Moderator: Yinfu Gao (ATW Gießen)

Initiator: Dr. Yumin Ao

Venue: LSG, the University of Göttingen

Time: 1 PM-3 PM. June 3, 2023

Time period: 1h45min (15 min Pause)

Fee: Free of Change

Register: yingming.theater@gmail.com

Introduction: This workshop/experiment on body movement draws inspiration from the “Folding City” research, which delves into the themes of “spatial inequality,” “hostile design or architecture in urban settings,” and “the transformation, squeezing, and expansion of space.” Our objective is to explore the spatial dimensions of our bodies through somatic approaches, such as walking in space, experiencing falls and recoveries, and discovering/defining the boundaries of spaces. As we delve deeper into our exploration, we will engage in theater games like “random speech,” “Archiving the space,” and “video painting” to further investigate the research questions.

*Please wear comfortable clothes and socks. Papers and pens are needed. 

This workshop has been organized at the behest of Dr. Yumin Ao, a faculty member at the University of Göttingen, who serves as the coordinator for the theater program within the Department of East Asian Studies. Under Dr. Ao’s direction, the research-based theater project, “Folding Cities: A Lecture Performance on Unpleasant, Exclusive, and Hostile Designs in Urban Space,” was conceptualized and realized. The project will reach its pinnacle with a performance by Dr. Ao and her team in Frankfurt on July 8th. To find out more about the performance, please visit the webpage “Folding Cities” for detailed information.

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On June 3, a three-hour workshop was conducted by the Ying Ming Theater, in collaboration with seven students from the University of Göttingen. The workshop, titled “Body & Space,” was facilitated by Ms. Yinfu Gao, a choreographer in Applied Theater Studies from the University of Gießen.

The physical workshop was an integral part of Ying Ming Theater’s theater production titled “Folding Cities: A Lecture Performance on Unpleasant, Exclusive, and Hostile Designs in Urban Space,” conceptualized by Dr. Yumin Ao. This production holds significant importance and is set to be presented in Frankfurt on July 8th.

Inspired by the theatrical project’s exploration of themes like “spatial inequality,” “hostile design or architecture in urban settings,” and “the transformation, squeezing, and expansion of space,” the body movement workshop aimed to delve into these concepts. Through somatic approaches such as spatial walking, experiencing falls and recoveries, and discovering/defining spatial boundaries, participants engaged with the spatial dimensions of their bodies. 

The workshop commenced with a warm-up exercise aimed at guiding participants to explore walking in space and sensing the support of the floor beneath their bodies. This was followed by a practice involving gaze and movement within confined areas. Participants engaged in bodily movements, traversing different spatial levels of HIGH, MIDDLE, and LOW while maintaining constant eye contact and playing with the proximity between one another. The third segment of the workshop, titled “the squeezed time in Space,” was designed to delve into power dynamics within spatial contexts. This part sparked numerous discussions pertinent to the subject matter of the “Folding Cities” project, fostering challenges among participants to establish new game rules. Ultimately, the participants collaboratively crafted a video painting, bringing a scene to life without prior rehearsal.

By actively participating in the workshop, the students gained a heightened awareness of their role in the inclusive performance’s creative process. The workshop’s intention was to empower them and encourage their active contributions toward the development of a performance that embraces diversity and inclusivity.

2023.06.05