I recently sat down to create a contribution for Serge Onnen‘s exhibition, opening tomorrow at the Kunstfort in Vijfhuizen, called The Fear of Small Numbers. Among the exhibits is a record player for which visitors can change the speed. Our collective of sound makers Oorbeek (where I got to know Serge in the first place) recorded a contribution in the studio this Summer, while recording a new album, and a host of other performers (me included) were asked to contribute. The record contains all these short pieces, one after another, and as a listeners you can play them back as fast or slow as you like. An interesting challenge for which I produced the following short piece, which I think will sound good no matter how slow or fast it is played back. I looped the original track of 22 seconds several times to make it longer. And for lack of a turntable I give you the half and double speeds as a bonus.
Four days to explore Time through exciting rhythms, solemn melodies and ritualistic cycles.
Repeat repeat repeat.
Refresh refresh refresh.
Four days to reveal the secrets that Time plays with us in our daily lives.
JANUARY 24-27 , 2019, JIANSHI – TAIWAN
The Cycles
In our daily lives we are constantly immersed in cycles and rhythms. Some are natural, some cultural, some personal. Think of the seasons and our biological clock; our annual festivities and celebrations, our workweek; the times we get up, we sleep, we relax with friends or family.
How do cycles, like night and day, circadian rhythms (+/- 24 hours) and the seasonal rhythms influence us? How can we understand these rhythms in a time when we are deeply changed by artificial light, the 24-hour economy and fixed working hours, year-through? How can we play with these influences, use them more consciously, adapt them to our needs and to our actual, real-life rhythms? How can we break through our most stubborn, unhealthy patterns or improve them?
No one seems to escape from frequent feelings of being hurried, being late, being busy. Time seems to be either running after us, or we are running to catch up with Time. Music, meditation, hobbies and ‘spare time’ in general are moments to catch our breath and to not feel the pressure of The Clock. Is life really moving faster nowadays?
Many lucid minds have thought about such questions throughout the ages, and our days are no exception. Using examples from many epochs and insights from East and West, we confront these questions. We will look for and find answers in biology, philosophy and science. But most of all, we will explore answers in and through music.
The Rhythms
Can we make a music that reflects all these rhythms? A music that is not just for distraction, fun or entertainment, but a music that is charged with deeper meaning, understanding, and deeper transformative elements? What does that music sound like? Will it work?
Music happens to be a powerful messenger of a deeper sense of time. It unlocks secrets of time – and then again it makes the mystery bigger. In these three days we listen to examples of music based on the movements of planets, on the heartbeat, and learn to create our own original musics along similar lines. We create our own music based on the rhythms of cells and planetary movements (can you attune your voice to your cells or to Jupiter?). We look and listen into the rhythms and pulses of our individual ‘bodysphere’, and make them audible. We enact slow rituals to catch Time in its tracks, as it unfolds – as gesture, or dance – in our limbs and escapes – as sound – from our lips. In between we pause, reflect and discuss the ongoing game that Time plays with us. All with the aim to connect more deeply and more wisely with the manifold rhythms of the life forms inside and outside ourselves.
Program day to day
Every day we explore one of the cycle forms with which we want to make music that day.
We start Thursday from the ‘median’ rhtyhms that we can feel and test most easily: those of our own lifecycle and the longer biorhythms such as breath and hearbeat.
We continue Friday with the Circadian rhythms (day-night), expanding to the largest cycles of planets and other heavenly bodies.
Saturday we finish with a focus on the rhythms of cells and organs and also of other species, and look at the full picture of Cycles and Rhythms.
By Sunday we have a more complete picture of time cycles, with attached problems, as well as a picture of the solutions: the rhythms and tones that help us tune-in to the real world.
For each day we review some of the theories, we make our own observations and discuss the problems attached to it. At various stages, we create our own musical responses: sometimes more intuitively, sometimes in the shape of simple compositions that anyone can take part in. Gradually we will get closer to revealing the complex web of time cycles in which our life unfolds, and find answers to the question what we can do to adjust our pace to the unfolding of Time.
Dates, times, prices
OPTION ONE: FULL WORKSHOP.
