My brother, Isma’il, used to sing along to songs. Instead of conforming his vocal tone to resemble the pitch of the artist, he would sing along in his own voice. If Roberta Flack was on the box, he sang along in a deep baritone. Prince? Deep baritone. Sade, Sting, Fleetwood Mac, et al. were all accompanied by his deep baritone. As you can imagine, it was annoying. I often found myself silently asking, “why?” Why wouldn’t he just sing along and mimic their voice? That was over a decade ago. It wasn’t until very recently that I began to understand the importance of finding your own voice.
In burlesque, we refer to it as that time when you no longer feel like you’re new on the scene and you’re confident in the stories that you tell with your performances. You don’t usually know of a set day and time that it happens. But, when talking about our past performances I’ve heard some dancers say things like, “that was back before I’d found my voice.” So, WTF does it mean to find one’s voice? Does it mean that you annoy your family by singing along in a different key? Does it mean that you are comfortable on a stage?
Dancing in Zimbabwe (according to Google).
“If you can talk you can sing. If you can walk you can dance.” It’s an old proverb from Zimbabwe. My interpretation is that all voices are beautiful and movement of the human body is an art. (In my opinion that’s not exclusive to those that can walk. The ballet, “Body Remix/Les Variations Goldberg” from Comagnie Marie Chouinard out of Montreal is worth your time if you have an open mind about different forms of human movement.)
Body Remix/Les Variations Goldberg
I’ve heard many people exclaim, “oh, I can’t sing!” I ask them all the same follow-up question. “How do you sound in the shower?” People usually give a favorable response. How is it possible to sing/sound better when we’re alone in the bathroom? Well, aside from the acoustics, it’s because that’s where we tend to find our voice. No, not in the bathroom, Silly Goose! Alone. We find our voice when we’re alone. Unfortunately, most of us never acknowledge it because we’re too afraid to share that voice with others. Glossophobia (fear of public speaking) is a very common fear. I believe that we fear what we don’t understand. Therefore, if we deconstruct our fears and distill them into a reason why, we should be able to conquer them. If you are a glossophobe, figure out why. (“Just ’cause” ain’t a reason.) One of my tattoos reminds me to face my fears and conquer them.
My creed flows through my veins and follows those lines in a tattoo.
Are you afraid of sharing your voice? Are you afraid of telling your story? Why? Break it down, dismantle it, understand it, overcome it, overstand it, and share. Your voice may come in the form of dance, singing, poetry (not to be confused with spoken word), painting, etc. But, we all have a story to tell. You’d be surprised who wants/needs to hear your voice. (Disclaimer: If your voice is spreading messages of hate, anarchy, destruction, or general assholism, you can fuck off and die.) Isma’il was the person that pushed me on to the stage to share my poetry at open mic nights back in the mid 90s. I was convinced that no one wanted to hear my lament. Everything was so goddamned dramatic in my poems. But, I was shocked when people applauded with excitement! My voice reached them.
Thoughts on how my voice has changed to deliver the same message.
Over the years, I’ve found my voice as a rapper, poet, dancer, blogger, lover, and my voice is getting more dialed in as a coach every day. Finding your voice is not about perfecting a craft. Finding your voice is not about perfection at all. If you consider yourself perfect, I consider you lazy. You’ve decided to stop trying and you’re resting on your laurels. What do you want to say? How do you want to say it? What are you doing to find your voice and become a scene and part of the heard? Remember that every time you talk you sing and that every time you move your body you are dancing. You have a voice, it’s a beautiful voice. Share it with the world in whatever way you see fit. (Please refer back to the aforementioned disclaimer.) The world doesn’t need another lemming. Don’t try to be the next *fill in the blank with any celebrity*. Be the first and only you. The crowd has plenty of followers. Stand out and share the voice that you found when you were alone and free to be yourself. Remember to cliche like no one’s watching. What I mean to say is that we’ve all heard the overused dumb ass reminder to “dance as if no one’s watching.” That phrase is problematic because it teaches us to close our eyes and hope to remain hidden. Fuck that shit. Dance is if everyone is watching and look them in the eye as you do it. Don’t hide from anyone. Bow down to no one. Walk, dance, talk, and sing… in your own voice.
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