About Madula
MADULA delivers creative & cultural workshops, performances & projects for children, young people & other community groups in North Staffordshire & The Midlands; aiming to develop social cohesion, empower individuals & community groups and reduce isolation through music, dance and other creative engagements.
Since 1998, Madula has worked with thousands of individuals of all ages & community groups from across The Midlands, principally through the medium of African and Brazilian percussion, song & dance; more recently including additional creative activities such as composition, studio recording, DJing & graffiti.
Over 25 years, Madula’s participants have learned & performed with scores of international artists including Winston Lewis, Nicki Reid, Bosco D’Oliveira, Evelyn Glennie & Sekou Keita; showcasing their talents at prestigious venues such as Symphony Hall, Lichfield Cathedral, The New Vic Theatre & The Britannia Stadium, as well as festivals & street carnivals.
During this time, Madula has developed a partnership with U3A in Leek, establishing a drumming group for older people. Over 10 years, this project has developed to become a flagship project for both Madula & U3A. Weekly sessions have continued to take place in one form or another since 2012 - led by Madula director (and retired, former advanced-skills teacher & head of music at Newcastle Academy) Steve Dawson, supported by the Madula team.
Resilience & adaptability
Our U3A project showed resilience & adaptability as we responsibly continued activities throughout the Pandemic, meeting outside, in groups of 6, one-to-one and via our What’s App group, as pandemic restrictions changed.
Post Pandemic, the project has continued to thrive, with numbers swelling to over 40 members, who have led intergenerational workshops in the community & performed across the region.
Madula continues to develop our local team & our work with international artists through 2024/5, focusing on developing our exchange project with MamaMusic School in Kampala, Uganda, on our U3A project, our outreach programme and on our collaboration with the Jaguza Troupe in the UK.
