Deep Listening Rhythm Workshops

Percussionist and deep listening practitioner Dan Johnson leads two workshops which aim to cultivate attention and awareness through the practice of collective rhythm-making. Using handheld percussion instruments and collaborative exercises, the workshops will explore musical polyrhythms as a means to meditation, brain training, connection and creative expression. In a world of near-constant distraction, collective rhythm-making can be a way to re-focus our attention and connect with one another.

No prior musical or deep listening experience necessary and all instruments provided. Suitable for 14 years and over, under 18s accompanied by an adult. There will be a break during the workshops.

1pm to 3pm – Allcomers
This workshop is open to anyone.

4pm to 6pm – Deeper dive
This workshop is for those looking to explore polyrhythms a little more deeply. You do not need to have any percussion or drumming experience, but it helps if you have experience counting in time, or counting in odd and even times.

About deep listening:

The Deep Listening practice you will explore in this workshop was developed by Pauline Oliveros, IONE and Heloise Gold, beginning in the 1960s and continually evolving in the present day. Deep Listening combines sonic meditation exercises, group improvisation, somatic movement and dream work with the aim of creating and sustaining connection with ourselves, each other, the environment and all that there is.

Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson is an acclaimed percussionist and one of the most active deep listening practitioners in the UK. He has been a certified Deep Listening Facilitator with the Centre for Deep Listening at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York since 2022. His work was recently featured in the 2025 book, ‘A Year of Deep Listening’, as well as Crack Magazine and Wax Music. He is one of the most active Deep Listening facilitators in the UK with commissions from Supernormal Festival, Bristol New Music, Full of Noises, St John’s Waterloo & Arnolfini.

Additionally Dan also holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning from the University of Sussex, has been involved with research & development programmes at Stanford University (2020) and the Marina Abramovic Institute (2023), and has been a freelance lecturer in Improvisation, Performance, Composition and Creative Development for over a decade.

As a musician, Dan leads the inclusive percussion/performance art project, ‘Ecstatic Drum Beats’, as well as being an active solo performer and drum teacher. His past & present collaborators include: Maggie Nicols, Moor Mother, Dali de Saint Paul, Valentina Magaletti, Ximena Alarcón, Kit Wilmans Fegradoe, Zoh Amba, Pat Thomas, Felinto, Annie Gardiner, RRS, Anushiye Yarnell, Copper Sounds, and Ossia.”