Leeds
September 21 - 22, 2024
Ey up! We are super excited to be hosting our third and final weekend of the year in Leeds: home of Mel B, Yorkshire tea, and the best accent in the country.
We have some excellent local vocal improv facilitators joining the team for this northern finale - Lily Rose Moharrer and Akeim Toussaint Buck - as well as special guests from further afield - Maria Luana all the way from Brazil and Inês Loubet from Portugal via London and Leeds Conservatoire. We’ll also have the wonderful Briony Greenhill, Emma Coleman, Phoebe Martha, Uran Apak and Kate Mellors on board keeping the vocal improv ship sailing strong throughout the weekend.
We’ll be hosted by the beautiful HEART Community, a former Victorian school dreamt into community use thanks to a local team of legends. Home to Assembly Bar + Kitchen, Tiny Boo play area for pre-schoolers, and Pulse co-working space, HEART is now a space for community classes, professional gatherings, private functions, and hosts a rich programme of arts and events. We are delighted to be supporting them for our festival weekend.
Get ready for an extra-special Friday evening prequel concert, workshops on Saturday and Sunday, a Big Sing, community dinner, open stage extravaganza and afterparty, Sunday Improv Bazaar and nature sing (weather permitting!), and more!
Welcome to the NORTH!
Programme
September 20th
FRIDAY
@Music House, St Marks House
1 St Mark's Ave, Woodhouse, Leeds LS2 9BN
September 22nd
SUNDAY
Daytime
Headingley Enterprise & Arts Centre
Bennett Road, Leeds LS6 3HN
Evening
27-29 Headingley Lane
Leeds LS6 1BL
The Prequel
Friday 19:30-21:00
WHAT?
A cheeky bonus concert for those arriving on Friday, ready to sink into the Saturday or the full weekend!
WHO?
Anyone who fancies this Friday night add-on!
The Big Sing
Saturday 16:45
WHAT?
A welcoming introduction to vocal improv, we gather and are guided through a fun warm up and a joyful large group singing experience inspired by Musica do Circulo and circlesinging magic
WHO?
Great for everyone, but especially those new to vocal improvisation who want to try it out!
Dance Party
Saturday 21:00
WHAT?
An uplifting and invigorating entirely improvised dance party (still allowing you to be home by midnight for your beauty sleep).
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
Cake - Connect - Reflect
Sunday 17:45
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?
A chance for anyone in attendance to connect. 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!
Opening Circles
Saturday & Sunday mornings
WHAT?
A warm whole group welcome to the weekend, a chance to meet and greet in voice and song, a chance to land and settle in together
WHO?
Anyone who is joining on either Saturday or Sunday
Shared Meal
Saturday 18:00
WHAT?
Eating together with old friends and new is one of the biggest joys in life! Join us for an optional tasty vegan meal on the Saturday evening, after the Big Sing and before the Open Stage Extravaganza and Dance Party
WHO?
Anyone who wants to dine in style with the festival family at the venue
Nature Sings
Sunday morning
WHAT?
An optional outdoor workshop for those keen to sing in nature!
WHO?
Anyone who has purchased a full weekend ticket or a Sunday ticket
(Un)official Afterparty
Sunday 20:00
WHAT?
Don’t want the fun to end? Hop down the road to Hyde Park Book Club for the unofficial afterparty on Sunday evening with one of our facilitators, Inês Loubet, celebrating her album launch!
WHO?
Open to all (buy a ticket, bring your friends and have a boogie!)
Workshops
Saturday & Sunday
WHAT?
Discover, study, and learn with facilitators from the local area and from further afield. We’ll have special guests from across the ocean and just down the road
WHO?
Suitable for all! A range of workshops will be available for beginners to advanced singers
Open Stage Extravaganza
Saturday 19:30
WHAT?
An open stage with live performances from the facilitation team featuring YOU as guest artists! Sign up with new singing pals, or put your name into a hat and let the universe decide who becomes part of the band
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?
Budding facilitators and avid improvisers are warmly welcomed to offer sessions, while the rest of us decide what strikes our fancy!
