Singing/Vocal workshops

At Ida Kelarová's workshops, everybody has the opportunity to sing and be inspired by her philosophy and unique method. This is a chance not to be missed! Ida has been training the human voice for 30 years and has devoted her life to it.

Art has become soulless, and the destructive influence of commercionalization causes young people to lose their identity and their own creative potential.

This gives rise to ignorance and produces art that is biased. Therefore, all activites of MIRET are focused on authentic, natural creativity

Heartfelt, sincere creativity builds a person's self-confidence and identity and consequently gives one freedom. These factors help a person to lead a full and healthy life, awakening the inner self, a process fundamental not only in art. The activities of MIRET are not affected by age, professional or ethnic boundaries.

Everything about singing is based on breathing, and the breath knows how to put together all the pieces of the personality "puzzle". Our mind, our heart and even deeper - our soul.

If we sing every day, we remain open. The human voice is powerful. It is interconnected with our bodies, mental state, profession and even our current mood.

With our voices we can manifest who we are. The voice is an integral part of our personality. Through it we see who we truly are. It speaks of our thoughts, feelings and how we perceive the world around us and explains the meaning of our existence.

The voice never lies. It reveals out true intentions if we pretend. If we are able to connect with our inner self, the voice becomes the language of the soul.

To be true and authentic, we first need to find our true selves. The voice is a living medium and changes as we grow. It is able to change the atmosphere of our relations with other people and can also substantially influence many other people around us.

Ida Kelarová has devoted her life to vocal training and expression which has the ability to open not only our hearts, but also the hearts of many others.

The gift of song needs to live. And for a song to live, it needs to breathe.

 "One Roma man's father passed away, but he could not even shed a tear. The doctor told him that he must cry, or his heart might break. But he did not know how to cry, for crying was too painful. And so instead of crying, he began to sing...and his heart did not break..."

Songs have accompanied man since the dawn of time. Romani songs are the gem of the Romani culture and have magical power. The heart, soul and very nature of man and people are manifested through these songs. These songs are teachings of nobility, entertainment, inspiration for artistic work and deeper knowledge of life, tradition and the Romani culture.

He who sings - creates - because a song is self-expression, a message. It functions as a live form of social control. The Roma do not use sheet music for their songs, for the characteristic free rhythms of half-tones and quarter-tones cannot even be recorded in the form of written notes. The Romani song is based on an expressive delivery which cannot really be interpreted well without hearing the actual singer.

It is characterized by complicated phrasing, prolonging, accelarating, pausing and inhaling. This adds unique magic to each song.

The song serves as a bridge to get from one place to another, and what a person experiences on this path is subject to his emotions and artistic abilities.

In their ballads, the Roma sing about hardships, poverty, unfortunate love, infidelity, death of a close person, illness, parental anxiety, orphaned children, famine, prison, about their mother and father.

Romani folklore is alive and songs are constantly being created and inspired by real events. We consider the gift of song as one of the most beautiful gems that decorate the Romani culture.

Singing is essential for life. It supplies the body tissues and cells with oxygen.

The breathing process, inhaling and exhaling, is one of the greatest miracles of our existence. This process not only releases life energy, but also has the power to heal.

Breathing properly does not mean just moving the ribcage and diaphragm, but becoming aware of this process and controlling it, which in result means becoming more resistant to stress, strengthens your health and maintains your emotional balance.

We transform our negative emotions into an energy which we can sing out hearts out with, and use it to grow spiritually and become independant. Breathing and singing influence our lives and health.

Breathing in combination with singing has a soothing and healing effect on our inner perception.

To fully inhale means to be fulfilled, opening yourself to life energy and accepting it. To fully exhale means to empty yourself and accept all unknown and new - create a space for new beautiful things. With this we awaken the energy of our own existence.

To fully breathe means to fully live, realizing our own potential in all that we feel, think and do - a way how to do away with the old and open ourselves to accept the new, to look into our inner selves and discover our lifeforce.

Superficial breathing isolates us from our true emotions and disrupts our balance at all levels of our being. It is necessary to become more concentrated, humble and learn how to achieve the best possible results with the aid of our own natural intelligence.

Singing is primarily a cure. Singing your heart out is the best treatment for depression. The healing effects of singing have already been proven by many prehistorical cultures. Just as today many people and physicians are becoming more and more aware of what an important antidepressant and cure against stress singing represents: the strength it can provide and how it releases accumulated emotions retained in our bodies that change into negative energy. We cannot hurt ourselves or anybody else by singing.

"Music and singing is a universal language which we understand with our hearts."Ida Kelarová says. "Singing is an expression of the soul".