SUMMER RESIDENTIAL
12th-16th August 2024
The course is for open-minded creative practitioners who feel they would benefit from exploring different aspects of their musicality and well-being in a supportive and stimulating environment, guided by highly experienced professionals.
Read below to meet the team.
Applications open now.
Price
£500
Duration
5 Days
Jan Blake
One of the leading UK-based storytellers, Jan Blake has been performing worldwide for over twenty-five years. Specialising in stories from Africa, the Caribbean, and Arabia, she has a well-earned reputation for dynamic and generous storytelling. As well as performing at all the major storytelling festivals both nationally and internationally, she works regularly with the British Council, leads storytelling workshops for emerging storytellers, and gives masterclasses for teachers, brands, and businesses.
Jan will be telling a daily story and generally overseeing the narrative of the event throughout.
Dave Smith
Dave is a rhythm specialist, having plied his trade on drums and percussion with all manner of great musicians globally. Particular specialisms include Senegalese/Gambian Sabar drumming. Check out his band Fofoulah and his recent work with Robert Plant’s Sensational Space Shifters for reference. Throughout the past year Dave has been developing workshops to share his broad knowledge and his particular philosophy of musicianship. He will be leading a session focussed on the language of rhythm and on keeping time with your whole body.
Letty Mitchell
Movement artist, yoga and mindfulness teacher and art enthusiast. Letty’s work focuses on mindfulness, mental health awareness, the ancient wisdom of yoga, anatomy, the phenomena of Qi, creativity, the links to neuroscience, as well as the concept of reality. Letty will lead a yoga/mindfulness session each morning and work with any participants interested in exploring aspects of creative movement.
Dan Nicholls
Dan Nicholls is a virtuosic pianist, maverick composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and educator. His music roams the worlds of jazz, ambient, techno and contemporary classical music, whilst remaining defiantly uncategorisable. Nicholls prolific recording output includes a bevy of recordings under his own name or under alias and as a sideman in numerous projects. He also regularly performs internationally, including in Goldie's touring ensemble since 2014 and with Squarepusher since 2015. Through his project: Free Movements - a monthly experimental/improvised dance music event in London, Dan likes to explore the way music can be perceived and experienced, focussing on inclusion, audience interaction and encouraging an open mindset for play.
Anita Daulne
Singer, composer and teacher of polyphony, Anita Daulne (ex Zap Mama) traces her cultural origins to the Congo and Belgium. For many years she has been researching the essentials of different vocal practices around the world, including yodel, counterpoint and call-and-response. Her deep knowledge and mastery of traditional singing styles combined with an understanding of western musical traditions and professional rigour from her international performing experience makes her a unique authority in this field. Her workshops are engaging, demanding and leave your head and heart buzzing with energy and a ton of new songs!
"The food was wonderful too, I wish Lisa was my chef every day!"
"If you want to explore your creativity, be held within community, experience deep healing transcendence and so much more, I encourage you to apply"
About the Course
Summer Residential for musical exploration and inspiration
Who is it for?
The course is for curious, open-minded people interested in personal creative development through music. You do not need to have any credentials to apply! The course is about personal growth, making connections, changing perspectives. These things are necessary at all stages of our journey as creative humans. Part of the richness of the experience comes from interacting with and learning from all sorts of people with different skill-sets, perspectives and experiences. Take a look at our testimonials page for a better idea of who has been on the course and what it did for them.
Overview
The course aims to take a holistic approach to inspiring your personal development as an artist. We will cover; storytelling, memory, developing your inner pulse, Senegalese/Gambian sabar dumming and the language of rhythm, polyphonic singing, playfulness in performance, improvisation, mindfulness practice, yoga and more. Days will be balanced between led workshops, group discussions as well as some downtime. There will also be an opportunity to work towards a collaborative group performance on the last day of the course.
Course Objectives
Refresh your creative practice..
Explore different processes and expand your creative thinking.
Learn new methods and techniques to develop yourself, receiving inspiration for producing new bodies of work.
Strengthen collaborative skills through group tasks and performance.
Engage in active discussions and analysis about project ideas and about the life of a creative practitioner.
Work closely with other artists and benefit from the exchange of ideas, experiences and backgrounds.
The Ancient Technology Centre
The ATC site consists of full-sized reconstructions of ancient buildings. Each building represents a different time period and was built by hand with ancient building techniques. The concept of the ATC was the inspiration of Jake Keen who, over 30 years ago, designed and led the building of the centre’s first Iron Age roundhouse. It was built with local school children who harvested local materials from nearby woodlands and reed beds. This founding principle of allowing participants to get 'hands on' has guided the ethos of all activities at the centre to this day.
