In the second intervention I decided to, besides the general exercises, focus on specific groups of exercises. Keeping in mind what I learned in the workshops in Sweden and what I found through trial and error—over the years in my own practice, giving masterclasses and working with students at Codarts—three groups of exercises were expected to have beneficial effects when used during vocal warm up; exercises for:
a. spinal flexibility
b. hands/feet/extremities
c. connection to the longline in the body
Session 2
- finding neutral position, horizontal eye gaze > being here & now
- finding gravity, bouncing down & - up
- the shiver. Breathing out completely, letting air in with shiver
- sliding
- spine (flexibility)
- progressive - degressive movement
- elephant
- contractions
- antennes d'escargots
- bascule, longline, Tour Eiffel
- Tour Eiffel with sound
- improvisation
Observations, reflection & feedback 4 participants, 1 late
Question before starting the exercises: How did it go, did you use the exercises we did during your warm up?
One student mentioned working with the exercises and feeling more aligned and aware of the spine and more connected to her legs, besides being more active after doing the exercises.
Self-reflection: Watching this session afterward I noticed that I was explaining too much. It would have been better to let them experience themselves and collect what they took from the exercise instead of telling them what the exercise was about in my view. The lack of energy in the group that day made me work hard, trying to keep up spirits, while I felt frustrated because there was hardly any exchange of energy.
Session 3
- waking up body by rubbing arms, back, belly, hip joints
- sliding, three tonicities/tonalities
- spine flexibility (chest, neck, head)
- progressive - degressive
- double zéro
- elephant
- contractions
- throwing the net (explaining the breath)
- longline > seaweed, bascule
- hands, jellyfish & dough
- walking in space, fade in and - out
- duos
- explaining the frog + phonation
Observations, reflection & feedback, 6 participants
In the jellyfish exercise there is an 'element of wonder.....'
In walking exercise they feel that 'after a while they start to respond and giving space without trying'. It became easier to continue and imitate or react to each other. It felt 'powerful if you let yourself be free in a safe space'
Self-reflection: This session had good energy and a nice balance in action (experiences) and explanation (theory and concepts). I was pleased when one of the participants reflected on the safe space allowing them to improvise freely and another on the playfulness; bringing the brain into a more learning-like mentality which is necessary for good vocal/music practice.
Session 4
- jumping, longline (neck)
- circles head/neck, yes - no
- spine progressive
- contractions
- fisherman's net
- double zéro
- breathing, stretch - hang
- toc, inbreath (explanation body & voice) playful
- Tour Eiffel plus sound
- frog > opening the back
- exploration of freeing & releasing outbreath
- hands/touch, arms & body
- bird's nest > spasm
- jellyfish > voice after impulse
- improvisation: walking, sitting, lying down, getting up, singing. Explore transitioning from one to the next
Observations, reflection & feedback 4 participants
When adding voice, participants start to think and loose contact with their bodies and they are no longer present in their bodies. They need more clarity of their teacher and, in this phase, simpler assignments. The improvisation with simple movements gradually became freeer. The participants gave back that they were helped by focussing on the arrival of a transition from one movement to the next. Changing from walking to sitting gave a natural sense the connection breath-body.
After the last improvisation there were several remarks about different types of transitions and their effects in space and in their own bodies.
Self-reflection: although I tried to be clear and offer simple exercises, it turned out that extra clarification was needed on the use of breath. It was good to notice that participants started to ask questions and reflect on their experiences. The work with the breath is less obvious than I thought. The exercises often trigger a specific inhalation, during this session I noticed that the exhalation needs more attention for some singers. Adding layers on the exercises—starting with the exercise on the breath, adding phonation and adding improvisation—needs smaller steps and more physical ease to avoid participants to start overthinking and losing the physical presence in the body.
Session 5
- rubbing body, warming up, getting in touch
- jump, bounce with breath
- elephant (explained way of breathing)
- contractions (let go and focus back on horizon)
- the solo zipper
- double zéro
- bascule, Tour Eiffel series
- hands, articulations
- birds nest (small space, big space)
- magic ball
- jellyfish
- dough, tonicity/tonality, color of movement
- toc solar plexus
- repeting exercises with phonation (outbreath = sound)
Observations, reflection & feedback, 2 participants
While we were waiting for the others (which in the end did not turn up), the two participants present and I had a conversation about the work so far. I asked them which elements had been important for them during the workshops.
