The use of voice and movement as a therapeutic and creative tool by ASPASIA MARMARITSAKI

In this practice-based research, I am exploring the co-existence and interaction of voice, breath, and movement in my practice for both healing-therapeutic and artistic-creative purposes. I consider it important because, as humans as well as practitioners, we use both of these tools that are components of our body to perform as a whole, and they have lots of mutual needs but also lots of ways that they inform each other either consciously or subconsciously. This idea started as a way to work on personal concerns but then inspired me to think of it as a methodology that could expand outwards. A set of tools that, after seeing how they can help me connect deeper with my body and improve on challenges I encounter, could apply to other people too; not only with the same or similar concerns, but in general other people who are interested in the organic use of the body, the therapeutic tools that we can create by extracting elements from within our body, and the re-formation of a healthy and respectful approach towards the use of our body which extends, consequently, to the re-finding of awareness and enjoyment while we practice. So, summing up, I am interested in exploring the ways in which voice and movement inform each other, the therapeutic benefits out of this process, and the feedback they can provide for each other in terms of their functional use. The choice of this topic is the result of realizations that my recent injury led me to as far as they way I am using my body is concerned. So, it seems to me like a way to reconnect with my body in a more sensitive and mindful way. I look at it as a natural medicine for my body, mind, soul, and practice. As a way to create a practice for recovery but also for prevention and at the same time a source of inspiration. Starting from the creation of a deeper connection within ourselves and a healthier approach towards our practice, I feel that this process results in more concentration, presence, enjoyment, and relief; elements that can make a significant difference in performance, choreographic process, training, practice, and education. Conscious breath, functional breath, breath that can facilitate the movement, movement that can facilitate the use of voice, and vice versa, are the parameters of the practice that are being explored through improvisational tasks. I am aiming at the development of a set of tasks from and for the practitioner, either this is the researcher or someone else who applies this method on themselves and the essential purpose is to discover what feels right for each body with no attachment to aesthetic parameters nor perfection of any kind. Background knowledge can be a support, but occurring knowledge during the practice is what I am mostly interested in.

Conclusion

To bring this presentation of my journey to an end, I share some observations-extracts from the reflective writing that accompanied the practical process:

-When practicing with different vowels, I noticed that I find a and o more challenging, especially in lower pitches. The vowel e leads me to more lateral movements, while with i and u I find more freedom in movement and bigger duration in my breath. Especially with i, I find it easier to balance and I sense more potential in the movement. Maybe the difference comes from the sensation of vibration that puts me in a powerful mood, and it is easiaer to find it with the vowels i and u as I find it easier to use the inner spaces of the body for clearer sound prrojection.

-I tend to expand or move upwards when inhaling and gather towards my center when exhaling. Sometimes, if I try the opposite, I feel stuck because it doesn't come naturally and others it leads me to new movement vocabulary. It is an area that I am still processing and exploring to understand deeper.

-The somatic vocal toning gives me a feeling of calm power and readiness to experiment with my voice.

-When improvising freely at the end of each practice, I tend to trace memories of tasks I experimented with earlier, while at the same time, I experience a sensation of letting go of thoughts, moving away from the mind and allowing the movement and the voice to lead me without preplanning or worrying about aesthetic results. It occurs naturally to pass from one task to the other without thinking about instructions anymore. There is a dialogue generated between voice and movement, where both alternate the lead organically. I find this order of tasks to have a build-up that prepares me for liberation.

-Singing while moving through positions that activate the body and using the contrast between high pitch and grounded movement and vice versa, allows me to find more clarity in the projection of the voice. Finally, bending forward to avoid abdominal tension when I feel that my breath is finishing and I need to prolong it, has become my safety net.

-Passive Sequencing has managed to unblock me even in the most difficult days that I feel stuck and I don't know where to start and how. It has helped me so much that I have started making connections with ways to apply it in daily life in general.

-The tremors and alternation between pressing and releasing have become part of my daily routine for any moment I feel my body stiff even if I am not preparing for a dance class or rehearsal but just to be functional throughout my day. It is not every time easy to find the tremors and, even if I am trying to notice what affects it, I keep getting surprised every time with how easy or difficult it may come.

-The breathing exercises have literally saved me from emotional explosions and overwhelming situations. They make me feel a huge difference in my practice, more prepared mentally, emotionally, and physically, and after doing them I find more ease in my body, I feel it easier to connect my breath with my movement, and a very enjoyable fluidity and smoothness occur; I feel more space inside my joints, softer and more coordinated, in control when I want and able to let go if I choose, “on my feet”, available to balance with calmness and no tension, and most importantly, more present.

-The use of voice while moving, other than giving me feedback about non functional breathing or stiffness in my body, also helps me to activate my facial muscles, feel more awake, alive, energetic and present, and have different, naturally occurring, facial expressions that usually I don’t.

This research has been a transformative journey. It made me reconsider a lot of things that I didn't pay enough attention to, realize nuances that cause huge differences in my relationship with my body, voice, and breath, and enrich my practice in a very creative, meanigful, and nurturing way. I had been trying to experiment with the combination of voice and movement in the past, but without cnonsciously thinking about functional breathing. As a result, I had a feeling of limitation in the movement in order to not interrupt the voice, and I was struggling a lot with the duration of my breath. At the same time, I had a lot of self-judgmental expectations that didn't allow this enjoyment to bloom. Finally, finding the therapeutic lense as a starting and connecting point, this combination feels not forced, but liberated, with endless potential, and I am glad to have these new realizations in my toolbox. I hope in the future to share this practice with more people and explore the different and or similar effects that it may have on them.

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