Concept
087 641 8250
 1 · 2 · 3 · 4, and we're in

Your rhythm.
Our drums.

Ireland's most hands-on drum experience: up to 300 people playing together, one unstoppable beat. Twenty years touring weddings, festivals, schools and boardrooms out of County Kerry.

Registered & fully insured Trading since 2005 Co. Kerry, Ireland
Drumsticks resting on a djembe, close up Backline · djembé + sticks
Today's rundownDrum Dance Ireland · Co. Kerry
EST.
2005
Founded by Urs Wenk, a West African drumming teacher who swapped Switzerland for Kerry in 2002.
×20+
Years on the road
Two decades of shows, circles and workshops, nationwide.
×80
Drums, ready to hit
Djembés, congas and bass drums for up to 300 hands at once.
×150
Percussion instruments
Bells, shakers, boomwhackers, and a garden of handmade one-offs.
1000+
Shows played
Weddings, festivals, schools, boardrooms, beaches. Every one of them different.
The circle

Four ways to get everyone playing

No auditions, no experience required. Every session is built around the same idea: hand someone a drum, and they're part of the show within a minute.

Cue 01 · 45–60 min
Interactive Drum Shows
Up to 300 people playing djembés, congas and bass drums together, guided through games that build into one full-room rhythm. Booked as the centrepiece of the night, not a warm-up act.
Booked byWedding couples · festival programmers · corporate event teams
Cue 02 · with Katrina Galvin
Drum Dance
Drumming and dancing to the same track at the same time, a format Drum Dance Ireland believes is unique to Ireland, if not the world. Simple choreography keeps everyone's focus on the beat.
Booked byFamily festivals · schools · fitness & wellness days
Cue 03 · tailored
Educational Programmes
Rhythm-based games built for a specific room (a classroom, a care home, a leadership offsite), aimed squarely at connection, confidence and a bit of controlled chaos.
Booked byPrimary & secondary schools · healthcare teams · HR & corporate
Cue 04 · on the move
Parades & Special Events
A powerful, energetic drumming band built to lead a parade or punctuate a festival programme, loud enough to gather a crowd from three streets over.
Booked byTown festivals · street carnivals · public events
A drum circle session on a Kerry beach
Beach drum circle · Co. Kerry
The backline

Instruments nobody else is playing

Alongside the touring djembés and congas, Urs Wenk hand-builds a permanent installation of one-off instruments: the Sound Garden. It hires on its own or bolted onto any other session.

A hand-built instrument from the Sound Garden, close up
The Sound Garden · handmade by Urs Wenk · a permanent work in progress
Backline riderSound Garden
iLog 23ash log · hardwood sticks
A freestyle West African krin, a reminder that log drums carried messages long before phones did.
FlipflopofonePVC pipe · pentatonic C·D·E·G·A
Tuned lengths of plumber's pipe, played by striking the openings with, yes, a pair of flip-flops.
Dundun WallKenkeni · Sangbang · Dundun
Three sizes of West African bass drum mounted for group play, powerful enough for several players at once.
Ishka Drumaícalabash · water · soft mallet
Water drums inspired by the rare West African djidunun. Headphones recommended, the resonance runs deep.
Bottle Spiel10 tuned bottles
Water levels set the tuning; playable as a melody instrument by anyone who's touched a xylophone.
Swing Stringspine · bronze wire · GuZheng string
A two-player freestyle string instrument that swings gently on its own stand as it's played.
Founder & Facilitator

Urs Wenk

A West African drumming teacher and performing musician in Switzerland before moving to Ireland in 2002. Founded Drum Dance Ireland to bring that same "everyone plays" philosophy to groups of every age and ability.

Drum Dance Facilitator

Katrina Galvin

BA Hons in Voice & Dance (Irish World Academy), trained at the Royal Academy of Dance and Trinity Laban. Runs Sparrow Academy in Kerry and was named Rising Star at the Connect Kerry Business Awards.

Encore

What the room says after

"The best thing at our wedding. Urs got everybody going, including our older guests. The atmosphere was fantastic. Everyone still talks about the drum show."

Helen & IvanWedding, 2023

"Drum Dance Ireland exceeded my expectations facilitating a client networking event: engaging, energising, and completely unlike anything else on the agenda."

Fiona LeahyKerry Enterprise Board

"Urs has engaged every participant in the workshop for the past 15 years, no matter their ability or experience. I recommend him to work with any group."

Gareth HarteveldYouth Work Manager

"Thank you for a fabulous day, so uplifting and enjoyable, both for our residents and staff."

Mary Angela DownesRathfredagh Cheshire Home

"The drumming and dance workshops delivered to our MA Ethnochoreology and Irish Dance Studies students were superb."

Dr Catherine FoleyIrish World Academy, UL

"All the children from junior infants to sixth class were involved in the weekly sessions Urs ran in our school."

Gerardine PiercePrincipal, Gneeveguilla NS
Book it

Get a session on the calendar

Tell us the room, the crowd and the occasion; we'll build the set from there. Same-day replies, most weeks.

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Drum Dance Ireland

BasedKeel, Co. Kerry
Phone087 641 8250
Emaildrumdance2005@gmail.com
StatusInsured & touring since 2005