The full workshop lasts 3,5 days, from Thursda, January 24, noon (+ evening) to Sunday January 27, afternoon 4 PM. On Friday and Saturday we have a program for all day (including evening), with longer breaks to let everything sink in.
The price for the 3,5 day workshop is NT$ 12.000.
Early bird (till November 5) and R E S O N A N C E students price: NT$ 10.800.
OPTION TWO: 2, 5 DAYS
For those who are short of time (it happens), it is possible to join from Friday, January 25, evening – let us know when you can arrive so we can inform you about the reduced price.
(NOT) INCLUDED:
All meals are included. Transport and lodging are not included. Lodging is on-site at The Rainbow Mountain, Jianshi, where you can stay all the time. The rooming options differ a bit and are handled separately by Sunny Chen.
REGISTRATION
Registration: through the form or write us:
Sunny Chen: ly.sunny.chen at gmail dot com / lineID: soleilc77
Mark van Tongeren: mark at fusica dot nl
Please send a clear proof of your payment (bank transfer) by email to Mark or Sunny.
Max. 12 students.
This workshop is in English with Mandarin translation.
【帶領者】 Mark van Tongeren 德蘇
馬克.范.湯格鄰(Mark van Tongeren)是一位在藝術與科學疆界耕耘的聲音表演家,擁有二十五年音樂與多媒體表演資歷,為荷蘭萊登大學民族音樂學研究博士。為向大師習藝,他的足跡遍及阿爾泰地區、地中海、以及西藏寺院。在國際上,他是泛唱表演與研究著作的權威。曾任教於台北藝術大學戲劇學系(2003-2004客座講師),政治大學X書院(2012-2014) ,肯園香氣私塾「聲音瑜珈」(2013-)。合作對象包含作曲家、即興創作者、原民音樂家、與台灣舞蹈團體。肯園科西嘉島芳香之旅領隊。2018年帶團前往圖瓦(西伯利亞)進行深度的音樂之旅。 目前與其妻溫佑君以及他們的兩位孩子定居於台灣。 https://www.fusica.nl/biography/
【課程資訊】
[對象]: 任何想深入接觸聲音、音樂的人。任何想要增進聲音、震動、及覺性的聲音音場之技巧以及了解的創作者、身體工作者或心靈修練者。對課程內容有想望者。
[語言]: 英文+中文
[時間]: 2019年1月24-27日,週四中午到週日下午四點
[地點]: 彩虹山嶺-靜淨境教室,新竹縣尖石鎮義興村9鄰93之1號
[學費] 12,000。含十餐和保險
早鳥優惠(至11月5日)/ R E S ON A N CE折扣:NT $ 10,800。
學生折扣(帶學生證):8折
This one-day workshop introduces the work of the influential musician-painter-poet-thinker Michael Vetter. He developed many tools to let students enter into a direct, open dialoge with art and creative processes. Combined with his well-informed reflections about art and spirituality, Vetter’s method makes music and visual arts accessible to many people, with or without an ‘art’ background. Very few artists cover the width and depth as Vetter does, while still being able to teach and inspire anyone from layman to professionals.
Michael Vetter (1943-2013) is probably best known as an overtone singer, but he spend at least as much time as an instrumentalist, painter, poet/writer, visual artist and educator. His life and work defied boundaries. He spent 13 years in Japan, pursuing intensive zen studies with two roshis (1970-1983). He visited Taiwan two times, exhibiting and creating new works, performing and teaching.
Vetter’s method makes music and visual arts accessible to many people, with or without an ‘art’ background. To continue Vetter’s line of creating and understanding art after his passing away in 2013, this workshop will introduce his methods to those who do not know him and go deeper for those who already know his work. The emphasis lies on practical, hands-on experience and getting a feeling for the overall, underlying connections between different art forms.
Program
The day is divided in four parts, which will be woven together to show how they are linked in Vetter’s integral approach to art, called Transverbal.
Heart sutra: The Hannya shingyo according to Michael Vetter. Okyo: Vetter’s approach to the Japanese approach to Indian Buddhist mantras. A practical exploration of transmutations. Voice: What is the voice? how can it teach us? Some of Vetter’s answers in theory, but as always practice comes first. Lines: Drawing lines, and understanding what simple lines can tell us about art and life. Bring paper and some colour pencils/pens.
