The Eiffel tower, the frog and the dough; Musicality of Movement approach (Virág Dezsö) for singers; connecting the physicality of singing, body awareness, performative skills, and improvisation [Charlotte Riedijk, The Eiffel tower, the frog and the dough, Musicality of Movement for singers

Abstract The incentive for this research was to explore ways of integrating the physicality of singing into vocal education by means of the Musicality of Movement (MoM) approach. Musicality of Movement is a physical performance training program designed for musicians. Traditionally the importance of the physicality of singing is recognized, yet it remains underexposed in vocal training, which eventually can lead to inhibited vocal freedom and wooden or awkward performances. The Musicality of Movement approach (MoM) opens ways to freer, more imaginative stage presence, better physical awareness and more expressive singing. The working hypothesis was: Integrating the Musicality of Movement approach into classical voice education will offer singers tools to enhance stage presence, imaginative expression, clarity of performative skills and can create ways to find physical and mental wellbeing on stage. The hypothesis was confirmed by the results of the three interventions—consisting of MoM lessons and workshops—that were executed during the academic year 2023-2024, with three groups of voice students, in three different settings. Interviews and questionnaires were analysed to give an impression of how working with the MoM approach supported performative skills and stage presence. Positive results were obtained from relatively small groups of students which shows a need for future research over a longer period and with a larger research population. Most mentioned keywords to indicate what the MoM-lessons brought the students were body awareness, better breathing, performance skills and playfulness. The practicality of the approach was shown by the fact that participants mentioned to use the exercises in their individual vocal practice.

The Eiffel Tower, the frog, and the dough
Integrating the Musicality of Movement approach (VirágDezsö) into classical voice education: connecting the physicality of singing, body awareness, performative skills,and improvisation

Introduction and Research Question

Motivation, some personal background and how this research came about.

MoM for Singers at Studio Mapa Haarlem

Introduction

In teaching classical voice (like I have been doing since 1990), instructors often encounter physical obstacles in their students that obstruct or slow down the desired vocal development, which can be discouraging both for the student and the teacher and needs to be solved to be able to build towards a sustainable and life long lasting vocal development. Several authors1 wrote about the physicality of singing and the possible implications of physical blockages and unintentional muscle tensions on vocal production and offer methods to tackle these blockages. A few well-known and proven approaches are Feldenkrais Method, ^{(Nelson 2002)} Alexander Technique, (Reid 2025) and Body Mapping.(Melissa 2020) Mostly, these methods are particularly useful and of excellent value as they enhance the singer’s physical awareness through exercises and coaching sessions. They work towards better self-awareness on physical blockages and habitual tensions, thus creating more physical wellbeing; however, this exposition's theme is more specifically about the physicality of singing, the theatrical performative body, and how to integrate them in a way that enhances stage presence and performative freedom.

The theatrical aspect of being on stage, where every conscious or unconscious movement is visible to the audience and thus gets a—intended or unintended—meaning, stays underexposed in the more widely known physical awareness training methods. Of course, we can find methods for physical theatre training and dance, like Decroux’ mime corporel,^{(Amos, de 2022)} Laban movement analyses,^{(Brittanica 2025)} Graham Technique, Dutch mime, ^{(Langen, de 2022)} viewpoints, ^{(Bogart 2005)} just to name a few. What I have not found, so far, are books or other publications about methods that elaborate on the combination of stage performance and musicality, diving into the body, performative skills, and musical movement in all its aspects, on which I will elaborate later by describing the Musicality of Movement approach, which, from my perspective, unites performative skills, physical,- spatial, and musical awareness. In Spain PhD candidate Marta Sancho-Andrés ^{(Sancho-Andrés 2026)} is writing her thesis about the MoM approach, she is expecting to publish her results in 2026.

Physicality of Singing and the Performative Body

Bringing my personal history of physical research and training to my voice lessons, I increasingly felt the need to integrate the aspects of the physicality of singing and the performative body immediately into voice education, rather than offering them in a separate subject. The Musicality of Movement approach (MoM by VirágDezsö) provides for physical awareness enhancement as well as increased sense of theatricality and performance skills. This distinguishes MoM from the above-mentioned methods, which have a beneficial effect on unintentional tensions and create a sense of wellbeing in a studio-setting, whereas MoM is practical—geared towards musicians and other stage performers—and immediately, from the first lesson on, integrates theatrical awareness into the exercises. In fact, every exercise is theatrical. This makes Musicality of Movement suitable for integration into voice education: physical exercises can be used in vocal warm up, waking up the voice as well as the body in a combined, playful way.(Dezsö 2023) MoM exercises are largely based on Mime Corporel as developed by Etienne Decroux (1898-1991), the French mime and theatre innovator. Decroux developed a technique with uncountable exercises and études, working with breath, physical articulation, weight-counter weight, direction, and dynamo rythme—each of them musical concepts—and called it musicalité du mouvement. The Musicality of Movement approach is based on the same principles, hence Dezsö decided to use the same name.7

The Musicality of Movement approach (MoM) showed itself to provide for the experience based, practical, holistic, and non-judgmental approach that seemed applicable in voice- and physical awareness lessons with singers of all levels. This called for further investigation and research and led me to the following hypothesis:

Integrating the Musicality of Movement approach into classical voice education will offer singers tools to enhance stage presence, imaginative expression, clarity of performative skills and can create ways to find physical and mental wellbeing on stage.

To investigate this statement,we can use the answers to the research question:

What are the effects of the integration of Musicality of Movement into classical voice training?

To answer this, I will make the following inquiries:

How does classical voice education deal with the physicality of singing?

What is the Musicality of Movement (MoM) approach? Historical context, effects on performance skills and stage presence,benefits and challenges?

How can MoM be integrated in classical voice education?

What can my contribution be to the Musicality of Movement approach?

The core of my research consisted of designing and implementing workshops and lessons of the Musicality of Movement approach (MoM), as created by Virág Dezsö, tailoring them specifically for singers and documenting the effects reported by participants. All classes and presentations, held in the academic season of 2023/2024, were recorded. This audio- and video-material was used to collect images and quotes to underline the observations made by participating singers. Participants filled in questionnaires and gave oral feedback at the end of the workshop series and these remarks were included to draw conclusions.

With this research, I hope to provide students, colleagues, and the work field with insights into the connection between physical awareness, performative skills, phonation on stage, spatial awareness, and stage presence. Apart from introducing and describing the Musicality of Movement approach, this exposition wants to give practical tips and guidelines to help improve stage performance and encourage vocal performers to start their own exploration of the unity of singing and the performative body. I expect this to be a practical addition to already existing literature about vocal techniques and will only go into vocal technical details when the physical exercises directly affect phonation.

Continue to Chapter 1. The physicality of Singing

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