Workshop and Studio event led by Jo Fong
The Audience is an ever-evolving work, where the drama is in what is happening right now.
‘Open Process’ is a workshop and performed event drawn from a research period in 2013. An ongoing study that shares themes and performance techniques from Jo’s new work ‘An Invitation…’.
The inspiration comes from Jo’s experiences of showing work-in-progress and how these events reveal work in its most live state, communicating with audiences in a heightened and fragile form. The aim is to make something that is alive, spontaneous and honest as though it is being created now.
The work involves the public as collaborators in its creation. To date there have been over 80 collaborators who have participated in the project including professional dancers, teachers, actors and students.
“It felt like we connected as a group on a human level rather than just being vessels to learn / create/ deliver a performance. The process and sharing built up a great amount of trust and commitment between us all. There was a sense of saying ‘yes’ and continuing the forwards momentum of creative ideas which then translated into a comfortable setting for an audience to be present.” Effie McGuire Ward – Participant
The Audience – Open Process is about the people in the room.
Each studio-based workshop will start with a simple warm up or technique class that is appropriate for the group. We spend the days exploring different ideas around the themes of communication and response.
We play in uncertainty, miscommunication, conversation, lost in translation, getting to know one another, the desire to be understood… the list goes on.
We try out a different way to “perform”, be in the space and share with each other and an audience.
We don’t plan what will happen but we try to prepare. We move, talk, create together and on the final day we open the studio to an audience. The audience have their own part to play.
If you facilitate creative performance groups and are interested in The Audience – Open Process. Please contact jo@jofong.com
One or two week residency
Participants can be anyone from professionals to those who dance for fitness or fun. This event is also suitable for theatre practitioners.
“Jo’s sensitivity, engaging and truly holistic approach to dance has inspired us all!! ‘Nurture’, a dance collective of local independent artists in South Wales had the exceptional fortune of working intensively with Jo Fong. The exchange and journey was rich, rewarding and has injected a reignited passion and vitality to drive the creative dialogue for Nurture participants based at Rubicon Dance.” Paul Davies based at Rubicon Dance.
Material that is explored and created in all of the open process workshops is being documented by visual artist Heloise Godfrey-Talbot.
As the work evolves the list of people keeps growing. There are too many to mention though we would like to thank them all for their contribution.