For whom: Individuals interested in creative processes (visual, musical), as well as creative professionals seeking to deepen their skills and understanding of the arts. Motivation to try out new things is essential, skills are not essential. Language: English (with Chinese translation) Date/Time Sunday December 20, 10 AM until 5 PM. Lunch on your own (1-2PM). Place: Canjune Training Center Price: 1800 NT$ Discounts: students 20% (bring your ID) Participants: (min.) 8 – 20 (max.)
Info/registration
Interested? Get more inquiries from Mark (info@fusica.nl) or Yvonne (chichenlyv@gmail.com) or just register and we’ll send you the payment details. Call us at 0910382749 (Mark) / 0933178272 (Yvonne).
Meditations, contemplations and practices to get closer to yourself, to the body, to each other and to your surroundings. Listen with new ears to sound and silence. Explore the role of space and environment as sources for sound-making. Two days spent in the mountains to transform something you do all the time: a celebration of the ears!
Did you ever wonder why and how the world of sound can touch you so deeply? And what are the processes behind it? Did you believe your ears simply ‘register’ the sounds around you? Is it possible that you actually influence what you hear? Or can you learn from how others listen? Did you know there are many types of listeners and many ways of listening, such as holistic and analytical? Would you like to listen more actively, and ‘open your ears’ more? Can you ‘tune in’ yourself more to this world, or let this world attune to you? Do you want to let your ‘hearing’ become ‘listening’, and ‘listening’ become ‘understanding’?
During two days in the relative quietude of beautiful mountains in Hsinchu, we break through the habitual patterns of hearing so we can better perceive and understand the role of sound. This workshop is an opportunity to ‘hear yourself hear’ in new ways, and to reconsider what sound and music mean to you, also in everyday life.
The answers we find will be contemplated, imagined, sung, and expressed in words. We strike a neat balance between the verbal and non-verbal, the silent and the resonant, the action and the … passion. Leave the rattle and hum of everyday city life behind – celebrate the ears!
Program for these two days:
MORNINGS
Morning rituals: listen, awaken our ears, sensing the body, feeling the voice.
Do concrete exercises to transform the way we listen, through meditations, listening outside, making sounds together.
Explore spaces using only the ears.
AFTERNOONS
Listen to essential examples of ‘silent music’.
Find out what type of listener you are, learn about other ‘listening cultures’ and develop an active attitude towards your auditory perception.
Collaboratively create music with ‘sound objects’.
Talk about listening as a way to understand the world: to deeply attune our self to the vibrations surrounding us and emitted by us.
Listen to the many sounds of silence.
EVENING
Some good music? Make some noise? Some star-gazing? Good food!
FOR WHOM: Individuals interested in sound, music and contemplation; creative, health and spiritual professionals seeking to deepen their skills and understanding in the field of sound, vibration and awareness.
Language: English (with Chinese translation)
Date/Time: Sat. October 31 (10 AM) + Sun. November 1 (17 PM)
Place: Rainbow Mountain, Jianshi Township, Hsinchu County
Price: 6500 NT$
Includes: Local transport to/from station; lodging 1 night; 4 meals (lunch-diner-breakfast-lunch). We prepare some of the food ourselves. Let us know if you are into making delicious food!
Discounts: students 20% (bring your ID)
Participants: (min.) 8 – 15 (max.).
INFO/REGISTRATION
Interested? Get more inquiries from Mark (info@fusica.nl) or Yvonne (chichenlyv@gmail.com) or just register and we’ll send you the payment details. Call us at 0910382749 (Mark) / 0933178272 (Yvonne).
In a few days composer/improviser Luc Houtkamp is arriving from the Netherlands. He is a much respected music personality in The Netherlands with a string of accomplishments. Right now, besides playing/composing, he is best known for his work with the POW Ensemble, which he founded over a decade ago. He is the recipient of the most important Jazz Prize, the Boy Edgar Prize. Very honoured to have him as a guest in our house for a few days! Then he moves on for his Taiwan tour. I will join him two times.
