HansCamp North 2026
27-29 November (drumming Fri evening to Sun 5pm)
In Barnard Castle, Co. Durham
Djembe, Dunun and Song for all levels from Improvers to Pros
With Hans Sutton + friends and special guest teacher Seydou Kienou
We’re hugely excited to announce our seventh residential drumming camp up North!
If you haven’t experienced a workshop with Hans before, you'll be amazed by what you can learn with him. HansCamps are small, welcoming and friendly; you can come on your own and find yourself among friends, or bring your drumming friends to share the fun.
Our revamped approach to HansCamp content means – compared to yesteryears – more recaps, more run-throughs, more rotation around the ensemble roles, fewer solo phrases but more time to play them, all by popular demand. Plus Hans will again run a session on djembe skills and musicality (specific theme TBC) and a session for teachers and group leaders. As always, there’ll be plenty of differentiation in the teaching to support all levels of learners from Improver to Pro.
Here’s what we’re offering:
Friday evening session and two full days with Hans and Guest Teachers.
Dormitory accommodation in a modern centre with good facilities (with ticket options to stay in your campervan or elsewhere offsite).
Fully catered: all meals (vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free options), snacks, tea, coffee, etc. will be provided, from Friday dinner through to Sunday lunch.
Djembe, dunun and songs, working in a mix of small and whole-group classes.
Accompanying notation booklet and video demo so you can keep practising afterwards.
Above all, you’ll get a deep insight into some fantastic Malian repertoire from a teacher who really knows his stuff and how to communicate it.
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"Exhilarating!"
"Somehow he manages to get it in your head even without you realising. I think it may be witchcraft!"
"He has that thing of being able to make you play better than you really can"
“You just wouldn't believe how cool we all sound now.”
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We're delighted to be joined by special guest teacher Seydou Kienou, who will be leading two classes on the Saturday – one for improvers/intermediates and one for more advanced players. A griot from Burkina Faso, Seydou has been based in the UK for the past three years and is in huge demand, regularly performing with Seckou Keita, Boubacar Samaké and Rokia Koné, among many others. Seydou is an electrifying djembe and drum kit player, as well as an exceptionally effective, thoughtful and intuitive teacher. He relies less on verbal explanation than on clear demonstration and gesture, breaking down phrases and adapting the pace and material to the needs of the group. Hans plays with Seydou in the London-based drum and dance group Foli Douman.
It’s a great pleasure to welcome back Stephan Pugh. Steph has been working with Hans for over 20 years, and brings his warm, calm and thorough teaching to the party. He'll be running a dunun recap class, and leading a dununba group through variations to accompany one of the solos series - a setup that’s gone down a storm at recent camps. -
FRIDAY
Arrivals from 5pm. Buffet dinner available all evening.
7.15pm to 10pm: Evening session with Hans.
SATURDAY
9.30am and 5.30pm: Sessions with Hans and Co, plus our fabulous special guest teacher, Seydou Kienou.
Evening: Recording session. Open mic and jamming, plus a fire pit outside, if there's good weather and popular demand.
SUNDAY
Classes throughout the day 10am to 5pm.
Help tidy up and departure by 6pm. -
Hans likes to teach one or two pieces in depth at his camps. Over the weekend, there’ll be time to play both djembe and dundun, including solo series, variations and breaks. There’ll also be songs, exercises to develop precision and feel, and plenty of cultural background to the music. This year, Hans will again teach a session for teachers and group leaders who might want to work further with the pieces, and a session on djembe skills/musicality (specific theme TBC).
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HansCamp North is NOT suitable for beginners, but everyone else from improver upwards is very welcome. Hans provides fun and challenging material for players of all levels.
In some sessions we’ll have the whole group working with Hans on core material together, or supporting one another playing through what we’ve learned. A lot of the time we’ll split the group along various level lines to work in separate classes, providing 4 strands of tuition from Improvers to Pros. Sometimes we’ll have different levels working together on different ensemble roles, with support from Steph and other HansCamp friends.
Everyone will get to work on material suitable to their level, including at least one solo series that’s a little easier and one that’s a little harder. If you’d rather get in some extra dundun playing to support one of the solos classes, that’s great too. -
Each HansCamper receives a comprehensive booklet containing all the notation and plenty of other information about the pieces, including history, connections with other repertoire, swing, song lyrics and suggested listening.
Hans and his crew of dundun players demonstrate all the material in a separate evening session, for HansCampers to record with whatever gadgets they choose. Video recordings are shared amongst the group.