Both mentioned different elements.
- spatial awareness
- neutrality - alignment
- freeing the body
- improvising with a partner
- stepping out of their comfort zone
- communication on stage
- surprising one self
- repetition of the exercises deepens the experience
- playfulness of breath > freedom of expression
Session 6 & presentation
Shorter session due to presentation.
- recap of groups of exercises
- integration movements with breath and sound
- every time we breath out we can make a sound
- warmup of the bodies
- practice with the dough and sound
- frog
- toc
- improvisation, varying speed, taking time for impro to unfold
Presentation
- short introduction by Charlotte
- lesson with selection of exercises that have been explored during sessions
- two rounds of improvisation
- evaluative talk with participants and audience
Observations, reflection & feedback, 7 participants
- observations about changes in the breathing when whole body is involved in an action
- when trying to be fast, the connection is lost
- when slowing down, there is more attention and focus
- with longer improvisation the actors on stage are more involved and attentive of the others
- running gives a change in energy > more presence in sound
- creating a story an having dynamics as a group/choir
- the more we do it, the more interaction we have
- patterns start to appear
- space is a strong dramatic partner
Question from the audience upon hearing that the attendance was irregular:
How did it work with the gaps between the lessons?
Participant who was there 5 out of 6 times:
Having been there five times, she liked the routine of the exercises. The repetition made her body start to recognize and understand the movements which made it easier to integrate them into her practice. She also started to feel impulses coming from the body and listen to these impulses rather than 'thinking' about them. The others seemed to be a feeling a bit awkward about the question and mostly kept silent.
Questionnaire #2, after the workshop series
Self-reflection and report of session VI: this final workshop was shorter than the other sessions because we had to stick to the regular one-and-a-half hours. The short recap of the elements we touched on was also meant to allow participants unable to attend all six sessions to catch up. It was a pleasant session. We discussed which elements we could use for our presentation. I felt I needed to emphasize the presentation was to show our work-in-progress instead of being a performance. When the interested people had arrived, I presented my research topic and explained how the workshops and presentation fitted in.
The atmosphere was friendly, and I felt an open curiosity in the small crowd. This made the participants and me feel comfortable and at ease. It was interesting to see how the participant that five out of six times had been there seemed the most confident and able to phrase her experiences most clearly. In the improvisation she showed trust to follow her physical impulses as opposed to another participant who was trying to ‘make’ something and expressed not wanting to be ‘boring.’Some participants expressed noticing that moving slowly allowed them to stay in their bodies and experience their breathing. When trying to move fast, they sometimes lose physical connection as well as connection to the others and the space.
One spectator sent me some feedback after the presentation. Her feedback and observations were unbiased and fresh, they were very pleasing and made me happy;
The most striking thing for me was the improvisation exercise they did. They had only one guideline for the exercise: take a melody they wanted, and while feeling the space (moving, lying down, running...) sing it when feeling the impulse. It was very enlightening to see how the movement gave meaning to the chosen musical phrase, changing completely the character in each intervention. (...) This whole exercise emphasized to me how movement enhances performative skills. Choosing each singer their own little musical phrase, without an agreed concept, they finally came up with a common "performance" full of meaning.
4. 3. Intervention III
Starting in September 2023 - ending in June 2024
The third intervention of this exposition consists of my observations of and participation in physical acting classes at Codarts, University of the Arts, Rotterdam, spread over the 2023-2024 academic year. These weekly, one-and-a-half-hour-longclasses are tailored to voice students and taught by Virág Dezsö, who is the source of the Musicality of Movement approach. The lessons are for Bachelor I and II students and were also attended by Master I students. During the school year I took part in these classes four times, including the final presentation and assessment sessions—which I only observed.
2023-09-20 First class of the year for both groups. Introduction class for Bachelor I students.
2023-11-29 Watched both groups and participated in the warming-ups and (most of) the exercises.
2024-03-13 Watched both groups and participated in warming-ups and (most of) the exercises
2024-06-12 Warming up followed by an open presentation with interested parties/teachers/students. After the presentation questions could be asked and observations shared by participants and audience. The final evaluation by students and the teacher took place in a more intimate setting, without the spectators.