6 March 2015, 12:30 Taishin Bank, Taipei, Luc Houtkamp (sax), Chao-Ming Tung (guzheng), Mark Van Tongeren (voice)
14 March 2015, 19:00 Hsing Tian Kong Library, Taipei, Luc Houtkamp (sax) Chao-Ming Tung, (guzheng) Mark Van Tongeren (voice), Shih-Yang Lee (piano)
Other performances by Luc and Taiwanese musicians:
9 March 2015 Lecture at Shih Chien University, Taipei
11 March 2015 Lecture and Workshop at Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu
11 March 2015 concert in Hsinchu, place and line up tba
12 March 2015, 19:30 Tainan University of the Arts, Tainan, Taiwan with Shih-Yang Lee (piano) Fang-Yi Liu (musical saw & voice)
13 March 2015 Lacking Sound Festival Solo concert.
Here is a preview of Luc’s new piece, based on a 1914 novel of Gertrude Stein. Looks very promising!
In April two excellent musicians and friends from Tuva are coming to Taiwan, so that people here can get better acquainted with this fascinating musical culture from the North. Get to know Tuvan music and culture and learn throat singing directly from established, original masters!
be amazed by Tuva’s signature sounds of throat singing
hear the beats of the shaman drum and Jew’s harp
resonate with the buzzing strings of horse-head fiddles and lute
get blown away by flutes from the steppe
THE PROGRAM FROM APRIL 11 TO 13
Saturday April 11, 19:30 ConcertPearls from Siberia, at Wistaria Teahouse.
Donation-based. Very limited seats!
At Wistaria, an atmospheric original Japanese building, you will be seated on tatami mats. The concert is purely acoustic, so you can enjoy the sounds directly with your own ears. An excellent way to get to know the amazing acoustic world that Tuvans have developed over the centuries. Tuva’s auditory culture has become an icon in the last two decades for its remarkable throat singing techniques, which they share with Mongolia. Choduraa Tumat and Otkun Dostay both perform seveal throat singing techniques, which you will be able to hear at close range: the soft, light technique called khöömei, the whistle-like sygyt and the thundering low kargyraa. In Tuva we also find the horse-head fiddle (igil) and erhu-like fiddle (byzaanchy), lutes (doshpuluur, chanzy) and flute (shoor), the Jew’s harp (khomus) and the shaman’s drum (dunggur), among others. Choduraa Tumat and Otkun Dostay master many of these and will play tunes and pieces from different regions and times in Tuva. Songs and pieces will be alternated with stories about and from Tuva and its rich musical folklore. The only public Tuvan concert in a very special intimate setting!
As a donation we suggest 500 NT$ for the perfomance, tea and a snack. Call Wistaria and leave your name and number for a seat: (02)2363-7375 or register here.
Sunday April 12, 10-17 1-day workshop Tuvan throat singing and culture, at Canjune Training Center
Learn to sing khöömei,sygyt and/or kargyraa with Otkun Dostay and Choduraa Tumat. The one-day Throat Singing workshop will have not just one, but two expert throat singers, including a female throat singer. A rare opportunity to learn the three basic Tuvan styles of throat singing: khöömei, sygyt and kargyraa, which tend to be a little softer and therefore easier than the Mongolian counterpart. During the day you will learn about Tuvan music and culture and get plenty of chance to hear throat singing and try it for yourself. With a maximum of 15 students (plus perhaps a few listeners), there is a chance to get personal feedback from Choduraa or Otkun for everyone. About half the time will be devoted to throat singing, the other half to other music and culture of Tuva.
Otkun Dostay teaching khöömei in Venice
We aim at a 50/50 divide of male/female voices. The workshop is held in English/Russian with Chinese translation. Mark will be there to help translate Russian-English, if needed.
If you are interested and want to reserve a place, you can call or write Mark (mark@fusica.nl, 0910382749) or Wu Wentsui (wuwentsui@gmail.com, 0928867512).
