Hi, I’m Ali

MY STORY:

My singing journey began many years ago, when I was just a little kid wanting to sing on Broadway in Les Miserables after seeing the musical and getting the tape for Christmas and playing it on repeat. I loved to sing and wanted to be like one of those incredible performers. But it never came easily for me - I was never really, as they say, a “natural”, at singing. Despite that, and because of my intense love of musicals and acting, and some kind of deep inner knowing that I was meant to sing in this life, I kept at it.

I trained in musical theater in my early twenties at a conservatory college in Canada, and worked as a professional performer for a decade, touring Canadian fringe festivals, and appearing on stages throughout the country. But still I couldn’t figure out how to sing freely and easily! I used to lose my voice regularly, and struggled a lot with strain and oversinging, not feeling connected to my voice or body (dissociation), and a vicious, often debilitating, inner critic. 

I persevered and my journey took me an alternate route to performing as a puppeteer and musician, working with world-renowned company Bread and Puppet Theater for almost a decade, and forming my own company, Birdbone Theatre, with Aleks Bragoszewska, and as a founding member of Horse-pulled puppet company, The Rural Academy Theater, where I played accordion in the band, among many others things.

I grew up in a turbulent family, and after learning more about my childhood trauma in my late 20s, and what effect it had on my nervous system, I began to understand how that affected my voice, my brain formation, and my learning style in general. For the past 2 decades, I have studied yoga, other somatic practices, received regular massage treatments, and gone to various forms of therapy. Through all of this study and treatment, I have been able to gain more interoception (inner-body awareness), and this continues to shift my nervous system to be more resilient. Because of this, I am a trauma-informed teacher, and bring many tools of nervous system regulation to our sessions together.

I have been a yoga practitioner and a yoga teacher for more than a decade. I am also a bodywork professional, specializing in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. 

I always struggled to gain access of my creativity, and I started writing my own songs 5 years ago. I now perform as a singer-songwriter, writing my own songs that speak of my healing journey, showcasing my vocals, accompanying myself on guitar and piano. I’m now working on releasing my first album into the world.

I have studied with countless teachers, but it wasn’t until I found a teacher who specialized in vocal science that I was able to learn how to use my instrument effectively. Learning how the anatomy of the voice works, and how to bring more awareness to the sensation of singing helped me learn to sing in a way that sounded good and felt even better!

Since then, I’ve studied with Maddie Tarbox and received my certification in Evidence-Based Voicework Pedagogy with two of her courses: Vocal Function 101, and Mechanics of Mix & Belt. I study with Annie Little for both singing and teaching mentorshop. I also study with Instagram and Tik-Tok famous coach Gemma Sugrue with her ProVocal Artist Program.