Big drumming team building event with Moneysupermarket
Drumming team building challenge for the Pepsico Team
We would love to share a video of a giant interactive drumming team building session we delivered at the close of the Moneysupermarket.com ”Straight Talk” conference in Chester last year. Moneysupermarket’s team of 350 delegates created a funky samba groove with djembes, bugarabus, sound shapes, agogo bells and jam blocks with an awsome back beat created with ballet dundun bass drums! Here is our main facilitator Steve Rivers’ account of the event:
As the conference title ”Straight Talk” implied, there was indeed alot of talking throughout the Moneysupermarket conference. As our session was at the end of the day, it occured to me that any verbal instructions could be a good way of switiching everybody off, so I decided to keep my talking to a minimum – an absolute bare minimum!
A couple of simple powerpoint slides at the beginning instructed delegates on how to get the best sound out of their drum. Card board banners with catchy phrases were used to divide the room into teams and create a funky samba rhythm. Finally a plastic apple, banana and tea cup were used to conduct the audience and weave all the rhythm parts together!
Are you looking for that special something to put the ‘wow’ factor into your next corporate event?
Create a beat sensation at your next event!
Drumming team building challenge for the Pepsico Team
Drumming team building challenge for the Pepsico Team
Our new drumming facilitators down south, Justine Hart and Barry Neilson, created a fantastic beat sensation with the Pepsico team last week. Here is the feedback we received:
Just wanted to feedback to you that the team really enjoyed the drumming session last week. I think it was more challenging than they first expected! Not only is it a fun and lively activity but one where there is not room for ‘sitting back’ and not getting involved and really encourages the group to work together as a team! Great stuff. They also shared that they felt 90 minutes was a sufficient amount of time, as I think their hands were tired after that! 🙂
Well done Justine and Barry!
Delegates make a giant sound on African drums at the London Marriott, Twickenham
Delegates make a giant sound on African drums at the London Marriott, Twickenham
Yesterday Unbeatable Energy were drumming with the GlaxoSmithKline conference delegates at the London Marriott Hotel in Twickenham. What a fantastic group! There was a fabulous atmosphere in the final drum circle and it was a pleasure to work with such enthusiastic participants. In the final part of the session, the group sang the African Djole song and it was wonderful to hear the harmonies work together – when the song was accompanied with the beat if the drums, the sound was magical! Our new London team assisted Unbeatable Energy with this event – Justine Hart and Barry Neilson. They were the essential musicians who provided the driving beat to the session –
Barry and Justine, if you are reading this, the delegates were very impressed with how you both kept those rhythms going non stop for a full hour!Well done!
We would like to thank Mairi Millar from GlaxoSmithKline who was an excellent client representative, and was really helpful and supportive throughout the day.
We would also like to thank all the staff at the Marriott Twickenham who were brilliant hosts. The Marriott Twickenham staff were brilliant with their communication and support. Special thanks to Camille and Jess from their team. What came across was that it really mattered to them that the event for all parties went smoothly during the day.
African drumming performance at the University of Nottingham
African drumming performance at the University of Nottingham
Here are some new pictures of our African drumming group ‘Kassa!’ performing at the University of Nottingham International Students Welcome Evening. For the fourth time running we have had the enormous pleasure of providing a big open drumming workshop for their students, followed by a high energy evening performance. Each year both events just seem to get better and better!
The drumcircle workshop was amazing! University of Nottingham certainly appear to host the cream of talent from around the world. Some of those students are brilliant drummers!
This year the performance was one of those gigs where everything seemed to work – the acoustics were perfect, the atmosphere was joyous and, what’s more, the audience were up for dancing.
Next year we will be headlining the event and we can’t wait!
Corporate drumming events in Cheltenham - Boomwhacker ice breaker at the Cheltenham Race Course
Corporate drumming events in Cheltenham - Boomwhacker ice breaker at the Cheltenham Race Course
We are proud to announce that our biggest corporate drumming event this year took place at the Cheltenham Race Course for the Mid Counties Cooperative.
Six hundred delegates participated in a mass percussion session using the fabulous Boomwhacker Tubes. What an amazing event it was! Thanks to some the highly skilled production crew, the opening sequence was particularly memorable. Here is an account of how the event ‘kicked off’: Explosive drumming performance!
As all the delegates entered the room after lunch, the lights dimmed and the sound of a solo African drum could be heard. The spot light shone down on a drum soloist who played a stunning introductory riff on his drum. Suddenly the spot light went out and he was gone. Immediately the spot light shone down on another drum soloist who started playing from the opposite side of the room. The spot light went out and immediately shone back on the first soloist – they both sounded as though they were talking to each other. As the attention switched back and forth between each soloist, it became clear that they were both getting closer to the stage! Finally as both drummers approached the main aisle, the lights came on and suddenly a full African drumming band created a big sound using bass drums to accompany the soloists – the beat was electrifying!
Conference Ice Breakers in the Midlands.
The introductory performance created the perfect mood for what was to come next. African drumming is about involving everybody and the delegates certainly gave their full participation as they clapped to the beats of the drums. But this was just the beginning! What the delegates may not have been expecting was that they were going to be the main act! Underneath each of their tables were packs of Boomwhacker percussion tubes. Delegates at each table passed the Boomwhackers around so that within minutes the entire room was filled with the sound of the tubes playing harmonious beats with the drums!
Steve Rivers quotes:
It always amazes me how seemlessly a huge number of people can play in time with each other. It is as though the power of everyone playing creates cohesion and support to everyone who participates. Within seconds the entire group of 600 delegates at the conference had managed to find a common pulse with the Boomwhackers – this happened instinctively with very little input from myself!
The final sound of the big ‘600 strong drum orchestra’ sounded truly amazing. There were all together six different rhythm parts being played by delegates seated at 76 tables in the room – all were coordinated and each table contributed to a piece of music which had become rich, syncapated, complex and beautiful!
Read feedback from Tarra Simmons from Mid Counties Cooperative.
Large conference ice breakers such as these are about creating the wow factor, so that everyone remembers the conference for years to come. Such an event provides that all important ‘lift’ in an organisation – allowing the entire team to be able to see what is possible when everyone fully participates.
Unbeatable Energy Ltd would like to thank Tarra Simmons from Mid Counties Cooperative for inviting our input to the conference and for maintaining such excellent dialogue prior to the event.
We would also like to thank