the teachers
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Shelly Brown
Indie-Soul Musician Shelly Brown has supported Jon Cleary and Dionne Warwick, and shared stages with Ash Grunwald, Mama Kin Spender, Lloyd Spiegel and many more. She’s played tours in Australia, Vietnam, Argentina and Europe.
Shelly was born to sailor and aviator parents, and is based in Lennox Head/Byron Bay. Immersed in music, she embraced jazz and soul, collaborating with her husband, Dan Brown on piano, bass and synth.
Shelly’s intimate, soulful voice and unique, distinctive guitar playing have engaged audiences of all sizes, from small bars, to festival stages.
She’s ever passionate about facilitating songwriting and vocal workshops, her Brunch Choir (Lennox Head) and her podcast- “Singing Lessons For No One,” which has now surpassed 100k streams. She dives deep into her latest EP: “In We Dive”, featuring Grant Gerathy and Alex McLeod. New Singles are entering the world monthly, with a recent release written for a 70 person choir in the Dandenongs.
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Alice Night
Alice Night is an accomplished and prolific songwriter based in Northern NSW. Often noted by audiences for her keen capacity for story-telling through lyrics and her ability to connect. She's received support from Australia Council for the Arts over the last fifteen years to create and tour her albums.
Alice has a Master of Fine Arts in writing for Performance from NIDA (Sydney). She has also immersed herself in mythology at The Westcountry School of Myth (England). Striking a balance between humour, mystery and pathos, she invites honest, authentic, wild and necessary song-writing from her students.
She's been running a year-long arts course for the last five years and offers workshops and retreats for voice, song-writing, and liberated expression.
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Tracy-Kim Gilchrist
Tracy-Kim first experienced Biodanza in 2008 where she fell in love with how it seemed to integrate all potentials and invigorate pure as well as support deep healing in the most perfect moments and ways. She loved how it combined her love for moving, dancing, music, emotional liberation and connection, all in the most safe, cradling environment.
She knew in that very first moment that Biodanza was a most inspiring complement to the other modalities she had trained for in her professional and personal life, including being a Journey Practitioner, SIY Mindfulness Teacher, Pachamama Alliance symposium presenter, as well as a specialist in Speech Pathology working only with people, and their families, who are non-verbal. Tracy-Kim is also an author that finds profound fulfilment supporting people in freeing themselves from all that limits living joyfully.
Her presence of inner joy and the warmth of her welcome and acceptance are infectious!
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Pam Freeman
Pam’s musical journey began in a decidedly non-musical household in the UK, where she found solace in the poetry of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan during her teenage heartbreak years. It wasn’t until later in life that she wrote her first song, an experience that came under the guidance of Kristina Olsen at Summersong music camp. She faced the exhilarating thrill—and nerve-wracking fear—of sharing a freshly written song with an audience of her peers and thus began her life long love of music camps.
Since then she has completed a Diploma in Contemporary Music at Lismore Conservatorium and BA in Media at SCU (it should have been more music!) sung in countless choirs, hosted radio shows, been in several bands, most recently The Loveys, a glam cabaret band with whom she has toured and played festivals including Woodfood, Adelaide Fringe and Nannup WA.
She now teaches and runs workshops in songwriting, voice jam, singing and guitar from her home studio. Her love of music and song continues to grow, and she is passionate in supporting creativity and self expression in those just starting on their musical journey.
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Jan Harvey
Jan Harvey is a Townsville-based, accredited Yoga teacher with Yoga Australia & Yoga International. Jan has had a practice of yoga for over 20 years and finds joy in helping others to feel strong, grounded and happy. Every class focusses on students’ needs and demystifying yoga to make it accessible to everyone. Jan is known for her gentle, humorous approach to everything, including yoga. Yoga’s mind, body and breath connection will unlock the doors to your heart and allow you to find ease and space within.
Jan uses her long career of teaching in the Secondary and Tertiary sector in Australia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia for over 35 years to make yoga accessible for everyone, choosing supportive instructional language and navigating people’s needs no matter their health status. Her experience with a wide range of ages, cultures and educational institutions allows her to draw on this knowledge to encourage and motivate people to expand horizons and feel empowered by their learning.
Jan has taught yoga at retreats in Bali, Magnetic Island, Tyalgum (NNSW), and Vietnam. Jan is also a published poet, children’s book author and musician. She has played in festivals all over the east coast of Australia and continues to play locally in her duo called Box of Chocolates.
the SESSIONS
daily Sessions
Singing with the very cool and fun Shelly Brown
Songwriting with the deep and playful Alice Night
Exploring Biodanza with the present and radiant Tracy Kim Gilchrist
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Shelly Brown is a singer, songwriter and vocalist based in the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. She has been a vocal coach, led choirs and vocal workshops for nearly twenty years. Her focus is almost always on a playful approach to vocal technique; a welcoming approach to exploring your voice; and a fearless approach to improvisation and vocal harmony. At this wonderful Songweaver Retreat, Shelly will bring her wealth of experience to a vocal session each day.
She aims navigate the roads to singing with confidence; inspire skills to join in on a song in harmony, spark the flames in improvisation, lead the group in a choir song, and laugh all the way from her belly at the wonderful play in singing together. Exploring your voice is enlightening and it enriches the vocabulary in your soul. You will feel a little freer in your hips, your heart and your voice after a vocal traipse with Shelly.
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Songwriting is incredibly intimate and rich with freedom and possibility, more than we can even comprehend. You will receive rare prompts in this retreat and nuanced feedback on your new song material as it forms throughout the days.
These sessions will fine tune your creative instincts and assist you to say and sing what really longs to be expressed by you. We will explore range and liberation as well as getting right up close with the core essence of your message.
A song is an alchemical thing, it's a journey for you and the listener from start to finish, we will explore form and story-telling, abstraction and detail. You will be encouraged to bring your humanity into your songwriting, and experience the ways that your songwriting can unlock parts of who you are. The classes are both playful and intimate, laughter and tears are welcome.
art + honesty = alchemy
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Every Biodanza session will take each person on their own inner journey to an embodied experience of the moment they find themselves. The group, the music and every invitation has the possibility of releasing, amplifying, overcoming and opening to experiences reflective of the dance of life.
We will explore the 3 pillars of self esteem – self love, self image and self confidence as a portal to liberate our full creative expression.
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Voice Jam sessions are an adventurous, off piste exploration in groove, melody and harmony. We will improvise loops, build harmony, take flight in solos, talk gibberish and listen deeply.
The sessions will give each of us time to explore the edge of our vocal ability, whilst feeling the support of the whole group. In voice jam there are no mistakes, just bring your childlike playful self and dive in.
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Jan Harvey adores teaching yoga (Hatha, Yin, Restorative and Chair) and delights in helping others to feel strong, grounded and connected with mind, body and breath. She is accredited with Yoga Australia and Yoga International and has had a practice of yoga for over 20 years.