Encountering Ghosts and Avatars

From a bodily perspective, we explore how we encounter the ‘real’ Other in virtual space, as well as the virtual Other (the avatar) in real space. The embodied research corresponds to the ideas of Emmanuel Lévinas and Mark Fisher, whose writings we collectively read and discuss. Simple somatic tasks and improvisation exercises make this workshop suitable for dancers and non-dancers.

The idea is based on "Avatar vs. Ghosts" — an essay written by Gian for Moving Discourse (pub. 03.2026).  It discusses encounters with places and performances where ghosts and/or avatars seem present, loosely suggesting that the avatar is the ghost reimagined: “a version of the self, deconstructed, observable through some sort of augmented view”. We’ll expand these ideas, working with imagination to explore our bodily relation to the ghost/avatar as a representation of the Other.

Dates and Times

Tue 4 August
Wed 5 August

Tickets

£5 per session
Book here

Location

Studio 5, London Performance Studios
For more info on how to get to London Performance Studios, clickhere

Access

The workshops takes place in Studio 5, which is located on the ground floor with step-free access and has an accessible toilet. All toilets are gender-neutral.

04/08

05/08

About

Gian Singh Sanghera-Warren (he/they) is an interdisciplinary dance artist and performer, born and based in East London. Gian’s practice is informed by digital culture and contemporary trends, uncovering how the virtual world can be a site of both personal and communal memory. 

Imke Felicitas Gerhardt (she/they) is a performative researcher from Germany, currently based in London. Imke is the founder of Moving Discourse, a platform dedicated to the documentation, archiving, and critical discussion of Performance Art and movement-based practices.

Horizontal Practices is a strand of LPS programming dedicated to promoting peer-to-peer learning and non-hierarchical spaces for conversation. These take form as discursive events, professional training and curated guest workshops.

Horizontal Practices responds to the need for and importance of space for experimental modes of exchange that sit outside the context of institutional ‘education’ frameworks. As with the rest of the LPS programme, queer and feminist practices and those which sit in-between visual art and theatre are at the core of Horizontal Practices.