Música do Círculo
Photo: Tati Wexler (MdC Retreat 2023)
Música do Círculo aka MdC is a collective music-making experience where participants are led through musical games and activities that help uncover spontaneous and joyful music while fostering collaboration, creativity and community.
MdC relies on core elements including: Improvisation, Body Music, Non-Verbal Communication, Movement, Play and Contact (that's the literal translation from Portuguese, but what is meant is, connection). It is a no-tech, embodied and super fun way of making music with others and since it is all improvised, each session is uniquely special!
Música do Círculo (aka MdC) is the practice originating in São Paulo Brazil that I have been engaged with since January 2022 and on which my Circle Music practice is based. Through their "Leading MdC" facilitator's training, the founders, Pedro Consorte, Ronaldo Crispin & Zuza Gonçalves, have created an international community of MdC facilitators who are passionate about spreading the joy of this work to our respective countries.
“If you seek to expand your creative capacity, enhance your therapeutic presence or simply to have a fantastic time in community, book Joni (and invite me to come along, please!). Thank you, Joni, for your remarkable talent - I eagerly await the first opportunity to study under you again. ” - Jody Boston Therapeutic Clown, Educator, Community Artist
January 2023 w/ Música do Círculo
Joni's Música do Círculo Clients:
- University of Guelph (Community Engaged Learning)
- Wilfrid Laurer University (Music Therapy & Community Music)
- Red Nose Remedy Therapeutic Clowns
- Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services
- Belmont Village Festival
- Adventure4Change
- Toronto Public Libraries
- Kitchener Public Libraries
- Art Not Shame, Guelph non-profit
What benefits would a Música do Círculo session bring to your Organization/Gathering?
Circle Music’s greatest strength is its ability to bring people together. More than an ice-breaker, it encourages collaborative creativity and invites participants to care deeply for themselves, the other and the group in an inclusive and welcoming way.
While of course, music is the medium we use, Circle Music is really about exploring human connection. How does music change our relations, how do our relations change the music?
As a facilitator, my work is to respond to the group’s needs and to offer a place where we can gather to experience spontaneous music that is rooted in mutual trust and affection.
The use of Body Music (body percussion + singing) and Movement help to keep us grounded and remind us to come back to the body and how things feel. We are encouraged for a moment, to leave aside dominant culture’s over-glorification of the thinking-mind and instead embrace playfulness and knowing through doing.
The use of improvisation within the context of musical “games” invites participants to let their inner-child play and gives each person permission to explore their own creativity on their terms, as everything within the circle is an invitation.
Because a Circle Music session or “flow”, is mostly non-verbal, we become able to become more keenly attuned to what is happening, what is being asked, what the invitation is and how we may respond. We learn to “listen”, in a different way and sometimes there are “misunderstandings”, which for the facilitator, becomes an invitation to either go with what was understood by the group/person or find a way to re-direct through more effective demonstration.
It is fair to say that Circle Music is less about learning a specific skill and more about coming away with excitement about the possibilities available to feel and connect more deeply with ourselves and each other. It’s also fair to say that it is best experienced, so what are you waiting for? Reach out to Joni to book your LuvSum Circle Music session now!