The Body Collective
At the Embodima School, we take a WHOLE BODY approach to the voice and work with a cross-referral system to top practitioners
When you book your first session in voice with Nicola to develop your singing, teaching, or to address issues with your voice, Nicola will make a full assessment of your voice, where you are with it, and how to develop that and take it forward. Deep vocal technical work will give you the full embodied voice you are seeking with a rock solid technique. But sometimes there are adjustments in the body that could release tensions and anxieties, and this is where the Body Collective comes in!
What is the Body Collective?
A crack list of body professionals to build a stronger structure, correct imbalances, and open up the body for deeper vocal work.
Nicola says ‘There is so much to singing, so many layers and years of learning and practice…singers are basically superheroes! Our job at the Embodima School is to build stronger wings so you can fly higher!’
In pursuit of that aim, we have a comprehensive referral system, via Nicola, to a brilliant band of practitioners across multiple fields. It’s an amazing resource. No more hunting around on the internet or asking for recommendations, your vocal path can be made clear.
A Cooperative
The Embodima School is a cooperative of voice and body practitioners and operates an inter-referral system in all directions.
Dr Alan Watson
Alan was based at the School of Biosciences, Cardiff University where he taught and carried out research in Anatomy and Neuroscience. He is an Honorary Fellow at RWCMD where he runs a module on performing arts physiology and injury avoidance. Alan was involved in the development of the Performing Arts Medicine MSc course at University College London where he is a visiting lecturer. He is a member of the scientific committee for BAPAM and teaches on the Visceral Mind neuroanatomy summer school in Bangor. He gives many talks, lectures and radio broadcasts related to wind performance and singing. Alan is the author of The Biology of Musical Performance and Performance-Related Injury (Scarecrow Press, 2009). He and Nicola co-wrote A Singer’s Guide to the Larynx – a visual guide to laryngeal anatomy. Nicola and Alan have worked together for over a decade, and in collaboration with RWCMD. He and Nicola have co-written magazine articles, lectures and papers about the anatomy and neuroscience behind Embodima and its application to singing.
Dr Declan Costello
Declan is one of the UK’s leading laryngologists and our go-to specialist whenever a client has a possible laryngeal issue or needs to be checked out in the voice clinic. He is an award-winning ENT surgeon, with extensive expertise in treating voice disorders. Declan runs four voice clinics a week in and outside London. He is the editor for the ENT and Audiology News magazine, past President of the British Laryngeal Association and was previously on the Presidential Council of the European Laryngogical Society. He has written many research papers, chapters and books about voice and lectures extensively. Declan read Music at Cambridge and is a singer himself, so his medical approach to the singing voice is multi-dimensional.
Thanh Thi Tran
Thanh is a specialist Performing Arts physiotherapist. She has worked with performers in circus, dance, acrobatic, at the English National Ballet School and in the West End (Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Matilda, Harry Potter), TV and film (Strictly Come Dancing and more). Her training in vocal physiotherapy has brought her to work with singers across all genres (Royal Opera House and international stages), as well as working with professional voice users of all kinds. She works with students at all the major conservatoires and presents regularly at voice conferences.
Loli Healey
Loli is a Registered Osteopath who trained at the European School of Osteopathy before working in New Zealand and London. Her journey into osteopathy began through dance, movement, physical expression and the body’s remarkable capacity to adapt and heal. This continues to shape her whole-body approach. She specialises in TMJ dysfunction, neck pain, posture, spinal mobility and persistent musculoskeletal tension.
Alexander Evans
Alexander is a West End singer and an expert practitioner with over 25 years’ experience teaching Voice Gym. He has worked with leading West End performers, opera singers, international recording artists and professional musicians. He has lectured to dentists / orthodontists / myofunctional therapists internationally. Voice Gym helps performers build physical strength and confidence through an integrated, movement-based approach. Alexander is a pioneer of myofunctional therapy. He is also a qualified Pilates and CHEK instructor and a massage therapist.
Serenna Wagner
As well as a professional opera singer, Serenna is an advanced Neurologic Music Therapist, Founder of This Inner Voice Music Therapy Ltd and a Bond Solon expert witness. She is a multi-instrumentalist who works with clients who have neurological conditions and disabilities, or traumatic brain injuries such as stroke. She also works with Parkinson’s and Dementia in singing groups and runs training courses in music therapy.
Fatima Alcantara
Fatima is a cutting-edge practitioner who has spent her life researching and applying embodied approaches in her work. She is a Hanna Somatic Educator and has training in medical, nursing, physiotherapy, Feldenkreis, Alexander Technique, McTimoney – and much more. She is a highly intuitive practitioner and our first stop for realignment and re-education of body behaviour through kinaesthetic and somatic approaches.