Next Workshop

Sat 21Feb 2026 12:00pm - Sun 22Feb 2026 6pm

Studio Yukari, E1 4BG, London, UK

Booking info: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mastudio/1942852

" Sound is a present absence; silence is an absent presence. Or perhaps the reverse is better: sound is an absent presence; silence is a present absence? In this sense, sound is a sinister resonance – an association with irrationality and inexplicability, that which we both desire and dread. Listening, then, is a specimen of mediumship, a question of discerning and engaging with what lies beyond the world of forms."

David Toop, Sinister Resonance

"Intense life today means first of all more performance or more consumption. We have forgotten that it is precisely inactivity, which does not produce anything, that represents an intense and radiant form of life . . . Silence deepens conversation. Without stillness there is no music - just sound and noise. Play is the essence of beauty."

Byung-Chul Han, Vita contemplativa 

In order to free one's mind and body, improvisation is an absolutely necessary training. However, improvisation is not about doing whatever you want to do, like it is generally understood. Improvisation is a work of precisely choosing actions from moment to moment by preparing as many sensory and perceptive antennae as possible. In a sense, if our antennae grows more numerous as a result of training, an action that might happen by chance comes nearer to necessity (nature).

Masaki Iwana, About Butoh

What is soundbody? 

Soundbody is a resonant, listening being, investigating its inner and external spaces, experimenting with sensory potential, physicality and stillness.

We will explore the potentiality of micro-sound and non-intentional movement as an ecological approach to being in space. The first step is to listen intensively but the act of listening will be extended beyond hearing through the ears to the whole body. Through exercises in movement, attention, awareness, breathing, inner listening and sound improvisations we will develop a listening that intensifies and tunes in our experience of being in relation to space, to our own body and to each other.

Workshop Description

This workshop is an intensive exploration of how sound and movement can expand our sense of self. Through improvisation with sound and movement, in particular, the voice, participants can release emotional blocks, reduce inhibitions, and deepen awareness of space, body, and different states of presence.

We will explore silence, micro-sound, stillness and non- intentional movement as ways to expand listening capacity, leading to an ecological approach to being in space. The first step is to listen intensively to unfamiliar sound worlds, extending beyond hearing through the ears to the whole body. The body becomes a complex ear, attuning to the auditory life of objects, materials, and non-human entities. Through exercises in movement, attention, awareness, breathing, inner listening, and sound improvisation, we will develop a listening that deepens experience of spatial awareness, our own bodies, emotional memory and each other. To prepare both body and perception, we will begin with exercises designed to enhance flexibility, strength, endurance, and responsiveness. Developing awareness and perception is also a key focus of this workshop.We will include a voice warm-up, exploring it as a vital resource of the body. Following this, we will experiment with possible relationships between sound, objects, space, our bodies and improvisation, opening possibilities for creative exploration. Finally, we will bring these elements together into a performance practice, working on developing individual solos as well as collaborative work in small groups.

Requirements:

 comfortable, non-restrictive clothes for movement, water. 

Materials/objects with which to make sound. Please bring simple objects.