Rhiannon’s Advanced Improvisation Retreat
Kona Coast, Hawaii Island
January 18-28, 2012
Cost: $2500 all inclusive plus airfare

How to apply

Pay for your registration

Turns out that the magnificent, inspiring gathering at Hale Kai is too much to be held by seven days, so we have extended the gathering to ten luxurious days.
Each year the singers come from far-flung parts of the earth and are bonded by their lifetime devotion to music and desire to create community. We are finding that friendships and collaborations form in these days that may last a lifetime.  Our singing circles are a combination of improvisation, song form, technique study and intuitive development. Outside those singing circles we explore the gifts of the island and Hawaiian culture. Each year new and amazing possibilities emerge.

This gathering is for 12-14 skillful improvisors with strong, committed vocal lives. It is Rhiannon’s most advanced yearly retreat, second only to All the Way In. Acceptance into this workshop is based on Rhiannon’s approval. If Rhiannon is very familiar with your vocal work from past study with her, she may be able to admit you based on that. If she is not familiar with your vocal work or it has been a long time, please follow these application instructions.

Just announced: next year's dates are Jan 8 - 18, 2013.

I invite you to a vocal gathering on the Big Island of Hawaii, at the beach, on the tropical Kona coast, right around the corner from Ho’okena, a deep, clear bay where I have often swum with the spinner dolphins.

Hale Kai will be our home for 10 days and nights. It is a blessed place of serenity and power. It has the feeling of a Balinese village in its simple decor and intimacy. Everywhere you look there is a sense of ancientness and grace.

We gather in the large open yoga room for our singing sessions, or on the lava coast right outside the gate, or at various other sacred places and pristine beaches where the music flows. We will study the mystery and techniques of vocal improvisation, using all kinds of music, from local Hawaiian chanting and songs, to your own invented and composed music, on out into the music of the world. We will find the connections between performance and healing as we blend song form and sound, all the while feeling the magic this island has in abundance.

Simple mostly-vegetarian cuisine with fresh local fruit and fish will feed our bodies while we sing to feed our souls.

There is a profound sense of O'hana (family) here that is very important in this world of disconnect and isolation. Believe me, you will feel connected here. Local folks and kapuna sometimes come by to share music and talk story with their knowledge of the traditions and history of these islands. It is a reminder that when we sing, the earth is always under our feet, and it matters so much where that is. That is why it is so precious to come to Hale Kai and sing for your life!
With the blessing of aloha,
Rhiannon