The main workshops on the course will all take place in the central Earthouse building. The Earthouse was created as a purpose built performance space, loosely based on archeological remains of a building of this size found on the Isle Of Man. Its breath-taking size, beautiful hand-constructed design, awesome acoustics and the intimacy and energetic inclusiveness of it’s circular layout make this building so much more than just an empty vessel for activities. It is the iconic centrepiece of all Jaminaround events and has the power to put performers and audience in a heightened state of creative receptiveness.
Next to The Earthouse is the stunning Viking Longhouse building - again, all built by hand with authentic tools and techniques - which will serve as the catering and hospitality hub. Other indoor spaces will be available for private practice and collaboration time. Some musical instruments and sound equipment will also be made available, but it is expected that you bring your own instruments if possible/appropriate.
Lodging
Accommodation will be in tents on site. It is expected that you bring your own tent and bedding, or for a fee we can arrange for tents/bedding to be hired. The site has (modern!) toilets and hot showers. Alternatively, if camping isn’t your thing, there are a few local B&B accommodation options within walking distance. For further details of off site options click here.
Catering
All meals are included in the price of the event. There will be three meals each day freshly prepared by our in-house chef. Breakfast will be simple help-yourself buffet set-up with porridge, bread, jams, butter, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, tea, coffee etc. Lunch will be a more substantial affair with a main dish and salad buffet. The evening meal will be hot, substantial and very tasty! Vegetarian/Vegan diets will be well catered for. Carnivorous options also available depending on demand. Please make us aware of any important dietary requirements or allergies on your application form.
Schedule
Participants can arrive from Monday afternoon onwards. The first evening will be a relaxing meet and greet. Daily Schedule (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday): Each day will begin with a guided meditation/yoga session. Following this, a daily story and gathering moment with Jan. Then the main delivered workshop, followed by lunch. Afternoons will include a continuation of the morning workshop and unstructured time for participants to use as they wish; either to practice and absorb the concepts of the workshop and/or prepare something for the Friday performance. This time can also be used just to rest or to explore the village and surrounding woods. Guided walks and optional additional activities will also be organised for the afternoons. This will be followed by a coming together again to share ideas and reflections with the group. On Friday night, we will be open to the public from 7:30pm - 9:30pm for an evening event consisting of; a discussion, a performance from one or more of our lead practitioners, a story from Jan and an open stage for participants, to feature collaborative work from the week. The residential event finishes after breakfast on Saturday with a final gathering and reflection.
Your Host
Oliver Keen
With a background in music making and education, as well as having 20 years experience organising Jaminaround events, Olly will oversee that all aspects of the course run smoothly. Olly is also the son of Jake Keen, the original architect and creator of the Ancient Technology Centre. Olly grew up in the village of Cranborne and also had a hand in building some of the structures on site.
What were the best / most beneficial parts of the course for you?
The thing is that is crucial for me to share about Jaminaround, is that there was never a demand for excellence. You literally only had to be a human being with artistic curiosity, simple as that. We learned together, we ate together, we cried together, we told stories around the fire together, we jammed together, we slept under the stars together.
This residential is soul nourishing on every level there is. Physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, psychologically, internally, externally, all the -llys!
What more can I say! If you want to explore your creativity, be held within community, experience deep healing transcendence and learn some epic storytelling and music and so much more, I encourage you to apply x
Testimonials
Regarding the initial information you received, how did the course match your expectations?
The course met and exceeded my expectations. The initial information I received was exciting and gave a good impression of what was to come, however the course had a certain magic that I don't think could have been expected or communicated prior to.
What were the best / most beneficial parts of the course for you?
The most beneficial parts of the course for me were; connections - meeting so many creative people of all ages and persuasions, being challenged by my own insecurities, by others confidence, enjoying peoples talents. Co-creation and group work, jamming, singing together, the togetherness of everything.
Regarding the initial information you received, how did the course match your expectations?
I wasn't sure what to expect but I found it to be a lovely mixture of workshops, free time and space to connect with loads of lovely people and the location is unbeatable.
What were the best / most beneficial parts of the course for you?
I loved meeting lots of other creative people who were at different stages in their process, so that it didn't feel intimidating for me. Also the workshops were accessible for everyone's skill level.
The food was wonderful too, I wish Barnaby was my chef every day!