This presentation features introductions, videos about the beautiful, unknown land of Tuva, a display of many styles of throat singing and different musical instruments. Choduraa Tumat and Otkun Dostay both perform seveal throat singing techniques: the soft, light technique called khöömei, the whistle-like sygyt and the thundering low kargyraa and other substyles. They will also present a selection of pieces and instruments found in Tuva, such as the horse-head fiddle (igil) and erhu-like fiddle (byzaanchy), lutes (doshpuluur, chanzy) and flute (shoor), the Jew’s harp (khomus) and the shaman’s drum (dunggur). Choduraa Tumat and Otkun Dostay master many of these. Songs and pieces will be alternated with stories about and from Tuva and its rich musical folklore. Afterwards there is a chance to talk to the musicians during the Q&A.
The concert at NCCU is free and open for everyone. Just register here. Without reservation there may still be places when you come, there is no guarantee but there are 300+ seats.
In the late 1980s Dostay was the youngest member of the internationally acclaimed Tuva Ensemble. During the late Soviet era he enrolled a theatre school in Leningrad (now Sint-Petersburg), and was engaged in acting, dancing and storytelling. With fellow students Stanislav Iril and Olaak Ondar he took part in Buddhist ceremonies in Leningrad and founded the group Özüm (‘sprouts’). They recorded their first CD in 1991, published by Window to Europe/Orpheus. Dostay has continued to direct Özüm with changing group members over time. He plays horse-head fiddle, all the Tuvan varieties of Jew’s harp and the shaman’s drum. He organised festivals to commemorate the great throat-singer Gennadi Tumat in his native village Khandagayti. He is currently active as the founder-director of the Tuvan-Japanese friendship Center and works as a correspondent for Tuvan State Radio, under the State TV & Radio Company. He regularly performs in solo, duo and ensemble projects, which he toured in Germany, Italy, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Morroco, Japan and China. He has been involved in recording, producing and playing on several CDs of Tuvan music published in Russia, Japan and Europe. In 2013 he published his first solo CD, an exciting mix of traditional songs and melodies with 21st-century sounds.
Choduraa Tumat
Born in Western Tuva, as a girl Tumat was fond of listening to khoomei and sygyt throat singing performed by her brothers. She studied traditional music in music college in Tuva and went on to become one of the world’s most active female overtone/throat singers, as well as the founder and artistic leader of the all-female throat-singing folk ensemble Tyva Kyzy (‘Daughters of Tuva’, www.tyvakyzy.com). She is an accomplished performer of all basic throat-singing styles, sings traditional folk songs, and plays various Tuvan string instruments, Jew’s harps and zither. As a performer, she received many titles in Tuva. She is a teacher of traditional music and khöömei throat-singing at the Pedagogical College of Tuvan State University in Tuva’s capitol Kyzyl. With Tyva Kyzy and with solo projects she toured extensivly in the USA, Poland, Russia, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Japan. She recorded and released several CDs and DVDs, among which her outstanding solo CD Belek/ The Gift.
《泛音歌唱》Overtone Singing作者與【共鳴】泛音課程教師及表演者Mark van Tongeren 馬克.范.湯格鄰策劃
本系列活動更多詳情及最新資訊請見:www.fusica.nl ; https://fusica.wordpress.com
活動聯絡信箱:mark@fusica.nl 連絡人 Mark / chichenlyv@gmail.com 李小姐
【喉音簡介】
俄羅斯境內的圖瓦共和國(Republic of Tuva)位於西伯利亞南部,與蒙語毗鄰,以具特色的喉音(throat singing)音樂引起全球音樂界的注意。著名的音樂家Sainkho Namtchylak就曾多次到台灣演出,以圖瓦音樂吟唱與爵士樂、電子樂等前衛即興音樂結合,讓台灣聽眾認識圖瓦傳統音樂的多樣性。
1970年生於圖瓦Khandagaity小鎮,為知名喉音演唱與馬頭琴表演者,亦是著名圖瓦民族音樂團體《圖瓦樂團》Tuva Ensemble的一員,於音樂上有卓越的成就,不斷受邀至日本、土耳其及荷蘭等地演出。歐特昆一直以來致力於圖瓦傳統音樂的傳承與創新,舉辦圖瓦喉音國際音樂節《Övur之地—西奇與呼麥》(Sygyt and khoomei in the land of Övur)。他不僅擔任全女子喉音團體《圖瓦的女兒》的經紀人,同時也在電視台製作音樂節目,極力推廣傳統音樂。目前於圖瓦的聯合國教科文組織UNESCO部門擔任主席。
Voice Yoga consists of a series of exercises that gives pride of place to the voice as a central, creative force in our lifes. Our existence depends in important ways on our speaking, listening, sounding and singing abilities. The class promotes awareness of the many roles of the voice in our daily lives. It expands our creative vocabulary, without necessarily talking about music, the singing voice or any musical style. The point is not so much to learn any specific new technique: we play with the voice in a lot of different ways and listen with fresh ears to the hidden potential of our voices.
