joniwellness Drum Circle blog

Newark Community Drum Circles Summer 2009 Schedule

2009-06-21T05:43:00.000-07:00

Newark Community Drum Circle/Rhythm Jam
FREE
held outdoors or indoors, depending on weather, at:
Boylan Street Recreation Center‎ - more info » (click for google map and directions)
916 S Orange Ave, Newark, NJ‎ 07106 - (973) 733-8947
SUMMER DATES, July – Sept 2009
Wednesdays 5:30-6:30 PM (60 min)
July 8, 22, 29
Aug 5,12,19, 22 (skip 8/26)
Sept 2, 9
Saturdays 12 noon – 1:30 PM (90 min)
July 11, 25
Aug 1, 8, 15 (skip 8/29)
Sept 5, 12

Come play with us and share the communal spirit, energy, and joy of drumming together! Have fun, get inspired and empowered, release stress, improve your mood, express your music and spirituality, celebrate! We encourage creativity and community building through listening to each other, improvising, and respecting each member's contribution. Bring your instruments if you have them, but we'll have extra for you! Come and get yer ya ya's out! All are welcome to this summer’s rhythmical events, regardless of age, background, or musical abilities - no experience necessary to participate in this scientific evidence-based activity which fosters self-expression and produces transformation.

What to bring: your enthusiasm, your friends, your family members, whatever instruments you may have, not just drums, but "small timbre" also: bells, shakers, tambourines, kalimbas, wood blocks, claves. "found sound:" pot lids, wooden spoons, plastic or wooden bowls or plates, extra sticks for striking bells or wooden blocks, even chopsticks or knitting needles, empty plastic (water or clean) bottles of all sizes, bottles or thermoses with ridges, hair picks for playing the ridges, metal spoons, house keys or something that jingles, upside down pail or wastebasket (as drum), empty tubing; if indoors, earplugs if you're sensitive to noise levels. Chairs provided. Bring sunhats, sunscreen - weather permitting, we'll be outdoors!

What is a Community Drum Circle? It is a rhythmical event where all are welcome regardless of age, experience or rhythmical ability. We encourage creativity and community building through listening to each other, improvising, and respecting each member's contribution. We use multi-cultural drums (you may see African djembes or djun djuns, Brazilian serdos or cuicas, Egyptian dumbeks, Irish hand drums, Indian tablas, Korean and other cultures represented), as well as shakers, wood instruments like claves, bells, tambourines, whistles, boomwhackers (what's a boomwhacker? Come and find out!), and homemade instruments (see "what to bring" below). Some facilitation usually happens, to keep newcomers listening for the groove and to help people find the beat or give them simple rhythms to start playing. Much of the time, it goes on its own. There are drum circles which play only culturally specific rhythms, and although we use some traditional rhythms (and welcome and need good drummers!), we don't limit ourselves to them.

Benefits: scientific evidence-based): releasing stress, ice breaking, improving mood and immune system response, raising morale, invigorating minds and bodies, enhancing clarity and focus, developing team-building, developing group cooperation and integrity, building individual and group confidence, stimulating creativity and risk taking, fostering self-expression, musicality and spirituality, transformation, creating community spirit and camaraderie, having fun, celebrating life!

Drum Circle Facilitator Joni Wellness is a Newark resident, has been facilitating drum circles and empowering community voices through rhythm making since 2001. She was a dancer, including jazz, modern and African, is a master yogi and Wellness Trainer see more about her on her bio page, and throughout the site.

Please also post your comments and other events here!
I’ve recently found that there are MANY other drum circles going on in Newark, without a central place to find event info – please send me links, and schedules, or at least post them to the blog!! Let’s close the event info gap!

Drum Circle Jam at Aferro Art Gallery, Newark

2009-06-20T23:50:00.000-07:00

what great time at Aferro Gallery's benefit on Sat June 20th! please send pics from this event!
Newark, get ready for Summer Drum Circles!

Full Moon Newark Drum Circle on Mon Jan 12th!

2009-01-05T03:52:00.001-08:00

join us for the first official Full Moon Newark Drum Circle, which will be part of a large Full Moon event taking place on Monday, Jan 12 (yes, I know the FM is really on Sunday). join the Facebook group NJ/NY Drum Circle Assoc and RSVP to the event invitation there. Bring your own drum if you have one. $10 admission.

2007-10-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

I was one of the 420 African Burial Ground Drummers last night in a dedication ceremony (that continues today!) of the Memorial Dedication of the AFrican Burial Ground National Monument.

Did You Know? New York's African Burial Ground is the final resting place of approximately 15,000 free and enslaved Africans. Dating from the late 17th century. It has been called one of the most important archaeological finds of our time.

http://www.nps.gov/afbg African Burial Ground National Monument National Park Service
http://www.abgfoundation.org/ African Burial Ground Monument Foundation

hope to have a link to some pictures soon - joni

special guest this Saturday Oct 6 -last OUTDOOR DC

2007-10-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

see http://www.joniwellness.com/, drumming page for location details....we will have a special guest Steve Fong and his giant marimba, joining us for this last outdoor Drum Circle of 2007. Bring a folding chair and a warm sweater!

JAMTOWN JOHN hosting our DC on Sunday Aug 12 from 7-9 PM!!

2007-07-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

don't miss this!

John is one of Joni's longtime Drum Circle colleagues and mentors, also trained by Arthur Hull. He has a very cool fair trade instrument business and will be in town at the JAvits Ctr GIFT SHOW. We are very lucky to have him as guest facilitator this time! He is a pro! visit his website: http://www.jamtown.com/
here he is (pink shirt) at Bumpershoot "Rhythm Equator" in 2002, one of our events in Seattle, when I lived there. check out the huge drums in background - I got to play those!! - joni click on pic for larger (very) size

Samba NY Hudson boat cruise video

2007-07-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

07-25-07 Fogo Nas Aguas Bateria Performance 3 min video

joniwellness Drum Circle blog

2007-06-30T22:59:00.002-07:00

NEXT DATE: Saturday, July 7 from 5-7 PM - see website for details

I have been facilitating Drum Circles for the past few years. see webpage on my website for details. This was one of our first gatherings - a good turnout for a rainy, stormy day (we were dry under the gazebo). Last month in june 2007, was our biggest group to date - the gazebo was packed! Thanks all, for turning out for my 50th birthday celebration! (please send pics if you have any!)

pictured are: bottom foreground Dana McCurdy, my current co-facilitator, standing: my niece Jazmin Zikri (now 14 and almost my height), me, a very good djembe player and teacher from NYC, and seated: Phillipe