Summer Residential
12-17th August 2024
In the awe-inspiring setting of Cranborne Ancient Technology Centre, surrounded by the beautiful Dorset countryside, Jaminaround offers this unique music and creative practice residential course. A stimulating program of workshops, talks and opportunities for collaboration, curated with the intention to refresh, to inspire and to promote holistic creative wellness.
Meet the team
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.
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!
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. He 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.
Olly Keen
With a background in music making and education, as well as having over 15 years experience organising Jaminaround events, your host 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?
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I think the best bit of the course for me it was the overall sense of being held, feeling nothing but an invincible lifting positive energy created from the community we had made. It felt like we created a web of positive acceptance, where everyone was 100% seen and 100% heard, just holding space for each other. So for me, it was the overall feeling of love and acceptance from the whole journey together that was the most beneficial part.
Jaminaround came at a very important time for me when I was focusing on nourishing the most inside part of myself where the creativity comes from, and to have soaked up all the positivity from it was so important to lay the ground for a healthy relationship with my creativity going forward.
Regarding the initial information you received, how did the course match your expectations?
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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.
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What were the best / most beneficial parts of the course for you?
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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?
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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?
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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.
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The food was wonderful too, I wish Barnaby was my chef every day!