Dance with Mohamed Bangoura, King Marong, Chris Berry, Naby Bangoura, Maputo Mensah, Oumou Faye, Claire Okamoto, Anastasia Apetor, Jimmy Akiti, and of course, the boss, Robert Koffie Fugah.
Jenny has a 350hr Dru Yoga instructor qualification, has studied Postural Patterning, and is a serious student of Polestar Pilates. She brings this knowledge of anatomy and alignment into her teaching. Jenny has developed a philosophy of natural movement and doing what feels right for your own body to create a sustainable dance practice. She is currently studying Dance Movement Therapy.
moringadancers.co.nz
