“Power and Intimacy” - The Guardian

In this 4 day course, we will slow-cook ourselves in the beautiful stew of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation. We will sing, sing, sing; all together, in small ensemble, in duos, trios, and alone.

We’ll expand into emergent co-creativity, listening together to what human ecologist Gregory Bateson calls the Schismo-genesis - what is created in the space between - and how to surrender together to the music coming through.

We’ll work with singing, movement, language; with poetry - other people’s, our own, and spontaneously improvised, sung and spoken poetry.

We’ll explore using and sharing the holy essence of our voices in their full range of options. Becoming more and more at home in improvisation, and letting the music flow through.

We’ll work with the Resonant Body to cultivate the unique magnificence of your body’s sound. We’ll be witnessed and un-wittnessed, and play.

We’ll journey with what being seen and heard in a state of ease and surrender brings up for us, what stands in our way. We’ll hold caring space for our own and one anothers’ parts, but we won’t centre healing. Nor will we study music theory this time.

We will dive bravely into creativity together and come out braver, fuller vocal artists, more at home in the sacred art of vocal improvisation; able to express and move through a wider landscape in our singing.

The Structure

We’ll work at the Moor Imagination Collective in Buckfastleigh. The cafe there caters for us; local, very healthy, partly organic, vegan food; 3 meals per day are included.

We open 4-6pm on 21st October, then dine together and sing a little that evening.

Morning Dance 8-9am

Breakfast 9am, lunch 1pm, Dinner 6.30pm

Sessions run 10-1 and 2.30 - 6.

There are evening sessions on the Tuesday (until not very late) and Thursday (until quite late).

On the last day 24th October we finish by 3.30pm at the latest.

Accommodation

There 2 initial accommodation options.

The Christian Community - £40pp pn. They’re right across the road from MIC and have 4 very comfortable clean bedrooms and a small self catering kitchen (and a chapel, and a workshop space).

Local air bnb - £50 pp pn, £65 for private en suite room. A lovely shared house with 4 bedrooms / 6 beds, 1 mile away. It’s a 5 min drive or a 30 min country walk.

To book accommodation please email Dan info@brionygreenhill.com. The sooner the better, as we can’t realistically book the local air bnb until a few people want to stay there.

Cost

The cost includes all teaching / space holding, 3 meals per day at the MIC cafe - healthy, vegan, partly organic - and optional morning dance daily at 8am. It does not include accommodation.

Tier 1: £525

Tier 2: £375

Tier 3: £250

There are 2 assistant places at £95 (for alumni) and 2 Name Your Price places for folks for whom Tier 3 is not possible.

We trust you to select your Tier with integrity. You will not be assessed.

Would you like to contribute to The Scholarship Fund? Any amount is very welcome; it’s to help widen access to this work.

Level

If you are a Newcomer to CVI with Briony, please make sure you do an intro course before this one.

This is for Journey-people, Advanced Students and Alumni.