>> STUDIO  LAB  #10

Patrick Niegsch

Patrick Niegsch has been on the road as a storyteller, lecturer and theater mediator in various contexts since 2016. Born in Cottbus in 1991, he studied social work [B.A.] and then went on to complete a master’s degree in theater pedagogy at the Rostock University of Music and Theater. Niegsch worked in schools and at theaters in Koblenz, Bautzen and Leipzig, was part of the artistic direction of BÜHNE acht in Cottbus and completed his training as a storyteller in Munich in 2019. He currently lives in Leipzig, is a board member of ERZÄHLRAUM e.V. and initiated “IMAGINE!”, the first international festival for narrative art in Leipzig & Dresden, together with Maria Carmela Marinelli and Brit Magdon in 2023.

Impulse at go plastic STUDIO LAB:
»Narrative reality: fairy tales, myth, lunch«
Friday, April 5; from 12 to 2:30 p.m.

In this workshop, we playfully approach different narrative forms: Fairy tales, myths, sagas, biographical stories and (urban) legends. How does the form of a narrative influence our artistic approach? Is every action I perform (on stage) always part of an overarching narrative in the end? Together we will explore the artistic possibilities that arise from the oral tradition and weave the beginning of a new grand narrative in connection with other art forms.

Nam Tran Xuan

Nam Tran Xuan is an open and versatile dancer from Chemnitz. His focus is on hip hop with influences from house, breaking, waacking, popping and a general interest in different forms of movement such as Tai Chi. This results in an original dance style of harmonious and flowing movements combined with his authentic way of expression. His previous experience and knowledge have been acquired over the last 16 years through competitions within the scene, show performances, a very formative year abroad in Canada and a large number of workshops by nationally and internationally recognized dancers in various dance forms of street & club dance. On his way to develop himself and his dance in various aspects with the help of friends and mentors, he and his crew “Chapter Raptor” opened their own dance studio “Room – Hip Hop Spot” in Chemnitz in 2021 to promote the local dance scene. Nam has also been working in the independent scene since 2021 as a dancer for the company “Miller de Nobili” from Dresden with numerous performances such as at the 2022 Dance Platform in Berlin, the Festspielhaus Hellerau – European Center for the Arts and RIDCC 2023 in Rotterdam. He has also gained further experience as a dancer in productions by choreographers Los Informalls, Joy Alpuerto Ritter, Fang Yun Lo and Saïdo Lehoulh, which has influenced his still young artistic practice.

Impulse at go plastic STUDIO LAB:
»STORYTELLING I FEEL YOUR DANCE«
Saturday, April 6 & Sunday,
April 7; each from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

In street & club dance culture, the focus is on expressing one’s own individuality. With the help of music and one’s own movement vocabulary, (personal) stories are constantly being told, feelings expressed and shared – at home, outside in some corner of the city, in the studio, in the club at jams and parties, on stage. In this workshop, participants will learn techniques, approaches and concepts on topics such as groove, isolation and understanding music in order to gain new inspiration for their own dance or freestyle. We will then work together on various tasks to research the form of “storytelling”, mainly from the perspective of street and club dance. Among other things, we will analyze and try out how the different techniques can be used to express certain emotions, how shifting certain parameters of the same technique can change the narratives and how external influences, such as music, affect our decisions while dancing.

go plastic Compagnie-Training with Cindy Hammer

Cindy Hammer has been working as a freelance choreographer, dancer and performer in (inter)national projects for over ten years. Her artistic practice is characterized by this relationship; choreographing and producing her own works as part of her company goplastic, as well as working as a dancer and performer in productions by companies, choreographers and directors such as Paula Rosolen / Haptic Hide, Johanna Roggan, Romy Schwarzer / thegutscompany, Anna Till, Joseph Hernandez, Charles Washington / pinkmetalpetal, Barbara Lubich, VeraIlona Stierli, Avatara Ayuso, Rosie Herrera and many more. and many more. In her movement practice she is in constant search of influences and researches intensively in and for urban styles and their histories, features and characteristics. These findings flow back into her work as a choreographer and performer.

Impulse at go plastic STUDIO LAB:
»go plastic company training«
Thursday, April 4 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Cindy Hammer’s company training consists of three parts: a full-body, intensive warm-up, various technical sets to practise movement sequences and a part in which improvisation and movement concepts are worked on.
The course is aimed at professional and advanced dancers.

Morning Class Warm Up with Joao

Brazilian choreographer and performer Joao holds an MA in Choreography from the Palucca University in Germany. His work focuses mainly on the theme of communication, combining the creation of movement with other performative elements such as the spoken word, the manipulation of the stage set and theater. He combines his work as a dance artist with his previous theater training, which he completed in Brazil. A graduate of Arts Umbrella Dance in Vancouver, Canada, Joao danced for five years with the Graz Opera Ballet, Austria, and freelanced for institutions such as the Venice Biennale, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and Wen Wei Dance, performing both as a dancer and actor. He is currently developing choreographies that deal with the theme of post-truth and the movement of demise in the vertical body, and is creating works for the Festspielhaus HELLERAU and the dance company Landesbühnen Sachsen.

Impulse at go plastic STUDIO LAB:
»Morning Class Warm Up«
Friday, April 5 from 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Saturday, April 6 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 7 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

The Warm Up class aims to explore how we can use our bodies to reinforce or change what we say, especially through movements we make while we are speaking. When we want to emphasize something, we often tilt our heads or use our hands. In this class we are encouraged to include the movements of our body to support or change what we are saying. We want to develop a deeper understanding of our body and use it fully to complement or even contrast the communication with our voice. This will get us in the mood for the workshops that follow.

Eat & Greet

– the culinary go plastic Q&A round, where everyone asks and answers questions –
Thursday, April 4 from 12:00 – 2:30 p.m.

For the 10th edition and thus a mini-birthday of the go plastic STUDIO LAB, there will be another Eat&Great with Cindy and Susan from go plastic. Eat, drink and tell each other stories. Whether on the topics of dance, artistic work in the collective, training, practice or simply our favorite fairy tales, scary stories, personal anecdotes; it’s story time.