Ulysses ChuangTeacher · Writer · Musician

Brooklyn, New York · An open invitation

A life of
making.
Together.

I’m Ulysses. I teach, write, make music, and bring people together — to find more freedom in our bodies, more resonance in our voices, and more possibilities in our lives.

Explore my work ↗Read my Substack ↗
Ulysses Chuang in red, standing on a palm-lined path
Ulysses Chuang
An illustrated gathering of people from different cultures sharing conversation
A table with room for many worlds.
a few threads of my life
Voice & movementPersonal essaysMusic & drawingLanguages & friendship

01 / A little about me

Vitality, creativity,
and connection.

These are the qualities I keep coming back to — in the classes I teach, the stories I tell, and the gatherings I host.

My work begins with experience: noticing how you move, hearing a voice become more resonant, finding a rhythm with other people. Words can point toward these things; the discovery happens when we try them.

I live at Merlins Place, a duplex loft in Bushwick that is both our home and a gathering space. Alongside teaching and hosting, my life includes classical piano, singing Schumann, painting, rock climbing, cooking with friends, and learning languages.

02 / Learn through experience

A place to explore.

Movement, touch, and sound offer different ways into the same question: what else might be possible?

Invitation artwork for The Resonant Voice

Come discover the pleasure of your own voice.

01The Resonant VoiceSinging · Resonance · Improvisation+

Discover the pleasure of your own voice through embodied singing, improvisation, and making songs together. We learn by ear from day one: listening, echoing, and finding our own musical responses. No singing experience is necessary; experienced singers are equally welcome.

A drum provides a shared pulse as sustained notes, repeating melodies, rhythms, and harmonies become a sonic tapestry. You can support the group with a simple phrase or step forward with a melody of your own.

Group improvisation and individual vocal coaching support each other. Movement and vocal exercises draw on Alexander Technique; a song learned by heart becomes a starting point for tailored feedback, greater resonance, and expressive confidence. Over the course, we work toward learning a song and creating an original one.

Read the full Resonant Voice course description ↗Find singing gatherings ↗
02Alexander TechniqueAttention · Movement · PossibilityExplore how habitual tension shapes the way you move, breathe, and use your voice — and discover greater ease and freedom in everyday activities.
03Exploring BodyworkTouch · Listening · Shared attention
+

Learn to offer a bodywork session to a friend or family member through attentive touch and gentle partner stretching. Developed through fifteen years of exploring yoga, Taichi, Alexander Technique, and Kinomichi, this work welcomes beginners and gives experienced practitioners new concepts and techniques to explore.

We begin with gentle stretching and self-massage, then move between demonstrations, giving, and actively receiving. Through touch, you learn to distinguish skin, fascia, muscle, tendon, and bone, notice patterns of tension, and use your own body with ease and coordination.

At its heart is embodied listening: attending to your own sensations while responding to another person. Respectful, platonic touch, clear consent, and communication underpin the practice. This is an educational exploration of movement and touch, rather than massage therapy training.

Read the full Exploring Bodywork course description ↗Ask about learning bodywork ↗
04Stories & illustrated journalsMemory · Drawing · Your own voice+

Storytelling

Learn to craft and tell personal stories that resonate. We work with both writing and performance: finding story-worthy episodes, shaping scenes with vivid details, and telling them aloud with voice, expression, rhythm, and presence.

Timed writing, sharing, and feedback help each person develop their own voice. Gentle movement, vocal exploration, drumming, and quiet listening create space for memory and imagination. The aim is a repertoire of stories you can share with confidence — and a closer connection with the people listening.

Explore the Storytelling course ↗

The Illustrated Journal

Combine writing with visual exploration: doodling, collage, calligraphy, mind maps, diagrams, storyboards, and watercolor. Playful warm-ups help loosen inhibitions and reconnect you with the pleasure of drawing; longer exercises and time working side by side let a personal practice develop.

We share images and passages in pairs or small groups, learning from one another while keeping room for each person’s own way of seeing. Beginners are welcome, and experienced journal keepers can discover new techniques and creative companions.

Explore the Illustrated Journal course ↗Look inside my illustrated journal ↗Ask about storytelling or illustrated journaling ↗

03 / From my Substack

Stories I’m
still living inside.

Personal essays about friendship, creativity, ritual, and what it feels like to be a body in the world.

Two people standing beside a blazing ceremonial fire at night, from Four Sacred Fires

Featured essay · September 2026

Four Sacred Fires

In which I learn to speak the pattern language of ceremonial fire.

Read the essay ↗
More essays & subscribe ↗

04 / Merlins Place · Bushwick

Some things only happen
when we gather.

Six roommates have opened their duplex loft as a community space. A drum circle becomes a rave; a table becomes a place for conversations in four languages; a quiet evening becomes time to write, meditate, or listen to each other.

I help coordinate what people bring, weaving our different contributions into something we can experience together.

Come see what’s happening ↗
Drum Circle Rave · Merlins Place

Gatherings I organize

Come join
the circle.

At Merlins Place, I bring people together around rhythm, languages, writing, and art.

Percussion · Dance · Voice

Drum Circle Rave

A cathartic evening of drumming, dancing, singing, and letting your voice out. With Christian Mortensen and Robby Bowen leading the drums, beginners and experienced players build a groove together — or step into the middle and dance.

Find the next drum circle ↗

Languages · Conversation · Tea

Polygluttons Tea invitation artwork showing a gathering around a table

Polygluttons Tea

A gathering for the pleasure of speaking and hearing other languages. The main table moves between Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin Chinese, with fluent speakers guiding the conversation and side tables for other languages. Beginners can listen, soak in the rhythms, and try a sentence.

Explore Polygluttons Tea ↗

Writing · Publishing · Sharing

Hit Publish invitation artwork

Hit Publish

Two hours of writing in company, with the invitation to publish on Substack afterward. We give our stories time and attention, then share what we’ve made and read one another’s work.

Find writing gatherings ↗

Occasional gatherings · Making art together

Participants drawing and painting a seated life model during an Art Jam at Merlins Place
Art Jam at Merlins Place.

Art Jams

I also sometimes organize Art Jams: a chance to draw, paint, and explore images with other people. Making art becomes a way to spend time together and discover what each person brings.

See what’s happening at Merlins Place ↗

05 / Beyond the classes

The everyday
is part of the work.

At the piano

Classical music and singing, with an enduring affection for Schumann.

Two songs from a concert ↗
On the page

Sketching from life, painting, calligraphy, and notebooks where words meet images.

Pages from my journal ↗
Across languages

French, Chinese, German, and Spanish — and the pleasure of a sentence landing with another person.

Polygluttons Tea ↗

A conversation can be a beginning.

Say hello.

Interested in a lesson, a gathering, or something we might create together? I’d love to hear from you.