MOVEMENT ALCHEMY
Weekend Intensive Viewpoints Training
August 24 & 25 | 10 - 17:30 | Tanzfabrik Kreuzberg
Price: 250/200€*
*Early bird until 24.07.2024
Limited spaces available | Register with iamloribaldwin@gmail.com
Photos: Hauke Günther at Actors Space Berlin
Alchemy (n)
al·che·my
1. the medieval forerunner of chemistry, concerned with the transmutation of matter, in particular with attempts to convert base metals into gold or find a universal elixir.
2. a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.
(source: Oxford Languages)
This workshop is grounded in the Viewpoints Technique* and supplemented by somatic practices, drawing from various disciplines to reach an elevated state of presence. Just as alchemy is the process of turning base metals into gold, or combining disparate materials to create something new, we use the material of the body in motion to generate new perspectives, foster spontaneity, and make movement gold.
Through training rooted in reality, we work with the elements of space and time that we know, see, and identify. When we focus on and combine these elements, we access the infinite creative material of our bodies, of texts, of anything we wish to utilize. This is alchemy. It involves taking base substances, understanding, refining and combining them, to generate something unique and alive in the present moment.
We seek moments of deep resonance, when your mind is still and the world around you grows quiet, allowing you to focus on the act of creating the present as the most important task in the world. Permeate the space; embody the moment. Become present with each other, present on stage, and alive in the act of performing, transcending the physical, moving into the sublime.
*The Viewpoints Technique, as developed by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, is a system that allows us to name the elements of space and time that constitute a performance, a scene, or an improvisation in an accessible way. By shifting our focus, we start to perceive and name what is already there. This experiential process provides us with tools to then produce work that makes conscious use of their constitutive elements. The 9 Viewpoints are: tempo, duration, kinesthetic response, repetition, shape, gesture, topography, architecture, and spatial relationship.
Accessibility note:
This workshop will be conducted in English. It is intended for performance professionals, dancers, actors, and individuals with some level of previous experience. If you are uncertain if it would be a good fit, please do not hesitate to reach out. Information about the location & studio in Kreuzberg, which unfortunately is not wheelchair accessible, can be found here .
About the teacher:
Lori Baldwin is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist and creative entrepreneur. With over 10 years of professional experience, 5 of those in Berlin, she is deeply embedded in the local independent performance scene. From cabaret to guerilla feminist performance art to science-art collaborations, from Theater im Delphi to Volksbühne to Art Basel Miami, her artistic work spans a vast array of contexts and mediums, seeking to enliven non-traditional art spaces and shake things up on stage.
Originally from the USA, Baldwin trained in the Viewpoints Technique during her undergraduate B.A. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2013, she earned a M.A. in International Performance Research from the University of Warwick and the University of Amsterdam. She completed further training in somatic contemporary dance with Zeroplusz Studio in Budapest in 2017 and completed the year-long Meisner and Camera Acting course at Actor’s Space Berlin in 2021.
She is currently the movement instructor at Actors Space Berlin. has taught performance and movement workshops at the Junges Deutsches Theater and CODE University in Berlin, the Hungarian Fine Arts University in Budapest, and at independent performance venues in Amsterdam, Prague, and Brighton.
