Rufus Glassco has been facilitating drum circles and teaching hand drumming since 2003. He began his journey into the world of drums when working as an anthropologist in Mali, in the late 1990s. He returned to Canada with a unique shaker called the Kashaka, which he started to import and manufacture. He have since taught thousands of people to play them on his website, www.kashaka.com. Today Rufus teaches world percussion and hand drumming and percussion in schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area, both with his own company, Rhythm Kingdom Inc., and as an artist educator with the Royal Conservatory of Canada. Through their revolutionary Living Through the Arts program, Rufus uses percussion instruments to teach curriculum in both English and French to elementary and high school students. He also works at day camps, day cares, community centres, hospitals, corporations and residences for older adults. He is particularly passionate about the healing power of drums, and works with people who have had strokes, people with Downs Syndrome, people living with AIDS and HIV, people recovering from addiction, adults and youth with mental illness, youth-at-risk, older adults, and people with dementia, aphasia, and Alzheimer's. He is a trained HealthRHYTHMS facilitator and HealthRHYTHMS Adolescent Protocol facilitator. In addition to teaching, Rufus also plays percussion, sings and plays didgeridoo in 2 bands and a percussion ensemble. Rufus' experience building websites and making marketing materials, audio clips and promotional videos for his shaker business has enabled him to teach a variety of software, from Adobe's PhotoShop, Illustrator and DreamWeaver to Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, and Apple's Garage Band, iWeb, iMovie, Keynote and Pages. Rufus also is a big fan of Comic Life, which he uses with his 10-year-old son to have fun making comic strips from drawings and photographs. Rufus is also a trilingual documentary filmmaker, and is currently making a film about the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre in Mexico City, and the power of forgiveness. He is also in pre-production on a documentary series on how drumming can held to reduce stress, promote good health, resolve conflicts, create bonds & stimulate camaraderie, promote cross cultural understanding and build community. For more information, please visit his websites:www.rhythmkingdom.com and www.revolutiontelevision.tv

Why I do what I do:

Conduct HealthRHYTHMS workshops with Canadian soldiers, reservists and veterans. Combine team building workshops with conflict resolution circles based on aboriginal peacekeeping principles.