Simon Lewis:

Adelaide born percussionist Simon Lewis moved to Melbourne in 1994 and has since become well known for his diverse musical skills and innovative teaching style.

Simon was trained in classical percussion at the Adelaide Elder Conservatorium of Music and has performed with The State Opera and State Theatre Company of South Australia. After two years of studying for the Associate Diploma of Jazz, Simon moved to Melbourne and began working with a range of Jazz, latin and funk bands. His interest in African drumming grew and in 1999 he received an Australia Council Professional Development Award to study traditional percussion in Guinea West Africa. Simon continues to travel to Africa to study the traditional instruments with the Malinke and Susu people of West Africa.

Simon has performed with many artisists in Australia, Japan, France and in Vienna. He has performed at the Womadelaide festival, Woodforde Festival and many other major Australian festivals. Simon was the Director of Percussion for The Music Collective for ten years where he ran programs for children and adults in West African and world percussion. He has worked in many other schools and community programs as an Artist in Residence and is highly regarded for his work in child music education.

Simons superb skills and knowledge have also extended into the corporate arena and he has been working on a regular basis with AAMI insurance, ERICSON and ANZ Bank at team building seminars and retreats. The seminars have proved highly successful and the results very satisfying. With a wonderful ability to relax and bring people together he has become a workshop facilitator in high demand.

Simon is currently teaching at RhythmNGrooves, Greensborough TAFE, Centre for Adult Education and is a guest teacher for Suzuki School Of Music and The Victorian College of the Arts.

He performs with Le Phat, who recently performed at The Woodforde Folk Festival, ASIKO, led by Senegalese artist Lamine Sonko, The Marabou Project, a collaboration project fusing acoustic and electric African, jazz and trance, and appears with Big Fela, lead by Phil Bywater and who performed recently at the St. Kilda Festival.

Email: simon@drumming.com.au

Mitzi McRae:

A trained teacher and a dance instructor for many years, Mitzi has studied African dance in Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and The Gambia. Mitzi is an inspirational and energetic dancer!!

Bach. Education.
Member of Guinea Fare Ensemble, Teacher at Underbelly and lead dancer and instructor of Wassawumba Ensemble.

Email: mitzi@drumming.com.au

 

 

	Wassawumba more info at http://www.drumming.com.au/wassawumba.php Melbourne’s own ten piece African drum and dance ensemble Wassawumba is lead by Simon Lewis and Mitzi McRae, two of Australia’s most talented exponents of West African dance and percussion. They present a brilliantly choreographed show of traditional dance, drum and song . Vibrant costumes and danceable tribal grooves to uplift the spirit and invigorate the body! Wassawumba are available for community and corporate events, fundraisers, festivals, and private functions.We are a non-profit organisation. For most events we will charge a minimal fee that will cover our basic costs. We often perform free for non-profit organisations and charity events. For more information or bookings call 0425 753 553
	Neda Rahmani Working in both Corporate and Performing Arts sectors for the last 10 years, Neda, BA is a highly talented percussionist, dancer and singer. Neda combines her experience of African , Brazilian and Hip Hop dance to produce a style that is funky, accessable and very energetic! She has toured both in Australia and Internationally and has peformed with Jo Camilleri , Nicky Bomba and Tumbarumba. Her infectious positivity and ability to uplift and move thousands of people make her an artist and teacher in high demand
	Claire Toohill Claire is a wonderful and energetic dancer, singer and percussionist. Specialising in African and Hip Hop moves she also teaches children and adults gymnastics and how to be healthy, happy and creative.
	Dan Richardson Dan is a talented flautist, composer and vocalist. He play silver flute, alto and soprano sax aswell a range of African and bamboo flutes. Has performed with many ensembles in Australia and Europe. Well known for his work with Unified Gecko, Morph and Zazu.
	Nathaniel Combs Nat is a passionate percussionist who has lived in Africa studying the traditional percussion ensemble of the Malinke and Susu people. He is a break dancer and budding MC. Has been a driving force in ' Le Phat '. Performed with many ensembles including Zazu and Marabou Project and currently running drum workshops in Europe. Member of Le Phat. Website: http://www.lephat.org
	Mitzi McRae A trained teacher and a dance instructor for many years, Mitzi has studied African dance in Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and The Gambia. Mitzi is an inspirational and energetic dancer !! Bach. Ed. Member of Guinea Fare Ensemble, Teacher at Underbelly and lead dancer and instructor of Wassawumba Ensemble. Email: mitzi@drumming.com.au
	Andrea Simpson Andrea is a pianist, web designer, conductor of Squawkestra and owner of a pomeranian. She also made this site. Email: andrea@andreasimpson.com Website: http://www.andreasimpson.com