Body Chants & Grooves

Lis Addison

If this album by singer, composer, and dancer Lis Addison doesn’t get you moving and having fun doing it, then you’d better check your pulse! When Addison found that neither song nor dance alone was sufficient to meet the needs of the whole person, she looked to the traditions and practices of indigenous peoples all over the world to create KiVo (kinetic voice), a workout that brings music, sound healing, and chant together with the practice of tribal and conscious dance —a blend that gives both body and soul a dynamic workout.

Appropriate for all ages and experience levels, KiVo is based in the belief of indigenous peoples that singing and dancing belong to all people. All ages and ability levels join in the dances, and it’s assumed that singing naturally involves bodily movement, and movement just has to result in song.

The Grace of the Green Leaf, winner of the 2010 Best Vocal Album from the ZoneMusicReporter music awards, features what Addison calls “body chants,” or “Bocha,” that are designed to awaken and invigorate the body’s energy centers and lead to meditation, ecstatic dance, and healing. Her skill on keyboards and her clear, mellow voice chanting wordless refrains pulls the listener into a trance-like state in which movement is natural and definitely not optional. Addison’s album will enhance not just her own KiVo classes and practice but any workout routine; it will even infuse household chores, gardening, or a long commute with spirit, energy, and joy.

Lis Addison holds a BA in music composition and environmental science and an MFA in electronic music from Mills college, as well as numerous certifi cations in movement techniques.

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