A Musical Theatre Lecturer from Stratford-upon-Avon College has qualified as an Estill Master Trainer.
Alex Dengate, who has worked for the College for over 10 years, has a whole host of accolades to his name, as a performer, voice coach and educator and now is continuing his professional development by gaining this specialist training.
Estill Voice Training helps support sustained vocal health and vitality and is used by some of the world’s top performers, voice teachers, and vocal coaches, and is a valuable model for voice users of all kinds.
Alex, pictured above, has been using and training in Estill Voice Technique to develop his skills
The training can help with gaining range, flexibility and endurance, mastering healthy vocal function, discovering personal vocal habits, exploring helpful vocal exercises and learning how to keep your voice vibrant and healthy.
Alex has been using and training in Estill Voice Training for years; attending his first courses at URDANG in London in 2017. From completing Level’s 1 and 2, he progressed to Estill Figure Proficiency Level which he passed in 2021 before beginning the formal training for Estill Master Trainer. He comments: “I have been studying the Estill Model for many years and have been embedding it into my teaching practice for as long as I can remember. I have always been keen to learn, study, train and work harder and during lockdown I wanted to advance and refine my skillset even though much of the world was slowing down and in many cases stopping.
I had the opportunity to begin my EMT training online (eventually moving to in person) and so after speaking with colleagues at the college I had their full support to proceed with the training and get started! Nicky Haines (Head of School for Creative Arts) gave her full support in sourcing the funding for the training and clearing it with the staff development team and Claire Morley (Performing & Production Arts Programme Manager) did some fabulous work on re-jigging the timetable so that I could have time during the week to study, work and practise.”
Alex is now officially credited as an Estill Master Trainer
Vocal training is imperative in the world of theatre so being able to teach students how to train and care for their voice is incredibly important: “For performers across the industry the use of the voice is key. Your voice is a huge part of your performers tool kit and knowing how to use that tool is critical. It is completely unique to the individual and is a marvel of the natural form. It is the responsibility and duty of all performers to enhance, develop and understand their vocal instrument so that first and foremost they can use it safely and responsibly but also that they can manipulate their mechanism to ensure the performance work that they give from a vocal perspective is contextually and artistically correct, accurate and appropriate.”
Alex will now use this training to help develop his students’ skills: “The training has given me a new, thorough and in-depth insight into both the sung and the spoken voice which is now something that I will fully embed into my work at the College. The detail in which the model is put together is at such a high resolution that it means I am able to help, support, diagnose and develop students’ voices in an even more efficient, coherent and clear manner like never before! I am excited to get working with the student cohorts in September!”
Congratulations Alex on your amazing achievement!
