Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are excited to offer our Spring 2024 company a series of artist development events. English Touring Opera is dedicated to helping our artists build successful and happy careers and supporting them in the development of their artistic practices.

At different stops on tour, the Spring 2024 company will have the opportunity to participate in workshops, coaching sessions, and more:

BUXTON - Movement Workshop with Alex Gotch

Alex Gotch trained at London Contemporary Dance School and later completed an MFA at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He works as a Movement Director, Choreographer and Director across Opera, Theatre and Contemporary Dance and is passionate about empowering all performers in their physical expression. In this workshop we will explore different techniques and perspectives that can be applied to create a rich physical foundation for character. Through investigating different ways that we can relate to rhythm, space, gaze, gait, posture and more, we will play with transformation - from the subtle to the extreme.

LEICESTER - Workshop Facilitator Taster & Sharing Session with Bradley Travis

Facilitators of any experience level are invited to join our Learning & Participation team to share tools and learn from colleagues. As part of the session, Bradley Travis (Head of Learning & Participation) will lead the group through the aims, objectives and structure for the ETO Perform projects we run in secondary schools. This will be an opportunity to develop skills as an L&P facilitator and become familiar with the work we do in this area.

YORK - Acting Workshop with Martin Constantine

Martin is the Artistic Director of Streetwise Opera and the author of The Opera Singer’s Acting Toolkit – an essential guide to creating a role. His productions include the RPS Award-winning Paul Bunyan for WNO, and he was Director of ENO Opera Works, an innovative training programme he created for young opera singers which trained 200 young singers, directors, designers and producers over a ten year period at ENO.

TRURO - Contact & Consent: Intimacy Movement Foundations for Opera with Rachel Wise

Awarded The Grange Festival Prize 2023 for Outstanding Young Creative Talent and trained in Movement Directing and Teaching at Royal Central School for Speech and Drama and Intimacy Direction with IDC and TIE, Rachel has previously worked as an Intimacy Director with St. Paul's Opera, The Grange Festival and past ETO productions. Rachel will deliver a workshop for the Artist Development Programme to offer singers a toolbox for working on opera productions where physical contact might be asked of artists, on productions both with and without an intimacy director. The workshop draws on intimacy principles, acting movement studies, requirements asked of a singer in opera, breath, contemporary contact movement techniques and Laban movement training.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS ALONG TOUR - Coaching Sessions with ETO Coaches

We are delighted to be able to offer every cast member in the season up to two sessions with one of ETO's coaches. These coachings are on material of the artist's choice, to help them prepare for current and future projects, brush up for an audition or just try something out.

Thank you to our many donors for their generosity in supporting the Artist Development Programme! If you are interested in supporting this and future artist development initiatives, learn more about how to become a supporter here.