Workshops
Facilitators
Friday Night Prequel Concert
Friday September 20
Doors 7:30pm
Music House, St Marks House
1 St Mark's Ave, Woodhouse, Leeds LS2 9BN
Tickets - sliding scale £15 / £10 / £12.50
A cheeky bonus concert for those arriving on Friday, ready to sink into the Saturday or the full weekend! Meet and greet with the festival folks and enjoy exquisite Leeds-based musicians, Georgie and Akeim, who combine resonant vocals, intricate harp, poetry and improvised looping to create mesmerising landscapes of sound. This will be a unique insight into this new and exciting collaboration.
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more about Georgie Buchanan
Inspired by voyages to the Outer Hebrides, tales of ancient Celtic Goddesses and song traditions from around the world, Georgie Buchanan is a unique singer and harpist on the contemporary Leeds music scene. She performs with spiritual jazz ensemble Ancient Infinity Orchestra and Afro-Latin quintet Muertito as well as her own band. Her debut album 'Wise as a Fool' was released earlier this year and was played on BBC Radio 3 and BBC 6 Music. She has toured the UK with sold out shows in London, Leeds and Bristol.
"Gorgeous" Guy Garvey BBC 6 Music
"Exquisite" Hannah Peel BBC Radio 3
____
more about Akeim Toussaint Buck
Akeim Toussaint Buck is an interdisciplinary performer and maker, born in Jamaica and raised in England. Graduating from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2014, Toussaint began creating his own work in 2016 with the intent to create moving, thought provoking, accessible and free-spirited projects. Exploring a variety of themes that challenge, enlighten and entertain audiences in a visceral way by calling on multiple art forms to weave a spectacle. Audiences are invited to not just observe, but to feel the experience.
Toussaint's music is of an improvisational nature, utilising a RC505, the human voice and whatever is at hand. The intention is to bring the otherworldliness of our dreams and imagination to this physical realm of hearing. Sometimes minimal, sometimes a collage cacophony of sound, sometimes words expressed in a mantra like pattern, always leaning to a pulsating groove that you can't help but tap your toe and snap your neck to. Don't just watch, let your body be caught in the journey of these sonic grooves.
Akeim's work has been supported by Yorkshire Dance, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Inspired, Geraldine Connor Foundation, The Arts Foundation Futures Award, IRIE! Dance Theatre, Spin Arts, RJC, Deda, Fabric (Dance 4 & DanceXchange), Streatham Space Project, Serendipity, Middlefloor, NSCD, Sadlers Wells and Arts Council England etc.
The Leeds Team
We are thrilled to be hosting the Leeds festival at Heart Centre, a former Victorian school dreamt into community use thanks to a local team of legend residents. Home to Assembly Bar + Kitchen, Tiny Boo play area for pre-schoolers, and Pulse co-working space, HEART is now a space for community classes, professional gatherings, private functions, and hosts a rich programme of arts and events. Thanks for having us! In addition, we are delighted to host our Friday evening concert at Music House, and we are recommending Hyde Park Book Club, one of the cities’ best independent cafe/bars and music venues, for the unofficial afterparty.
With big thanks to all the volunteers, facilitators, producers and supporters who are pulling together to make this event possible!
Leeds FAQs
Are there any prerequisites to participating in the event?
The event is here to bring together our beautiful community from all corners of the UK (and beyond). Everyone is welcome, all levels, all voices, all bodies, all genders (or non-genders), all humans! While you do not need to be an experienced singer or improviser, you should probably be able to keep a beat and match pitch, as well as have some previous exposure to the artform. This will ensure that you can really dive in and enjoy the richness of what is on offer.
I’ve never done collaborative vocal improvisation before. Can I join?
If you haven’t done vocal improvisation before there are parts of the event that will be appropriate for all levels of experience. The Big Sing, Live Performance and the After Party are all fully inclusive parts of the event you can book and join separately.
The rest is aimed at people with singing experience (choirs etc.) + people who’ve done some vocal improv.
I am a facilitator, can I lead a workshop?
