Copyright Intellect Ltd 2017 Not for distribution 201 JIVS 2 (2) pp. 201–218 Intellect Limited 2017 Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies Volume 2 Number 2 © 2017 Intellect Ltd Reviews. English language. doi: 10.1386/jivs.2.2.201_5 REVIEWS VOICENCOUNTERS, WROCLAW, THE GROTOWSKI INSTITUTE, 14–24 APRIL 2016 Reviewed by Konstantinos Thomaidis, University of Exeter VoicEnounters is a series of events that cannot be pigeonholed into a single, all-encompassing definition. 1 Its organizers refer to it as a ‘practical seminar’ and the subtitle of the rich 2016 programme read: ‘Workshops, Concerts, Discussions, Lectures, Films, Conference’. Curated under the hospices of the educational activities of the Grotowski Institute, Poland, the previous two instalments of VoicEncounters in 2012 and 2013 were directly related to the work of Teatr ZAR – the resident company at the Institute – and the creation of Armine, Sister, a performative reflection on the Armenian Genocide. For its 2016 iteration, however, the scope of VoicEncounters expanded. Developed in partnership with Giving Voice – the biannual festival and conference of the UK-based Centre for Performance Research – and the Site de Pratiques Théâtrales Lavauzelle, the ten-day programme featured more than 50 artists, teachers, scholars, choirs and theatre groups from across the globe, with the stated intention to generate spaces for cultural exchange based on vocal practice. How can such exchange be materialized? In what condi- tions and through which methodologies? What constitutes, in the case of voice-based traditions, a cultural artefact that can be effectively shared, expe- rienced and, perhaps, repurposed and reconceptualized? These are the types of concerns that underpinned discussions – both formalized and casual – during VoicEncounters 2016. This review will focus specifically on the answers provided and further questions raised by two out of the four sections in the programme: first, Mediterraneas, the line-up of workshops, concerts and talks curated by Jean François-Favreau that focused on South European polyphony, and, second, the conference panels at Giving Voice. The other two sections in the programme, which I was unable to attend, were My Voice is My Country, including workshops and concerts by artists from Poland, Iran, Norway, Egypt, Ukraine and Turkey, and Traces, which was a direct offspring of the 1. http://voicencounters. art.pl/. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. JIVS_2.2_Reviews_201-218.indd 201 7/17/17 5:06 PM