As reviewed in the Journal of Singing:
[The Singing Body] … offers solutions for specific problems often exhibited by singers … [and] suggestions for remedying unconscious movements or postures that are detrimental… [It] provides a wealth of practical information and guidance… and Goren’s homage to [Richard Miller and James McKinney] gives additional clout to her pedigree.
The Singing Body is a concise, yet thorough, guide to bodywork for singers in which its author offers both practical information and useful exercises. The affordable purchase price makes it feasible for singers and their teachers to own a copy of this book. It is highly recommended.
Debra Greschner
Journal of Singing, May/June 2018
Current Agenda
Teaching body-work for singers in the vocal department of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and dance
A picture from "Scenes of Cabaret" April 2019
As part of my work with the Jerusalem Academy of Music & Dance, I produced and directed a special
project titled Scenes of a Cabaret. This included songs by Kurt Weil and Hanns Eisler, among others, with lyrics mainly by Bertholdt Brecht. The cast comprised advanced-level students of the Vocal Department of the Academy.
A picture from scenes of Cabaret" April 2019
Teaching " body – work" to young singers, a summer course ,a project of the Jerusalem Music Center July 21-25-2019 , July 21-25- 19
Group and individual body-work with instrumentalists (mainly strings) at the Zeist Festival of Chamber Music, The Netherlands August 17-23
Iris Goren
As a dancer with an extensive musical background and teaching experience—and degrees from Jerusalem and New York—I draw on a wide range of bodywork techniques including Feldenkrais, Alexander, Eric Hawkins, Ideokinesiology, Rolfing, Contact improvisation, and Eshkol-Wachmann Movement Notation.
Iris Goren and the Singing Body
In recent decades I have focused on body-work for all musicians, but especially for singers, developing a technique I call The Singing Body. My book which describes this technique in detail has been published in Hebrew and English.
My Journey So Far…
Workshops
I developed my bodywork technique at the Vocal Department of the Jerusalem Academy of Music & Dance in Israel. I deliver workshops for choirs, voice teachers and conductors throughout Israel; I have also trained opera singers, vocalists and musicians in various countries around the world including France, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, and Italy.
Studio Work
My private studio has served as an incubator for the many vocalists, dancers, actors, musicians and plastic artists with whom I have worked, striving to find that unique physical language to meet the challenges encountered by each group and individual. I rely on my teaching ability and experience, but most importantly, I am an astute observer, highly sensitive to the needs of the body. I place great emphasis on grounding, muscle tone, warm-up, and sensing one’s weight. I also pay attention to each part of the body to see how it supports or inhibits the singer. Above all, I conduct this work while the student is singing to be able to correctly diagnose the problem and find the appropriate remedy that will result in enhanced performance.
Sometimes the problem is ‘remote’ from the voice – in a part of the body that to many would seem unconnected. In my experience, correcting a misfunction in one part of the body often results in resolving more than one problem for the vocalist or musician
And Always
Every encounter with musicians provides a new and exciting challenge that I look forward to and find very rewarding.