Betty Roi is an authentic Parisian chanteuse. For her, singing has been a way to both know herself and to connect with the rest of the world. It was music and dance and the dreams of performing in America that fueled her longings as a child growing up in Paris. She sang with her sister and musician friends learning a broad repertoire of French cabaret and popular songs.
When she was old enough to leave home, Betty entered a musical theater training program in Spain and performed there and in Israel. Her interest in dance took her to New York, where she studied at Alvin Ailey Dance School. When her travels brought her to San Francisco in 1983, Betty knew she had found a new home.
She quickly became known for dramatic versions of French cabaret music. Betty performed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in venues such as the Plush Room, Herbst Theater, the Grand Café in the Hotel Monaco, the Ritz Carlton, Piaf’s, Café Claude, Bruno’s, the Alliance Française, and the National Cabaret Convention. As an actress, she played in San Francisco fringe theater. Most recently she has been heard at the De Young Museum, Tosca Café, Bliss Bar, Yoshi’s Oakland and sold out performances at The Feinstein Room in Hotel Nikko, SF.
Betty’s ability to celebrate tradition while making the new her own can be heard in her first CD “Enchanté,” which was released in 1999. Faith Winthrop describes her voice as “pure, playful, sensual and sincere.”
Betty continued to study jazz vocals and improvisation at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and with the masters, Rhiannon and Laurie Antonioli over the years. At the same time, she became passionate about practicing and studying yoga and is now a well-respected yoga teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003, she founded Yoga du Soleil Maison of Healing Arts (www.bettyroiyoga.com).
Betty studied with classical Indian vocalist Shweta Jhaveri and explored music and voice as a spiritual path at the Vox Mundi School of Sound and Voice, and the California Institute of Integral Studies. She also attended classes at the Jazzschool in Berkeley with great teachers and artists such as Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh, among others. She now expresses herself from a deeper place and allows her music to be part of an expression of the grace of spirit that sings through her.
Betty does her best singing when her voice becomes an instrument of the divine. When singing for yoga students, her voice is a vehicle that transports listeners to a sacred space within themselves. As an offering from her heart, she has released two CDs: “La Chanteuse de Paris” (December 2009), a collection of chansons françaises celebrating the music that first fed her dreams and led her to a life of exploration; and “La Lumière du Son” (January 2010), a mix of raga-style drones, Sanskrit chants, soundscapes, jazz and classical inflections and the pure sound qualities of the French language. Author and yoga teacher, Sarah Powers called it “a dip into the sublime.”
Short Bio:
Betty Roi is an authentic French chanteuse. Born in Paris, her interest in dance took her to New York, where she studied at the Alvin Ailey Dance School. When her travels brought her to San Francisco in 1983, Betty knew she had found a new home.
She quickly became known for dramatic versions of French cabaret music and has been heard performing at Bay Area venues such as Tosca Café, De Young Museum, Herbst Theater, Café Claude, and Alliance Francaise.
Beyond chansons, Betty has immersed herself in diverse musical disciplines, including jazz, improvisation, Hindustani Classical and other sacred vocal traditions. She has released three CDs: Enchanté, acollection of jazz serenades; La Chanteuse de Paris, chansons françaises celebrating the music that first fed her dreams and led her to a life of exploration; and La Lumière du Son, a mix of raga-style drones, Sanskrit chants, soundscapes, jazz and classical inflections and the pure sonic qualities of the French language.
Betty is also passionate about practicing and studying yoga and is a well-respected yoga teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2003, she founded her studio, Yoga du Soleil Maison of Healing Arts.
