Mariette Witteveen
About Mariette Witteveen
Born in The Hague, she studied voice at the Arnhem Conservatory and with Margreet Honig in Amsterdam, specializing in oratorio and art song. As a performer and international teacher, she focuses on vocal technique, breath work, and interpretation, integrating Chi Gong and psychological insights into her holistic approach. *“Singing begins where breath becomes soul—my goal is to guide singers to that inspired connection.”
Chi Gong block offers fixe forms and the expressiveness in which we can experience a
safe structure where the participants first feel at ease. We activate optimal breathing and
energy flow.
Two forms of Chi Gong are taught: the 5 elements and the singer. Everyone can practise
these forms independently as a warm-up exercise for performances, courses or
examination. (stress reduction).
In the breathing exercises, we open and activate the abdominal and flank breathing
and focus on the support and we balance our postures in streching the spine.
we integrate the back functions. Spine, autonomic nervous system,
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve. (responsible for our
abdominal brain)
The school of finding space in breathing in a gentle way has begun. Which is the
source of creation and our creating nature. You cannot give something if you have no
space inside,from where you have to give something. (D. Fischer Dieskau).
The last block, improvisation, we do exercises to music, tell stories to music, establish a
connection to each other, observe each other, react to each other, mirror, work on
word associations, devising exercises in paren, a playful togetherness to experience the
limits and possibilities of movement and communication through movement sequences in
dance, music, voice and sound with:
HUMOR, JOY and a lot of FUN to explore and shift our own limits.
Explanation and Motivation:
As a course leader and active singing teacher, I always see that the students feel very
protected in this structure. The singers feel quite comfortable and everyone dares to
explore their bodies and work in respect and fun.
For me it is moving work to experience the personalities, authenticity of the students and
to observe their musicality in other ways than in just the singing lesson and then to work
on an integration of the parts in themselves and in singing the Aria or Song.
Because of the first sequence of the training I can observe that the singers
are first happy on the mat with yoga and relaxation and then to explore the
activating chi gong. Getting to know your own body is essential for the school of singing.
The singers-body course offers an approach and awareness for more self-knowledge,
body awareness and self-confidence. Nervousness,fear of failure, insecurity, stage fright,
examanation-stress can be reduced in this method. We regulate our fears and insecurities
that constantly accompany us through body interaction and awareness. We learn to shift
and regulate in the body and not in thinking and planning.
.
At the University of Music Osnabrück, as well as in Leuven at the Luka institut,
school of Arts in Belgie, Augsburg College of Music, I offered courses with this project in
different formats, my EVTA lecture on Chi Gong in the singing class in Switzerland from
2019 motivated me even more to design a concept for the singers.
Since I had my vocal training and 6 years of assisting with Prof. Margreet Honig, I was
also trained in Chi Gong and SE, somatic Experiencing, as well as a coach training in
C.G.Jung analysis, I have been able to combine my own singing and teaching of the body,
breathwork with the psychological.