Jean-Rene Toussaint Hosts Primitive Voice Workshops in NYC, Philadelphia, 4/21-6/3

Jean-Rene Toussaint will host several Primitive Voice workshops in Midtown, New York City and Philadelphia, April through June.

THE VOICE IS MORE THAN THE VOICE - April 21, 22
(Beginners workshop - basics - and returning students)
A two day workshop to discover the basics of primitive voice. A first step to move away from doing and 'expressing' and into listening and being, taking support, and thus connecting to yourself, to your environment and to others. A step towards losing the grip of our control and finding the deep sensation of being free in a large and safe space. We will explore effective ways to be, giving a secondary place to the ego, picture and/or mask that society teaches us to bare.

VOICE, MOTION AND EMOTION - April 28, 29
(Beginners and returning students)
The magical part of the voice is the fact that we are thinking, we have a consciousness, we are able to speak BECAUSE of the voice - and not only WITH the voice. Emotions are not only the form of our awareness in front of diverse situations but a primitive form of ourselves confronted with the nature, our environment and situations out of our control. In the work with primitive voice, we make a difference between physical emotion (voice, breath, body) and 'emotion of emotion' which are cognitive, cultural and mental constructions. When Artaud was speaking about the actor as 'athlete of affectivity' he was searching how to be 'pregnant from the nature' as material to work on onstage... He was searching the same path of transformation, metamorphosis. In a way, we are more able to move, to change the more we are centered, the more we are ourselves...in the way of 'being' not the manners of 'doing.'

THE VOICE, A TOOL FOR ACTING - May 26, 27
(Advanced Workshop, for returning students from ANY other previous course with Jean-Rene)
Two days for professionals, advanced users of the voice and/or travelers through emotions and creativity to discover a huge palate of nuances and effects. Connecting our impulses with our sounds, our moves, our body, involving the witness, the partner or spectator to cross amazing sensations. Daring to cross borders to find ourselves in a world where being and doing exist and have to deal with each other. More than discovering the huge possibilities of the voice, this workshop offers a next step in welcoming yet unknown tools, in matter of body, energy and field of improvisation. The being part shows the material... And, the doing part achieves the daring, the dimension and the impact of our way of acting and expressing.

Upcoming Workshops in Philadelphia:

YOUR VOICE and BEING YOURSELVES
Workshop for Beginners
May 5-6 in Philadelphia

The VOICE as tool for ACTING
Workshop for Advanced
June 2-3 in Philadelphia

Based on Toussaint’s discoveries during 12 years of work with deaf children, it is a technique for artists to allows the body to experience being a source of vibrations, and all the discoveries that come with that process. Reconnecting the voice to the body allows an individual to open up a musical instrument unique for each person based on his/her unique life experience. Stemwerk can be used as a technique to apply to: singing, theater, expression, interpersonal communication, pedagogy, and personal development.

Toussaint’s work is not only another approach to the exploration of the human voice but also the rediscovery of and attunement to other voices - (this is of particular interest to artists who collaborate with, and play with other artists). With this approach the listening process becomes primary, placing the expression as secondary. By separating the vertical voice (breath, spine, and the ground) from the horizontal one (culture, society, communication) we reproduce a natural process reconnecting to the origin of our voice. The link between the vocal system and the pelvis on a neurological level and an educational level is remarkable and explored in this work.

Some of the themes that will be explored in the workshops are:

* Emotion and “emotion of emotion”
* Natural and cultural emotions
* Being movable in/out of the voice
* The voice between time and space
* Male and Female energies, a step to the creativity
* The temptation of doing, the fascination of being

For more information on pricing, locations and more, visit http://www.primitivevoice.com.

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