Yes you can! Come to the Improv Bazaar on Sunday where you will be able to pitch your workshop to our participants. If there is enough interest we will allocate a space for you.
Do I have to do all the sessions in the schedule? / Can I come to only one part of the event?
Our whole schedule is a warm invitation. You can choose to embrace it all in its entirety, or choose not to attend certain sessions if you need to take a rest, or just don’t fancy the content.
Also we have ticket options where you can choose to book the whole event or parts of it that tickle your fancy.
Can I come with my child?
The event is aimed at 15+.
As inclusive as it seeks to be, this event does offer activities directed towards adults. The workshop process takes into account how an adult understands and uses information, and this is not necessarily the same for children.
Can I get a discount?
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
Will you be offering food during the event?
You’ll be in charge of your own breakfasts & lunches during the event, and there is a cosy cafe at the venue as well as lots of food options nearby. There will be an option to buy a tasty vegan dinner and eat together on Saturday evening.
Can I smoke on the site?
The smoking/vaping spot is in the car park at Heart.
Can I drink alcohol on site?
We are holding an alcohol free space during the days of the event. There will be alcohol available to purchase from the venue on Saturday evening. The use of drugs and psychotropic substances is prohibited.
I am not a singer, can I come and watch the performance as an audience member? Can I join the after party?
Absolutely yes! In fact, if you buy a Saturday evening ticket, you can arrive from 4:30pm and the ticket includes the Big Sing 5-6pm, an option (and encouragement!) to join a shared meal at the venue, the evening concert, AND the dance party! This section of the event is intentionally for people who are new to vocal improv and would love a little taster.
If I cannot make it to the event will I be able to get a refund?
We are not able to issue refunds, but you can transfer your ticket into someone else’s name if you wish to do so.
What is the parking situation around the venue?
We encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport wherever possible
There is a small on-site car park for building users; spaces, including for blue badge holders, are available on a first-come first-served basis
There is limited parking on the streets surrounding HEART; please be considerate of our neighbours
The nearby Headingley Taps offers a larger car park for a small fee
Is there disabled access to the venue?
Easier access for people with disabilities is a priority at HEART and the centre features extra-wide doors, ramps and a lift to all floors.
Assistance dogs are always welcome and we will always do what we can to ensure the centre is accessible to all.
HEART is also proud to be one of the only centres in the north of Leeds with a ‘Changing Places Disabled Toilet’ in line with the Changing Places campaign.
HEART is tremendously proud to have won the Community Benefit award at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Pro Yorkshire Regional Awards for 2014.
We are a Child Friendly Leeds Ambassador, Disability Confident Employer and Mindful Employer.
Is there any public transport that could take me to the venue?
Yes!
Buses from Leeds city centre run regularly all through the day. 1, 6, 28, or 97 all stop in Headingley less than a 2 minute walk from HEART.
Leeds City Station to Headingley Station - Trains run approximately every 15 mins at peak times (takes 5 mins) then walk 11-15 mins (0.8 miles)
Leeds City Station to Burley Park Station - Trains run approximately every 15 mins at peak times (takes 5 mins) then walk 11-15 mins (0.8 miles)
Do I need to bring or prepare anything?
You might want to bring comfortable clothes and slippers, and a re-useable water bottle. On the Sunday morning feel free to bring a hot drink in a flask with you for the outdoor session.
What if it is bad weather - will the outdoor session go ahead?
We will aim to have outside options, but if the weather is awful we’ll all get cosy and stay indoors in the big hall at HEART
Can you offer or recommend accommodation for the weekend?
We are not able to offer recommendations but we suggest you check Airbnb and hotel options in the Headingley area.
Is there a place to buy food around the venue?
HEART is in Headingley which has cafes, pubs and shops where you can buy food.
My physical condition doesn’t allow me to hold certain postures or make certain movements, will this be a problem?
We will try to do our best to accommodate everyone’s needs, and offer variations to moving or standing exercises. If you have any specific needs or worries, please email us at ukvocalimprov@gmail.com in advance. We want everyone to feel welcome and to be able to participate.