In Voice Yoga, sound, silence and resonance become a mirror for the self. The sounds produced by ourselves, allows us to ‘see’ ourselves more clearly, to hear what’s living deep inside us. In ever-growing cycles of creating and perceiving we learn about music and sound, about ourselves and about the environment.
Structure of the classes
We usually start with silence, breath and body movements to turn away from our busy mind into the body and to the sensations we actually experience. We let the voice come out of a natural breath flow. We listen to and follow its natural resonances. We do not try to sing in an artful way, but to experience how body-mind-voice are intimately connected, and how voice and resonance can serve as a bridge to overcome the dualistic notion of body <> mind. From then on, all kinds of styles and genres of vocalising and musicking may happen, some structured, some wild, some giving insight in your voice, some therapeutic. Exercises are based on yoga, musical and theatrical techniques, vipassana meditation and our innate love to play like children.
The idea behind Voice Yoga is comparable to yoga and tai-chi: the effect of the exercises is gradual. We believe that only with repeated classes you can really learn to connect the energies of voice & sound with the whole of your body and mind. You slowly become more and more familiar with your voice and its powers; you will begin to hear and feel things you did not hear and feel before. That’s why we suggest you to sign up for four classes a time after your trial class.
The teacher
Voice Yoga is designed and taught by Mark van Tongeren, who brings with him 25 years of experience in working with sound, music and theatre and many different cultures.
For whom
For those seeking to enrich their voices, let off steam and unlock their hidden creative potential. For singers and those who are afraid to sing. For actors, musicians and other artists and professionals who work with sound. Perhaps more than anyone else, people who want to experience and learn about the therapeutical effects of sound seem to benefit from Voice Yoga. The human voice is a tool that assists human beings to produce a mirror-like reflection of the world around them in their minds. By gaining a deeper understanding and experience of the mechanisms of making sounds, words and music, and of listening, we gradually deepen the connections within ourselves (our body-minds) and with others and the world around us.
Prices
Every class lasts two hours. The price is 400 NT$ for a single class, and 1500 NT$ for four classes (375 NT$ per class). You do not have to attend four classes in a row; we’ll just tick off your presence four times and then you can sign up again for four times. Students and others with limited financial resources can get a reduced price: just send a message.
How to register
Feel free to join the Voice Yoga class any time. It is best to send a message every time you want to come, then we prepare a place for you. Write to mark at fusica dot nl or send a text-message to 09 10 48 27 49.
Place
Canjune Training Centre, 4th Floor, number 3 , Lane 151, Fuxing South Road, Section 2, (this is about 20 meters from the corner of FuXing South Road, go up the stairs to the hairdresser and take the elevator to 4F; if you’re early the streetdoor may be closed). Nearest MRT: Technology Building (10 min. walk). Telephone training centre: 02 – 27 00 72 91.
Tonight I am going to do a short ‘breath performance’ at a special edition of Red Room, the monthly event in the Aveda kitchen hosted by Chu Ping and Roma and Manav Mehta. The breath is a central focus of my performances, sometimes in the foreground, always in the background. And I thought the news of the passing away, on August 20 2014, of Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (or simply ‘B.K.S.’) Iyengar would be a fitting occasion to start and end the performance using special breathing techniques.
Iyengar was instrumental in bringing yoga to the west in the 1950s and began to adapt it to the different lifestyles of American practitioners. Though he received criticism for changing the one-to-one transmission to a group practice and using physical tools such as woodblocks and straps, there can be no doubt that his methods have been a great success and have benefited hundreds of thousands of people in the West. And one can certainly not say that he himself was not fully part of the tradition, as an early video of him with is his own guru Tirumalai Krishnamacharya demonstrated. This is the full version of the 1938 film, but you can find several shorter sequences on Youtube.
