I’m forming a new circle/workshop that will begin in September The Writer’s Mythic Journey: A Circle of Discovery & Support. Live IN-PERSON (Santa Barbara, CA) and OVER THE VIRTUAL AIRWAVES via phone or GoToMeeting. Part 1: Character & Archetype A…
I’m excited to announce that starting on September 12th, I’ll begin teaching my Pre-Post Natal drumming workshop series as part of Kathy Hayden’s Kindermusik programs. This workshop is designed for pregnant mamas and for new mamas with babies up to…
The Frame Drum and The Sacred Feminine An Introductory Workshop for Beginners Given by Kris Oster Learn the basic strokes on Middle Eastern style drums | Connect with women’s ancient drumming heritage. Date/Time: Friday, July 29th, 7-9pm Location: SB Dance…
I am laying on a beautiful tropical beach. I lift up my groggy head and gaze at the scene around me. Everything looks hazy for a few moments until my eyes adjust to the bright sun reflecting off of the white sand. I wonder how I arrived at this place. A beautiful black woman rises out of the most sparkling, yet deep blue water I have ever seen. She laughs and beckons for me to come to her. I belong to her; she is my mother, the primal mother that rises from the bottom of the depths
Percussion instruments are the predominant driving force behind both Brazilian popular music and the ritual music of Candomblé, a world religion birthed in Brazil. It can be argued that through the musical political movement, Tropicália in the 1960’s, drums connected the sacred and the profane in such a way as to help shape the collective identity of a people in a particular place–Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Christopher Dunn, a scholar of popular music who researched the Tropicália movement, and its primary founders Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, supports the theory that cultural, religious practices and political perspectives can combine to create complex new musical forms.
When I was a teenager, I suddenly had this irrepressible urge to have a pet snake. My mother was not pleased to say the least, but I was able to sweet talk her into it (that’s what I call “snakey,” but I digress). We went to the pet store and I picked out a beautiful California Kingsnake that had alternating cream and burgundy stripes. I adored and loved my new snake who I named “Ralph.”
