I am thrilled to announce that in May next year I will be hosting Dimitri Gueskine - sound therapist, music teacher, multi-instrumentalist and founder of the Naad Sound Healing School (France), with his signature workshop **Colours of Sound**.
Dimitri developed this course based on his rich experience of working with many sound healing instruments, in particular singing bowls, whereby he observed that we play the same instrument in different way, depending on the context of playing - and the inspiration we are connecting with from within, the "magic", changes too across different audiences and contexts.
Dimitri classified these inspirations metaphorically into different “colours” - each colour representing a specific practice and application.
If you are a sound practitioner, this course will likely offer a paradigm shift to your sound healing work and your personal experience of sound, as well as a practical and theoretical learning. We will explore four colours over two days. Each sound colour comes with a concrete practice, and you will learn some protocols to incorporate into your sound work. The colours we will dive into are Yellow, Red, Purple and Black.
We will explore four fields of application:
1) The playful practice of Sound, for children and young people, as well as adults. 14+ techniques/games for home, schools, groups and organisations, and for supporting young clients to feel safe and grounded in groups or in individual sessions.
2) The Soul to Soul connection through Sound, or Nada Tantra - how to play or be played by Sounds to experience a deep and safe connection in groups of two or more people. Great for family or couple practice, also talking circles, and as an addition to other therapies where deep emotions are explored.
3) The imagination, reverie and creativity aspects of Sound. Sounds tell us stories, we will learn to listen to them, as well to tell stories while playing, using our instruments, and as well our voice. You will gain confidence in telling beautiful stories while playing.
4) Working with clients who live with trauma, illness (both physical and psychological) and learning disabilities. Dimitri has many years of experience in delivering sound therapy in different services of psychiatric hospital in Digne Les Bains (France). There will be no comprehensive protocols offered in this section (there is no such thing), but Dimitri will teach us how to introduce sound and play safely in such challenging contexts with vulnerable clients, to potentially bring lightness and joy to deep suffering. We will look at aspects of theory, view recordings from real-life individual sessions with patients, and practise immersive games.
Exploring the Colours of Sound with Dimitri will change your sound practice, offering you new tools but, more importantly, a new vision, without taking away anything from your previous learning and experience. You will likely find that you have a preference for some of the “colours”, which will help you discover more about yourself as a human and a practitioner.
Venue: The workshop will be hosted by Masha Bennett at The Sand & Sound Centre in Hyde, Greater Manchester [photo above of a few of the instruments at the Centre - and Dimitri may bring some of his own]
Dimitri Gueskine was born in Russia, raised in Belgium and currently lives and works in France. He travelled extensively in Nepal, India and Thailand, and also lived and taught music in Mayotte Archipelago.
Dimitri says: ‘I come from a family with a strong tradition of Russian classical music on one side and science on the other. Since 2012, I have dedicated myself to sound therapy, sound exploration, and its dissemination. Alongside my own practice and research into sound, I studied with Don Conreaux (USA), Priyanka Jay Patel (India), Brigitte Snoek (Belgium), Philippe Garnier (France), and Shree Krishna Shahi (Nepal).
After founding Le Centre de l'Harmonie in Mayotte in 2015, I moved to Digne-les-Bains in France in 2019, where I opened the Encens Bleu space, dedicated to the Arts of Wellness, relaxation, and sound therapy. It was also in Digne-les-Bains that I began working in hospitals, nursing homes, and with children. In 2023, after several years at Encens Bleu, I founded the NAAD School of Sound Therapy. At my training school we focus on skill development, refinement of protocols, and challenging the myths of commercial/New Age vision of sound therapy.’