UK Vocal Improv on Tour 2024
After two exquisite years of the UK Vocal Improv Festival Retreat in the form of a 5-day deep dive retreat in the south-west of England, it is time to shake things up! In 2024, we are spreading our wings and will be touring the country, offering shorter weekend bursts of vocal improvisation, joy and celebration over the year.
Collaborative vocal improvisation is a truly magical experience which can be tapped into by ANYONE! In this country we are lucky enough to have a growing number of facilitators and noisemakers who are passionate about spreading this amazing way of connecting deeply to yourself, your intuition, and to others.
On three different weekends, in three different locations, we invite you to gather together to sing, explore, play, connect, receive, celebrate, co-create, and make music together.
study
Workshops by facilitators - for everyone! From beginners to old hats
be inspired
Performances from facilitators and guest artists
CELEBRATE
Improv DJ Dance After Party - sing, dance, improvise!
connect
Meet, network, discuss, offer a workshop
Sample Programme
There will be a range of ticket options for our mini-festivals; you can book the whole weekend, or just one day. For curious newbies, the Saturday evening ticket includes a beginner-friendly circle sing before enjoying some performances.
Each location will have a personalised schedule, curated to the local circumstances and community, but here is a rough idea!
SATURDAY DAYTIME
10-5pm
Saturday is designed to be a space for learning. Expect a variety of workshops to choose from including introductory sessions for anyone who wants to try out singing together in this way, as well as deeper dives for more experienced improvisers
SATURDAY EVENING
7-11pm
Saturday Evening is designed to entertain and delight; a welcoming introduction for people new to improv or who just want to see a great gig and have a dance
SUNDAY
10-6pm
The Sunday session is designed for more experienced improvisers and will leave room for co-created space: participants can request or lead deep dives into certain games or themes that feel particularly interesting to them
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Workshops
Saturday day
WHAT?
Discover, study, and learn with facilitators from the local area and from further afield
WHO?
Suitable for all! A range of workshops will be available for beginners to advanced singers
Dance Party
Saturday Eve Afterparty
WHAT?
An uplifting and invigorating entirely improvised dance party, (and home for our beauty sleep by midnight!)
Get your boogie on and celebrate! The inimitable Uran Apak will be guiding us through an improvised club night with his excellent looping skills. Sing along or jump on a drum. Not to be missed!
WHO?
Open to everyone
Tea, Cake & Chat
Saturday and/or Sunday - location-dependent
WHAT?
A chance to connect and network over tea and cake. This is about fostering community and getting involved in imagining the future of vocal improv in the UK, woop, The Good Stuff!
WHO?
Everyone is welcome! We want to meet you, we want you to meet each other, we want our voices to join and be strong! Let us become a vocal improv mycelial network!
The BIG SING
Saturday early eve before the performance
WHAT?
A welcoming introduction to vocal improv, we gather and are guided through a gentle warm up and a circlesinging experience
WHO?
Great for everyone, but especially those new to vocal improvisation who want to try it out
Sunday Morning Magic
Sunday morn!
WHAT?
After a long day improvising on Saturday, a soft Sunday morning to warm you up and drop you in. It could be a dance or a stretch, a sing in the outdoors, a meditation or some chanting; come together and connect with yourselves and your fellow improvisers
WHO?
The Sunday ticket is aimed at ‘experienced improvisers’: what do we mean by that? You don't need any certificates (!), or to have been 'doing this for years'. If you have previously taken part in a couple of vocal improv workshops, or you are a confident singer who has joined the Saturday and are curious to dive in more, then you’ll be right at home at the Sunday session too.
Live Performance
Saturday eve
WHAT?
Each festival will also feature a Saturday evening performance by some of the UK’s leading vocal improv performers including Anthropos, Oöm, Randolph Matthews and Cleveland Watkiss, and Briony Greenhill
WHO?
The gig is open to anyone, you don't have to be a participant, so bring your mates!
Improv Bazaar
Sunday afternoon
WHAT?
