weaving Voices 01.04.2025 issuu - Flipbook - Page 37
Exploring ways to integrate vocal and weaving practices
In the first Weaving Voices project weeks, at the Roy Hart Centre in
France (October 2022) and Reichenow in Germany (January 2023),
our group members trained together, focussing on getting to know
each other and exploring the Roy Hart approach. Bonding through
experimental voicework, we delved into exercises linking sound
and movement to visual elements such as colour. Voice teacher
Laurent Stéphan introduced the Georgian call-and-response song
Khert’lis Naduri about women spinning together, which became a
very important song for the merging of weaving and singing later on.
Evening sessions of weaving on small frames, led by me, offered a
basic understanding of weaving. During a dynamic group session on
the last day at the Roy Hart Centre, our small weaves – finished and
still in the making – became the foundation for sound and movement
experimentation. I would describe this period metaphorically as
‘touching upon each other’s threads and getting familiar with them’.
As a weaver navigating the realm of voice without formal singing
training, I’ve discovered several tactile entry points in the vocal
training. Voice teacher Carol Mendelsohn urged me to employ my
hand in guiding my voice, emphasising “you are such a hand person”.
In Reichenow, drawing inspiration from Teresa Brayshaw’s Feldenkrais
practice, I delved into an exploration of the connection between my
voice and my skin — the organ which is in my view the most closely
linked to textiles. Inviting others to participate, we created a sound
bath of interconnected voices. Unlike traditional blending in group
exercises, our voices intertwined without losing their distinct leading
threads – the connection to the self.
In an attempt to process the intense voice training, I often reflected
by weaving on a small frame in the evenings, as a form of abstract
journaling. Other members seemed to adopt this practice too, using
weaving as a means to express thoughts, emotions, discoveries
or obstacles. Much like a personal diary, the significance of these
weaves typically remained private. Beyond mere expression, weaving
after a full day, emerged as a deliberate act of self-care, a space for
decompression and unwinding. It was remarkable how swiftly, even
in the initial stages of our journey, weaving evolved into a means of
self-nurturing.
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