Workshop: Theatricality and PerformanceWith
Lauren Langlois
and
Niharika Senapati
Peeping tom workshop
This four-day intensive is an invitation to unpack the complexities of performance. Through a blend of guided exercises, improvisations, discussions, and reflections, we will explore the skills and practices that facilitate theatricality and the interplay of the body and emotion on stage. We will investigate fundamental questions that arise in performance, such as what it means to act with clear objectives and intention. Can stage presence be demystified and enhanced through training? How do we reach emotional or physical states through the body rather than the mind?
Together, we will engage with voice and text alongside movement, exploring how to speak naturally on stage, integrate voice with physicality, and utilise tone, rhythm,
and gaze to define various performative states. A small excerpt of text from
Peeping Tom’s work, The Lost Room, will act as material for both individual and
collective exploration.
Diving deep into the intimate space of performance itself, this workshop seeks to
deepen your understanding of what it’s like to be fully present, responsive,
and open in front of an audience while valuing curiosity and play as essential
ingredients in the creative process.
This workshop is designed for professional dancers of all ages who wish to build
confidence in developing their voice and theatrical skills, as well as movers and performers from various disciplines who are interested in a dancer’s perspective on theatricality, and experienced artists seeking new ways to utilise their existing skills and performative presence. the workshop will be given in English.
About the facilitators:
Lauren Langlois invites Niharika Senapati to join forces on this workshop. They are long-time collaborators and friends whose paths first crossed at Chunky Move in Australia. With experience across contemporary dance and theatre, they bring deep insight, intuition, and humour into the studio. Now both based in Belgium, Lauren is performing with Peeping Tom and Niharika with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. They reunite to share their love of performance, people, presence and art.
Lauren Langlois is an Australian contemporary dancer, performer, teacher, and creator based in Brussels, Belgium. She is currently performing with Peeping Tom, having joined in 2020 for Triptych: The Missing Door, The Lost Room and The Hidden Floor. In 2023, she co-created and performed in Franck Chartier’s S 62° 58’, W 60° 39’, which premiered at the Biennale de la Danse de Lyon. With over two decades of international experience as a professional artist, she has worked extensively in Australia with renowned companies and independent choreographers including Australian Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin, Stephanie Lake, Antony Hamilton, and Chamber Made. Her long-standing collaboration with Anouk van Dijk at Chunky Move earned her the 2015 Green Room Award for Best Female Dancer for Complexity of Belonging. Lauren is a certified Countertechnique teacher and has previously taught at institutions across Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Beyond her artistic pursuits, she remains passionate about mentoring young professionals and continuing her work at the creative intersection of dance and theatre.
Niharika Senapati is an Australian artist based in Antwerpen, Belgium. She trained as a contemporary dancer and describes her practice to be suspended between multiple roles of performer, collaborator, teacher and maker always driven by the magic potential of an ever changing body. Niharika is currently dancing as an ensemble member of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. Joining in 2022, she has performed works by Alain Platel, Giselle Vien, Jan Martens, Anne Teresa de Keesmaeker, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, William Forsythe, Sharon Eyal, Ohad Naharin and Jermaine Spivey. From 2012-2020 Niharika worked as a freelance performer around Australia with multiple artists in many interdisciplinary contexts, including the directors of the Belarus Free Theatre with Malthouse Theatre. During this time, she worked closely with Anouk van Dijk during her tenure as Artistic Director of Chunky Move from 2012-2019. For one year in 2021, Niharika worked with Dancenorth, Australia. Niharika is a Senior Countertechnique teacher, having shared training and workshops around the world since 2013.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is designed for professional dancers of all ages who wish to build confidence in developing their voice and theatrical skills, as well as movers and performers from various disciplines who are interested in a dancer’s perspective on theatricality, and experienced artists seeking new ways to utilise their existing skills and performative presence.
Where will this workshop take place?
The workshop will take place in our Brussels studio.
Address: Gabrielle Petitstraat 4/9,
1080 Brussels
what is the timetable?
Monday 30.06 to Thursday 03.07
10h - 13h: workshop
1pm - 2pm: breaks
14h - 17h: workshop
How many people can register?
and how much does this workshop cost?
how many people can participate?
We will stop accepting registrations when we reach a total of 80 registrations.
You can participate in the workshop for the price of 260 euros.
The workshop is limited to 20-25 participants
When will I know if I have been admitted?
You can register until June 9th.
We will notify you by email on June 17th whether you have been selected.
Does peeping tom provide accommodation?
Peeping Tom does not provide accommodation.
Does Peeping Tom provide catering?
Peeping Tom does not provide catering during the workshops.
Can I miss some days of the workshop?
We give preference to participants who are available throughout the workshop.
