August 11 to 16 / 14:00 to 18:00
Katie Duck is a renowned multidisciplinary artist, performer, teacher and pioneer with a career spanning several decades. Originally from the United States, she has lived in Italy, England and is now based Netherlands. Duck is celebrated for her innovative multidisciplinary approach to performance art, blending dance, theater, music, and text in her work.
Duck uses a microscopic view of improvisation as both a creative tool and a performance strategy. Her work often blurs the line between composition and spontaneity, challenging traditional notions of performance by incorporating elements of sound, voice, movement, and visual design into her practice. Her performances are often characterised by their spontaneity and interaction with the audience, as well as their exploration of themes such as vulnerability, identity, and the human experience.
Duck is also known for her dedication to teaching and mentoring young artists, leading workshops and residencies around the world. As a teacher, she has developed a distinctive teaching style that integrates multi disciplines into a holistic approach. She encourages performers to embrace their individual artistry while exploring the dynamics of collaboration. Her workshops focus on developing a heightened awareness of time, space, and presence in a sound driven performance platform. She has been involved in educational programs worldwide, influencing generations of artists.
A key figure in experimental performance, Katie Duck’s contributions have significantly influenced contemporary processes towards real time performances. She has collaborated with musicians, dancers, and visual artists throughout her career, with performances that are often described as dynamic, raw, and deeply engaging.
Multidisciplinary Workshop
For musicians / actors / singers / dancers / text artists / performance artist
Body Body Body
In my multidisciplinary world, the body is the glue that brings all time arts together. We need to be reminded that the joy of moving is based on how we continue to be curious about the simple actions we do day to day. “Why did we learn to walk and why did we forgot to keep learning to walk”? As a baby we taught ourselves to move. But not in any specific order or at any specific age. We are and have always been diverse in how we move. Our aim is to rekindle a curiosity for what motivates us to move. My body work has evolved from studying babies.
(Break)
Pause, Flow, Exit is introduced as the three choices that provide a frame for a composition to take place in real-time. The study of these three elements take up most of the workshop material, in so much, each of these elements have many layers that need to be articulated. Flow is our common understanding; to play music, to do dance, to say text, to sing. Pause is less common. It is the moment of choice when we exit flow to discover pause. It is not done, it is applied. In time, we exit to discover flow. It is these three choices, placed in time, that can create tension in the space and a readable composition, considering all of the diverse disciplines involved. The composition study is that everyone in the workshop can choose. The dice is each other and the alterations of space. “it is not interesting that you know where you are, it is interesting that you know where everyone else is”.
I set a fictional front for the improvisation/composition sessions. I set a time frame for each session, with the aim to be able to do a one hour composition. Choice is introduced to the workshop group as a composition reality. It allows for individuals to elect to participate in the performative or as a observer, and yet remain involved in the process and study. The individuals in the group shift, drop, and lift the space at will. The raw materials, integrated with the fact that everyone in the workshop can choose, places a demand on the individual to develop their presence, be it in music, text, movement or vocals.
The aim is that everyone recognises that, in a creative composition process, time is passing in different perceived speeds, and that space is shifting in several dimensions at once. This awake fullness can promote individual performance presence, an appetite for creativity., with an alert composition practice. The process of real-time, multidisciplinary composition, invites inspiration, misunderstanding, coincidence, interactivity, messiness, emotions, and intuition.
There are layers of knowledge available to us in this platform. I will use lectures, feedback and reflection each day. Individuals need to ask questions. Your questions allow for me to establish the practice for our daily studies.