Purpose
Helping people with special needs develop their potential through the arts.
The Creative Arts Society, formerly Drumming Circle – for people of all-abilities, is committed to giving people of all abilities equal access to continued learning in an ensemble environment, with opportunities to share public performance spaces. A bridge into the wider drumming community, the Drumming Program offers skill development and networks to allow easier passage.
You said you liked our method, so now we are offering you more!
The Drummers from the East need
YOU!
The Drummers from the East are an all-abilities drumming ensemble in the Eastern region of Melbourne who meet weekly to learn African rhythms.
They are regularly invited to participate in celebratory events in the wider community. The rhythms we share in performance have stories, dances and songs. Often the drummers become the story tellers, the singers, the dancers.
In preparing for these events, it became evident that there was interest and desire to create more space to explore and develop the skills these other mediums employ.
We are now inviting more people to join our society who are interested in these other areas, singing, dancing and theatre to support the drummers in their performances. These groups will also have opportunities to explore the interests of the members within them.
Express your interest now and help shape the future of these groups!
TEAM BUILDING WORKSHOPS
What our students and their support workers have taught us over the years is worth sharing with everyone in the field!
Primarily focused on the Health and Community Services sector, our Team Building Facilitators now offer valuable insights for the teams that support our students, in residential and professional settings!
Using the ensemble experience as a metaphor, our team building workshops bring to life the concepts of leadership and building a team. This fun, engaging activity will challenge and inspire each individual, building self-esteem, encouraging a respect for each other and the group.
These workshops can be an excellent beginning and/or end to your Staff Planning/Training days.
Contact us to discuss how we can work with your team to bring out their best!
Meet The People Behind Our Society
Kathy Kermanidis – Founder of The Creative Arts Society.
Kathy has been running drumming classes, workshops, drum circles, since 2006, predominantly with people who have special needs. She has studied with master drummers Tuza Afotu, Simon Fraser and Mady Keita.
The joy that drums brought to the people she worked with inspired her to travel to Ghana, West Africa in 2008, for further, intensive drum and dance study with Tuza, Simon and the Salaka ensemble. When she returned, she created Drumming Circle – For people of all abilities and began sharing the learnings.
The diverse needs of her students called for more diverse methods and she has continued her learning into other styles. In 2014 she travelled to Hawaii to study with the ‘grandfather’ of drum circles, Arthur Hull; a more improvised, free-spirited form of music making that she added to the Drumming Circle method. In 2015, she began her studies in TaKeTiNa with Austrian rhythmist Reinhard Flatischler; a meditative group process involving stepping, clapping and chanting, and using the Surdo drum and Berimbau.
Her most enduring influence has been her piano teacher, Mrs Edna Briggs, with whom she studied two different times in her life, including the last decade of her 86 years of teaching. Her complete devotion to music made it the answer to every problem and her indomitable patience, the kind, steady presence to guide even the most inconsistent of students!
Kathy has worked as a disability, and more recently mental health support worker for more than 35 years. She has been creating learning opportunities for increasing independence in personal care, community access and education. She is passionate about equality and creativity and how that can help us be happy and believe in ourselves. She considers one of her greatest achievements, the creation of, Drumming Circle – For people of all abilities. It has transformed many lives and is now transforming itself into, The Creative Arts Society. She can’t wait to meet you in the circle!
Jemma Fox – Singing Teacher – The Creative Arts Society.
Jemma Fox is a singer and singing teacher in the city of Knox since 2016, progressing into her teaching career in 2023 with the renowned ASV Academy.
Jemma has performed at many events over the years including Knox Festival, Knox Relay For Life, Knox Factor and the Knox Stringybark Festival.
Adding guitar to her skill set in 2022, Jemma is a fabulous stage performer who loves captivating her audience in all genres.
Excited to do more with her music, Jemma is working on her own original songs to burst into the music scene this year!
The Creative Arts Society
info@thecreativeartssociety.com.au
0428 765 444