ELENA

Specialising in Jazz Vocal Technique, Vocal Mechanics and Classical Jazz Stylistics, Elena teaches online and in person providing lessons to students of all levels and abilities in English and Russian

Elena Dana is a music educator who specialises in vocal mechanics and classical jazz stylistics. Offering her own unique take on the vocal technique, based on a ten year academic research and over three decades of professional singing experience, Elena utilises Jazz vocal mechanics as a building foundation for all contemporary vocal genres employing elements from such methods as Bel Canto, Speech Level, CVT (Complete Vocal Technique) method and EVT (Estill Voice Training) during all coaching sessions. 

Elena offers tailor-made lessons, which are fun and easy to follow by breaking down all vocal technique terminology into comprehensive components with bespoke teaching method. Working with piano, guitar or backing tracks, Elena customises every lesson around student's learning needs, goals and abilities. Gently but steadily guiding student to desired outcome, Elena skilfully analyses student's strengths and pitfalls with an immediate recipe at hand for the student to reach their potential in the fastest period of time possible, using holistic, kinaesthetic and academic approach in every lesson she designs.  

To enhance student's learning experience, each session is followed up with a written theoretical outline, a personalised vocal training programme with original exercises, an audio or video recording from the class and a list of suggested external resources for systematic training. The aim of these sessions is to keep vocalist's voice in healthy condition while taking their singing ability to their own highest level.

Educated to a Master Degree in the City University London as a Cultural Manager, trained as a Music Educator at the British Academy of New Music in London and as a Performing Artist as a Vocalist & an Actor at the Kiev Performing Arts School КГУЦЭИ, Elena has been practising the craft of singing through performing, teaching and coaching for over three decades. Elena has taught Vocals in Performing Arts Schools around London, facilitated Singing Workshops and Vocal Jazz Masterclasses in England, Scotland, Netherlands and Cyprus, and outreached herself as an Events Organiser, Promoter and an Arts Manager during this time to maximise creative opportunities for the singing community (more here).

After building up a solid run-up of live performances as a jazz vocalist and a songwriter, Elena has conducted a ten year academic research on Vocal Mechanics based on a hands-on practical experience following a theoretical framework from many vocal training methods, from CVT to Gillyanne Kayes findings, while experimenting with her own hypothesis, which lead to her own original Vocal Training method. Originally, initiated in 2013 as an assignment for the Music Educator programme, the research was based around Pop Up Schools concept, consisting of a number of singing workshops around East London, later extending its services to the Netherlands and Cyprus, and eventually turning into a digital SJI platform in 2020. 

Songwriting 

Travelling around the world with her own material from 2007 up until to 2011, and meeting many inspirational people along the way, Elena has acquired much influence from the World music genre. Dana has generously shared her heart-felt lyrical compositions in her singing performances while touring around the UK, USA, South America, India and Europe. Blending the jazz and gypsy music genres together, Elena has introduced a cinematic sound to her original songs and published her solo album on all digital platforms in the summer of 2023. Songwriting is also a subject that Elena loves to teach as it flows eloquently from the improvisation technique we use in jazz.  

Teaching Experience 

As a giveback to the singing community and performing with her original songs and jazz standards all over the world Elena has turned to the teaching as her heart calling, and for the last ten years Elena has coached hundreds of professional and aspiring singers via private sessions, group workshops and online classes. As a part of her Teacher Training Programme Elena has organised several pop up schools of vocals in different parts of Europe: two in London, one in Edinburgh, one in The Hague, and the latest one was held in Cyprus. 

The teaching placement took place at the British Academy of New Music in London in 2014 followed by a number of vocal training workshops for local projects and clients, such as Dash Arts International Producer at the Latitude Festival, the Rich Mix Dacha Festival & the Midsummer Festival, Bodens Performing Arts School (PA), Theatretrain, Make Believe, Spotlight, Stagecoach PA and the Arts Council's Johnston Sheard's Kunstraum visual arts project. In 2019 Elena hosted an audition for the ITV X-factor in Edinburgh and produced two jazz singing courses for the City of Edinburgh Council, adult education department. 

In March 2020 during the lockdown Elena has set up SJI with the aim to unite jazz vocalists who are teaching voice or wish to transition into a teaching profession from the performing in order to master the craft of teaching through CPD - Continuous Professional Development in a group of likeminded professionals. Since SJI foundation the mission of the collective has always been to preserve the vocal jazz as a genre through teaching and performance and to provide a fast track learning to all our students.

Music Industry

Prior to teaching Elena run regular Open Mics for songwriters such as Ed Sheeran, played many gigs with local songwriters such as Kal Lavelle, who also generously contributed to Elena's academic research on how songwriters in London make living out of their music, for her Culture Policy & Management MA, and organised many jazz gigs with local jazz musicians, and cross-arts showcases. 

As a youngster Elena has won many National Laureate Awards from singing competitions such as Morning Star, StarFall, Fortuna, and Chervona Ruta in Ukraine and was a regular guest at a number of local concerts and festivals from the age of five, moving to working under a supervision of a personal jazz vocal coach from the age of thirteen, which led to creative collaborations and live performances with the nationally acclaimed, local jazz orchestra, Chaika. 

Social Media

Elena's social media presence can be found via the SJI Instagram, her own music page, as well as Facebook and Bandcamp

Videos

From September 2019 Elena's vocal training project is documented and shared in a video format on Patreon, which is available for continuous self-guided training for vocalists and teachers who wish to experiment with different ways of learning. 

30 Day Challenge is a new Vocal Technique online Programme designed by Elena for anyone who wants to digest the Vocal Technique, enhance it and contemplate a new angle on the topic, and practice a healthy voice production. 

More teaching videos can be found on the SJI website here.