Over to you! A facilitated self-organisation space where anyone can step in and offer a session or suggest an aspect of vocal improvisation to explore. We want you to take the reins and go for a ride, share ideas, try things out, have a go!
WHO?
The Sunday ticket is aimed at ‘experienced improvisers’: what do we mean by that? You don't need any certificates (!), or to have been 'doing this for years'. If you have previously taken part in a couple of vocal improv workshops, or you are a confident singer who has joined the Saturday and are curious to dive in more, then you’ll be right at home at the Sunday session too
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Discover Each Stop on the Tour
Tickets
OUR SLIDING SCALE
We offer a sliding scale payment system in order to cover our costs while allowing wiggle room for people for whom finances might be a barrier to attending.
STANDARD
For this event we need most of you to opt for the standard ticket price. This price reflects the basic cost of the event, and is possible due to the generosity of many people volunteering their time or accepting low fees. If you have the means, please add a donation on top of this to support our team further.
REDUCED & LOW-INCOME
If you can't afford a standard ticket, are unemployed, a student, or your finances are very stretched right now, please judge accordingly and opt for a reduced ticket if you need it. If you struggle with basic needs, then our low-income tickets are for you.
We understand this is a sensitive and changeable thing. For clarity, check this website: https://www.radicalhistoryclub.com/sliding-scale
FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL EVENT
WHOLE
WEEKEND
This ticket is for improv addicts who want to do it all!
Includes:
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All of Saturday’s offerings
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All of Sunday’s offerings
SATURDAY
DAY & EVE
This ticket is for those eager to train up their improv skills and be inspired by the experts!
Includes:
-
A full day of facilitated workshops
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Saturday Evening Activities
SATURDAY
EVENING
This ticket is perfect for people who want to dip their toes into improv OR who just want to catch a great gig and have a boogie!
Includes:
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The BIG SING
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Live Improvised Performance by guest artists & facilitators
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Improv DJ Dance Party
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SUNDAY
This ticket is for those who want to go deep: meet, network, offer something, sing in small groups.
Includes:
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Sunday Morning Magic
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Deep Dive Bazaar
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Tea, Cake & Chat
OUR SAFE SPACES POLICY
At UK Vocal Improv, we believe that everyone should be able to fully engage in vocal improvisation and that everyone has a right to be welcomed and encouraged. To support this we have established this Safe Spaces Policy.
By participating in UK Vocal Improv events, you agree to abide by this Safe Space Policy and contribute to creating a positive and inclusive atmosphere for all attendees. Together, we can foster a community that celebrates diversity, creativity, and mutual respect.
Book Now
"Ancestors' Song" - a fully improvised piece created by the Facilitators of the UK Vocal Improv Festival Retreat 2023
About Us
We are a community of vocal improvisation artists and facilitators woven together through a variety of projects, explorations, workshops, performances and cups of tea.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we, like most people, clunkily navigated our way through the trials and tribulations of offering an online space to our communities. The undeniably shiny silver lining is that we started talking regularly, co-creating spaces, and really digging into what collaborative vocal improvisation actually means to us. Most importantly, we realised that by joining our forces together, we could reach more people and help the artform to flourish.
In 2022 and 2023 we offered our first Vocal Improv Festival Retreats- five day residential deep dives near Bristol to celebrate our growing community. Following feedback from those in attendance and a desire within the team to connect with more facilitators within this hugely diverse art form, we wanted to offer something different this year. So, welcome to the 2024 iteration! And who knows what it will look like next year - we are improvisers after all….
The core team are Kate Smith, Uran Apak, Kate Mellors, Emma Coleman, Jaka Škapin, Guillermo Rozenthuler, Briony Greenhill and Randolph Matthews. This year we will be joined by many more.
We are grateful to so many influential artists, teachers, and improv greats, who have influenced us all and who we would like to honour for their contribution to this artform. Thank you particularly to Bobby McFerrin for his incredible innovation and continuous inspiration, and also to Rhiannon for her pioneering teaching resources - Vocal River. Thank you also to our friends and collaborators in the UK including Jenni Roditi, Cleveland Watkiss, and many many more.
