Desperate deserts of simple terms
Rushing a river of hearing burn.
Frantically trying to find a slick rhyme
Gimme a dime, and I’ll commit vocal crime.
Classical sassy to ruin and rip
Maniac monsters with lilting big lips
Everyone’s busy at listening good
Deep into soul search and knocking on wood.
Sinister singing is slicing my dream
beating round body thumps, grunting to seem
Desperately trying to find some slick terms
Rushing a river of plain simple burn.
(from Sinister Singing)
Jodi Gilbert, a native Californian based in Amsterdam, is known as a dancer, singer, actress, and teacher of performance skills in the USA and Europe. She began dance training at the age of four and studied classical ballet. modern, and folk dance in California and in New York City. She received a BA in Renaisssance Theater from UC Berkeley in 1973, and was in the graduate program for dance and choreography at UCLA from 1976-77. In New York City she studied at the Alvin Ailey School, primarily with Joyce Trisler and Milton Meyers, and ballet with Lawrence Rhodes and Ernest Pagnano. She studied and performed Commedia dell’Arte with Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, formerly of the Piccolo Theater of Milan, and voice in NYC with John Devers, Jeannette Lovetri, and in Holland with Ronald Klekamp. She followed workshops with The Talking Band (NYC) Contact Improvisation (NYC/Amsterdam) LaMama Director’s Symposium( Italy) and studied Wayang Kulit (shadow puppetry) and gender (balinese instrument) in Bali as a part of the Dell Arte in Bali program.
As a performer singer/actor/dancer she works or has worked with, among others, Meredith Monk (Quarry, Carnegie Hall 20 year retrospective) , Elizabeth Swados (Nightclub Cantata), Dell’Arte Players Company (The Bacchae), Orkater (Ballast), Het Nationale Toneel (Bourgeois Gentilhomme), Feri de Geus (You’ve got a Watch, I’ve got the Time), and with Jenn Ben Yakov (solo show, Living in a Dream, Golems, One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor) As a vocalist in Europe she has worked primarily with Paul Termos 10-tet, Roscoe Mitchell, Misha Mengelberg and ICP (opera Behang), Michael Moore, Available Jelly, Maude Sauer, Han Buhrs and the Schismatics, The Voice Is The Matter, Rasp/Hasp (with Wilbert de Joode, Anne LaBerge, Paul Lovens, Richard Barrett) SPOON 3 (with Albert van Veenendaal, Meinrad Kneer) SPOON 3+(Albert van Veenendaal, Meinrad Kneer, Robert van Heumen) , Rara Avis Trio with Tineke de Jong, Albert van Veenendaal, Fearless Rose, female accapella world music ensemble under the auspices of Musicians without Borders, the big band, ALL ELLINGTON, and the newly formed, August 38, improvising choir.
She has performed in such international music festivals as a Rive de Gier Jazz (F), MIMIFestival (F), JazzhausfestivalKöln(D), Moore and More Festival Bremen (D), Groningen Jazzmarathon, Jazzfietstour, Bimhuis Greatest Hits festivals, Ulrichsberg Kaleidophon (A), NYC Jazz Festival (Knitting Factory), du Maurier Jazz Festival (Toronto and Vancouver, Canada), Time Flies Festival, Vancouver.
As a theater/music/movement teacher she has been on the faculty of the Amsterdamse Hoge School v.d. Kunst (departments of Modern Theater Dance, National Ballet Academy(HBO and Vooropleiding) and Crea. (1990-2018) She has taught at the Palo Alto Children’s Theater, Dell’Arte School of Physical Theater (US) in their USA and Bali, programs, in Denmark she has taught at the Ärhus Theater Akademi (DK), Tidens Theater (DK), and as an artist-in-residence Indiana University (US). She was a regular workshop leader in Buitenkunst 1990-2007, NL, . She has worked as a vocal/drama consultant for Scapino Ballet (Itzik Galilli, Ed Wubbe), Krisztina de Chatel, Studium Chorale, the Music Conservatory in Amsterdam, and MEMO Cultuur voor Kleintjes.
She teaches privately sponsored workshops in voice, dance, theater, improvisation, and Balkan song throughout Europe and the USA, and presently has an ongoing private voice practice.