Katy Gaughan, Drum Circle

As a drummer, dancer, drum circle facilitator and drum instructor, Katy uses her musical skills and facilitation training to bring people together to feel the connection of community, learn about the drum and movement, and have fun. Katy believes that the drum is an instrument that can be used for healing and encourages health through drumming with her organization Music Heals Us. Katy’s love of drumming and dance brought her to Arthur Hull’s 10th annual Hawaii Facilitator’s Playshop in the summer of 2005, which augmented her training from the 2003 East Coast Drum Circle Facilitators Playshop. These intensive trainings with Hull, one of the grandfathers of the American drum circle movement, certified her as a drum circle facilitator and a mentor in the drum circle facilitator community.

Katy currently works with Conscious Collaborations to organize and facilitate SOUL FIRE INSIDE, a monthly community drum and dance circle in the Washington, DC area. She has also facilitated drum circles and team building events with Creative Adventures, Congregation B'nai Tzedek, Children’s Hospital, the Sitar Center, Georgetown University, Arlington Center for Dance, Cesar Chavez Charter School, Fort Hunt Elementary School, Beauvoir School, Shalem Institute, East Coast Sage Circle, and Stillwater Mindfulness Practice Center.

Katy has drummed with a variety of Washington DC area based bands over the past six years, including Bumbada! Women’s Drum Ensemble, Ten Feet Tall, Justin Trawick, Tribal Trance Fusion, Djesben, Rhythm Shamans and Jaqui MacMillan’s Hand Drum Orchestra. She also plays with the Rhythm Worker’s Union, an activist group committed to bringing rhythm and music to the streets during protests, marches and demonstrations. Her website is www.musicheals.us