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Hans is widely considered to be among the most skilled, thorough and patient teachers in the UK, renowned for his fiendishly logical brain and superhuman multi-tasking skills. His knowledge of djembe repertoire has been gleaned through numerous trips to West Africa - particularly to Mali. With over 25 years’ experience of performing and teaching West African rhythms, Hans is an outstanding musician who knows how to communicate his in-depth knowledge to students of all levels and learning styles.
Although his classes became known for being rigorous and demanding, they are also exhilarating and highly rewarding. Having listened to HansCampers’ feedback, Hans has adapted his approach to HansCamps, so you’ll enjoy the same levels of insight, but with more time spent on consolidation, for a richer, more satisfying experience. This is a superb opportunity for you to improve your djembe and dundun abilities, and further develop your knowledge and understanding of West African rhythms. -
“Less is more!”
“I liked the care shown to the less experienced people whilst still providing fantastic challenge for the experienced/pros.”
“The reduced syllabus was a success. I was left with a deeper understanding of the smaller amount of material which feels good.”
“A good balance, I enjoyed the chance to do a lot of dundun”
“A little lighter on the brain and more accomplishable this time.”
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The Hub (http://tcrhub.co.uk/) is a modern centre on the outskirts of Barnard Castle. There is a spacious hall, a dance studio, dining area/atrium and great outdoor spaces including a lake and a fire pit. The event is fully catered by a friendly team providing vegetarian meals (plus vegan and gluten-free options available on request), snacks and drinks from Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime.
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The main accommodation is across several bunk rooms, each with 6 to 8 beds. We ask all HansCampers to declare any dorm arrangement preferences on their booking form. Next to the centre is a level parking area for live-in vehicles. As it will be late autumn we assume no one will be camping (although there is plenty of space to do so...)
OFF-SITE ACCOMMODATION
For those who wish to book their own accommodation there are several options in the town and nearby. Check on AirbnB, TripAdvisor, etc. -
Please car share if possible and indicate on the booking form if you need a lift and from where, or if you can offer lifts, how many spaces and from where.
By Rail…
The nearest station is Darlington (20 miles) on the East Coast mainline. Advance tickets are released 12 weeks ahead of travel date and time from London is 2h 30 mins. The Hub offer us the hire of a minibus. If you might want a lift from Darlington train station on Friday evening or back to the station on Sunday evening please indicate on the booking form so we can calculate the viability and cost. -
We know times are hard, so if you really want to drum but feel like you can't afford it, then please contact K☀️ via hanscampnorth@gmail.com to discuss a concession before completing the booking form. We don't want anyone to miss out!
Equally, while times are hard for many of us, others may be more financially secure. Anyone wishing to contribute a voluntary sum, to help subsidise another person’s ticket price or travel costs, would be very welcome to do so. Please see the “Paying It Forward” option on the booking form.
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We have early bird and full price ticket tiers, and the option to pay a deposit followed by instalments. You're also welcome to pay in one lump sum if you prefer.
TICKET PRICES
🏠 Staying Offsite / 🪱 Early Bird : £220 (inc. deposit of £40)
🏠 Staying Offsite / 🐭 Full Price : £245 (inc. deposit of £110)
🚐 Campervan / 🪱 Early Bird : £250 (inc. deposit of £70)
🚐 Campervan / 🐭 Full Price : £275 (inc. deposit of £140)
🛌 Dormitory / 🪱 Early Bird : £260 (inc. deposit of £80)
🛌 Dormitory / 🐭 Full Price : £285 (inc. deposit of £150)
TICKET TYPES
🏠 Staying Offsite tickets include: tuition, all meals.
🚐 Campervan tickets include: tuition, all meals, staying in own live-in vehicle on site.
🛌 Dormitory tickets include: tuition, meals and shared dorm accommodation (bring your own bedding).
🪱 Early Bird ticket prices are valid for bookings made ON or BEFORE 10th September 2026, which are accompanied by the required deposit, with 2 further instalments to follow (by 10th October and 10th November).
🐭 Full Price tickets: All bookings made AFTER 10th September 2026 are for 🐭 Full Price tickets and must be accompanied by the required deposit, with payment of the remainder of the ticket price to follow (by 10 November).
We have done everything in our power to keep the prices down, and we’re sure you will find them to be excellent value.
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To book your place, please complete the booking form.
Upon receipt of your completed booking form, K☀️ will send you any necessary payment details.
In order to preserve the quality of teaching and learning that you expect from a HansCamp, places are strictly limited and are being allocated on a “first come, first served” basis. -
If you have any questions, please contact K☀️, our HansCamp Hostess, via hanscampnorth@gmail.com and she will get back to you as soon as she can.
Please do remember to add hanscampnorth@gmail.comto your list of safe senders, so our emails don’t end up in your junk folder! Thank you.
We look forward to hearing from you soon!!