It was Tirumalai Krishnamacharya who traveled India to promote hatha yoga and its associated practices and philosophies and thus began the revival which then crossed over to other parts of the world.
Tirumalai Krishnamacharya shortly before his death in 1988, aged 100
One may certainly include me in the league of teachers who misinterpret yoga or use its name for purposes other than its original intentions. But I do not agree with those criticasters who deplore what Iyengar has done. I think yoga is a fantastic practice and profound philosophy that can benefit people in many different ways. Indians should be proud to see so many people around the world doing some form of yoga or yoga-derived practices today.
I am very often in favor of traditional practices above modern forms myself, for example when it comes to indigenous music. But the modernisation and adaption process is irreversible and in the case of yoga, even those not-so-dedicated practitioners like myself learn things and solve problems that you can not learn otherwise (I struggled with lower-backache for many years; physiotherapies did not solve it but hatha yoga did).
So to thank and honour Mr. Iyengar I will begin tonight’s performance with a very extended, silent inhale and finish with a very extended, resounding exhale.
In this class we use the voice in its immense richness, not only as a musical instrument, but as our primary tool to communicate and exist through/with/for/from sound. In Voice Yoga, sound, silence and resonance become a mirror for the self. The sounds produced by ourselves, allows us to ‘see’ ourselves more clearly, to hear what’s living deep inside us. In ever-growing cycles of creating and perceiving we learn about music and sound, about ourselves and about the environment. A ‘quintessence of science, sound and self’ as I called it in my book Overtone Singing.
DATES AND TIME FOR 2014
EVERY THURSDAY, 10-12 AM
[table colwidth=”100″ ]
JANUARY,9/ 16/ 23/ 28
FEBRUARY,13/ 20/ 27
MARCH,6/ 13/ 27
APRIL,3/ 10/ 17/ 24
MAY,1/ 8/ 15/ 22/ 29
JUNE,5/ 12/ 19
AUGUST,21/ 28
SEPTEMBER,4/ 11/ 18/ 25
OCTOBER,2/ 9/ 16/ 23/ 30
NOVEMBER,6/ 13/ 27 [no class on November 20]
DECEMBER,4/ 11/ 18/ 25
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PLACE
Canjune Training Centre, 4th Floor, number 3 , Lane 151, Fuxing South Road, Section 2, (this is about 20 meters from the corner of FuXing South Road, go up the stairs to the hairdresser and take the elevator to 4F; if you’re early the streetdoor may be closed). Nearest MRT: Technology Building (10 min. walk). Telephone training centre: 02 – 27 00 72 91.
RESERVATION
Please notify us of your intention to join the class, by sending a text-message (SMS) with your name to 09-10 38 27 49.
For those unfamiliar with Voice Yoga, the information about Voice of Dao posted earlier still stands.
Last Friday evening was the opening of a solo exhibition of visual artist Serge Onnen at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Studio Underground, Taipei.
Cloacinae opening at MOCA Taipei
CLOACINAE – Goddess of the Sewers offers a selection of works by Onnen from the last ten years, including animation videos, phenakistiscopes, wallpaper, and a large shadow/sound installation made for the MOCA exhibition.
On March 15 we will do a shadow/sound performance at Taipei Artist Village. For this we will use a video compiled by Serge from inspection videos of sewers around the world. Nowadays everywhere cameras are led through sewer systems and other inaccessible places to look for obstacles or solve problems. Some of these videos have a certain kind of beauty of their own, and Serge made a good selection of those. Add to that live shadow play by Onnen and Erika Sprey, and sounds by Chao-Ming Tung and myself… and you have an unexpected visual-auditory-hallucinatory tour in the underground, there where the metro does not go. (get a preview on Serge’s blog)
We do the show two times, starting at 19:30 and 21:30 (not 22:30 as stated before), duration is one hour.
Free entrance!
Please take note! The exhibition is taking place in the underground (Zhongshan Metro Mall, Near R9 exit), the performance is not. It is in Taipei Artist Village, No. 7, Beiping East Road, 10 minutes walk from Taipei Main Station.