Kestrel works with fellow performers to augment physical and vocal training. She dedicated 10 years to the Suzuki Method of Actor Training in the US and Japan, and is a qualified teacher of the methods of Theodoros Terzopoulos. She has taught for institutions such as Rose Bruford College (UK); Open Up EU; CalArts (US); The Watermill Center (US); Tanzhaus Luzern (CH); Dancehouse Lefkosia (CY); Nea Kinisi (CY); and Cyprus Chamber of Fine Arts. Along with her colleagues from across disciplines, she has also lead custom interdisciplinary arts workshops for children.
To inquire about in-person or online coaching, contact Kestrel.
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UPCOMING:
(FREE*)
Voice Lab: Embodied vocal techniques for movers with Kestrel Farin Leah
Friday October 3 18:00-21:00
M54 Collective Art Space Menandrou 54, Athens, Greece
*In order to preserve the sanctity of our work space, the camera is rarely invited. This particular workshop will be filmed for documentation purposes and is therefore free to participants.
THE WORKSHOP:
VOICE LAB is an all-levels workshop for dancers working with voice and performers/vocalists who move—or anyone seeking freer, more supported vocalization through movement.
The body and voice are inseparable—they are creative collaborators, connected symbiotically through anatomy, instinct, imagination. In this workshop, we use full-bodied movement to develop diaphragmatic support and discover the sensual, energetic relationship between body, breath and voice—we body-source sound. A constellation of corporeal exercises integrating principles from contemporary dance, somatic techniques and extended voice work combines technical conditioning tools with free, imaginative improvisation, touching upon text, song and paralinguistics. Approaching the voice as pnevma—both breath and spirit—we work to release tension, cultivate presence, and unearth the naturally free and expressive voices we were born with.
Release. We develop personalized practices to release vocal and physical tension, with a specific focus on the jaw-hip connection. We distinguish between tension and energy and cultivate “activated softness”.
Alignment. Just as in dance, we use alignment principles to dilate the body and open the vocal channel. With awareness, we methodically disrupt these forms, accessing breath and vocal production in challenging postures so we can find vocal freedom and play in m o v e m e n t.
Conditioning. Abdominal breathing, in tandem with physical training, develops strong and responsive diaphragmatic function. Exercises are built on familiar forms, and breathing techniques can be incorporated into any physical practice.
The voice as energy. Breathing together, building collective energy, activates and stabilizes our sound and shifts our perception of vocal projection to an energetic one. We cultivate vocal resonance and presence, and open the door to creativity.
Improvisation. Fluid movement and imaging exercises reveal a reciprocal, sensual relationship between body and voice and embrace the ephemeral, shifting landscape of our sound. Deconstructing what is “socially acceptable” sound, we invite our full range of vocal expression. We follow pleasure and enjoy the body and voice creatively “unlocking” one another via impulse and instinct, and as storehouses of experiential and ancestral memory.
(The workshop will be led in English)
Note: No previous experience is required. While some exercises are rigorous, the work is adaptable to a range of physical ability and foregrounds diversity and accessibility.
The workshop will be led in English.