Queer Invisible Academy
Queer because we question sexualities and genders as we know them ; Invisible because we do not want to embrace policed sexualities and genders ; Academy because we want a new way to create knowledge.
LGBTQ Community Voice and Singing Workshop
(taught by Wendy Vinaigrette)
Friday 17th of September 2010
3:45PM at LARC,
62 Fieldgate Street,
E1 1ES London
Venue has a small step, but side door can be opened for wheechair users. There is a wheechair accessible toilet.
Do you love to sing and want to do more of it? Do you secretly wish you could sing, even in the shower? Do you wish your voice was more powerful or clear when you speak, be it with friends, or to the community? Is your voice, or your relationship to your voice changing?
Everyone can sing. Regardless of what we may have been told along the way, regardless of gender, regardless of what training we may or may not have had, regardless of how much we have been silenced, and regardless of whether or not our voice is changing, we all can sing. And singing can be fun, healing, and transformative.
This is a community class intended for self-identified queer, transgender, bisexual, two-spirit, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, gay, and lesbian people* who want to develop a fuller range of their voice for speaking and/or singing. People with all levels of vocal experience (or lack thereof) are welcome and encouraged to join us!
How I teach:
Working with the voice can be an extremely transformative, healing, and fun process. I am very much interested in the idea of the voice being a manifestation of the soul.
While I do apply tools and warm-ups, I tailor classes to the needs of those who are present. I am interested in facilitating a safe(r) space your own vocal research, and finding easy ways into your voice. Then you have the room to develop a healthy relationship with discover the vast geography of your own voice.
My voice teaching primarily draws on both the Linklater technique of ‘Freeing the Natural Voice,’ and the Roy Hart/Alfred Wolfsohni** approach to the voice, but also incorporates other theater and healing approaches.
About me:
I am a queer (mostly) femme identified person who is also an activist and performer. I am interested in using the arts as a tool to fight oppression in its many forms, as well as a tool for fun and community healing. As an activist, I have done a lot of work focused on harm reduction, sex worker, and housing rights, and I play clarinet in the activist marching band, the Brass Liberation Orchestra. I have been teaching voice in private and workshop settings over the past few years, especially in the queer and activist communities. Professionally trained in theater and performance at New York University’s Tisch school of the Arts, I draw from several vocal techniques but am currently working towards accreditation to be a Roy Hart Voice teacher.
Notes:
*This space is being created intentionally for lgbtq communities because I know that lgbtq folks like myself all too often find learning & creative spaces lacking relevance to our lives and awareness of our needs. If you have any questions about whether the class is right for you, please don't hesitate to contact me at geomagnetic@gmail.com
**The Linklater technique of ‘Freeing the Natural Voice,’ involves learning to relax most of the body’s muscles while activating others intentionally. Linklater holds that through socialization and the trials of everyday life, our muscles have learned to hold tension that blocks an easy, full voice. The technique works with activating and learning how to use the full body.
The Roy Hart/Alfred Wolfsohn approach to voice is grounded in the idea that anybody can sing, but everyone has a different path into their voice. It is an extremely individual approach, so there is no one lesson that is exactly the same. It also involves encouraging the body to start where it is most comfortable, and accessing the voice from different parts of the body. It is also grounded in freeing the voice from the ways in which trauma has restricted it, and in the idea the idea that sounds a voice can make is not limited by biological sex.