ELENA

Elena is the founder of the Sing Jazz International and the main Vocal Coach for the Jazz Singer Platform. Elena specialises in the Jazz Voice Technique, Vocal Mechanics and Classical Jazz Stylistics. Currently teaching online only, Elena provides singing lessons to the students of all levels in English and in Russian

Elena Dana is a music educator and a vocal coach who specialises in voice mechanics and classical jazz stylistics. Jazz vocal mechanics are used as a building foundation for all contemporary vocal genres employing elements from such methods as Bel Canto, Speech Level, CVT and 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 methods. Working with piano, guitar or backing tracks, Elena customises every lesson around student's learning goals and abilities. Guiding the student to the desired outcome Elena is skilfully analyses student's shortcuts to reaching their potential in the fastest period of time using holistic approach in every lesson she designs.  

To enhance student's learning experience, each session is followed with a written theoretical outline, a personalised vocal training programme, 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 its highest and fullest potential!

Educated to a Masters Degree in the City University London UK, Elena has been trained as a Music Educator at the British Academy of New Music in East London, and as a performing artist at the Kiev Performing Arts School practicing her craft for over three decades.

Most insights on how to use voice, however, came from ten years of academic research on voice after years of live performances and then the break from it, which led her to traumatic experience of losing her ability to sing and then restoring it again in a most rewarding and exciting life experience through building this unique SJI platform which has started by bringing all local jazz musicians together in East London before this projected found its feet online ten years later in 2022. 

Travelling around the world with her own material and meeting many inspirational people along the way, from 2007 to 2011, Elena has acquired much influence from the world music genre. Dana has generously shared 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, while interpreting jazz standards in elegant forties style.

About Elena's Teaching Experiences

For the last ten years Elena has coached hundreds of professional and aspiring singers via private sessions, group workshops and online classes from all over the world. As a part of her Teacher Training practice Elena taught singing for 16+ at the British Academy of New Music in London in 2014. From that time onwards Elena facilitated a number of vocal training workshops for many projects and clients, such as Dash Arts at the Latitude Festival, the Rich Mix Dacha Festival & the Midsummer Festival, Bodens PA, Theatretrain, Make Believe, Spotlight and Stagecoach, 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 to master craft of teaching online through continuous professional development in a group of likeminded professionals who can also support each other during new and strange times. Since its creation the mission of SJI collective has  always been to preserve the vocal jazz as a genre through teaching and performance.

During the last eight years, Elena has produced five pop up schools of vocals, two in London, one in Edinburgh, in The Hague, and the latest one is currently running in Cyprus. Previous four pop up schools consisted of over thirty individually devised workshops, masterclasses and courses featuring dozens of contemporary vocalists and musicians from the current music scene, with seven students' showcases to date. 

Singing Background

Prior to teaching Elena run regular open mics for songwriters and organised jazz gigs, and cross-arts showcases in London UK and worked as a performing vocalist with original material, gypsy and jazz covers. As a youngster Elena has won national laureate awards from singing competitions such as Morning Star, StarFall, Fortuna, and Chervona Ruta in Ukraine and was a regular guest at many local concerts and festivals from the age of five, moving to working under a supervision of local jazz vocal coach from the age of thirteen. 

Online Training

From September 2019 Elena's vocal training project is documented and shared in a video format on Patreon for continuous self-guided training, some of this content can also be found on a newly introduced Members Zone for vocalists and teachers alike. 30 Day Challenge is a new Vocal Technique online Programme designed for anyone who wants to digest the Vocal Technique, enhance it and cement the knowledge of it in order to improve the healthy voice production.