The workshop aims to provide practical knowledge on creating performances and artistic experiences for this target group, rooted in Dalija Acin Thelander’s extensive artistic and academic research.. Participants will engage in a brief creative process based on the core principles of Dalija’s practice, while fostering dialogue, exchange, critical thinking, and experimentation. The workshop encourages practitioners to rethink formats and methods in this field of practice, inspiring and empowering practitioners while advocating for artistic experiences that honor the unique nature of this audience.

The workshop is free of charge, but registration is needed. Please email asgerdur@dansit.no with name, email, telephone number and profession. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Wear clothes which are comfortable and bring a packed lunch. Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided.

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Segment 1: Introduction to the cornerstones of Dalija Acin Thelander’s artistic practice and performance-making. (1 hour)

This segment will provide an overview of the key principles shaping Dalija’s artistic approach, addressing the following aspects:

· Understanding the audience : nature, diversity, and needs
· Attentional modalities and modes of engagement
· The role of immersion in performance
· Sensory immediacy and multisensory perception
· The primacy of movement as an expressive and communicative tool
· Affective experience and kinesthetic awareness
· Embodied perception as a primary mode of experience over intellectual processing
· The significance of extended duration and durational performance formats
· Ecological ethos and interrelationality in performance-making
· The underlying intention – Artistic,social,and political dimensions of the practice

The introduction will be followed by a short Q&A session and a discussion tailored to participants’ interests.

Segment 2: Practical Insights, Creative Exploration, and Sharing (4 hours + 1 hour break)

This segment provides practical guidance on staging and performing immersive works for this target group and their accompanying adults. It will cover key aspects such as audience communication before and during the performance, fundamental principles of engagement, and essential performing strategies. Following this, participants will engage in a creative exploration process, experimenting with these concepts in practice. The segment concludes with a sharing session, feedback, and collective reflection.

The workshop approach emphasizes the primacy of movement in human experience, recognizing the tactile-kinetic and affective bodies of both performers and audience members as sites of exploration. It centers on practices that foster sensory immediacy, kinesthetic-embodied response, affect, and intersubjectivity. Prioritizing embodied perception over intellection, the approach cultivates communality, inclusiveness, and empowerment through immersion and body- based practices.

Engaging with the audience as a heterogeneous group with diverse modes of perception and attention, the workshop challenges conventional notions of ‘attention’ and rejects the binary model of attention versus distraction that defnes traditional theatrical reception. It also critically addresses restrictive power structures inherent in conventional performance formats. Emphasizing the durational performance format, the approach aims to create sensuous ecologies that honor individuality while fostering empowerment and shared vulnerability. This workshop offers a rare opportunity to explore innovative performance-making strategies in a collaborative and experimental environment.

The workshop is designed for artists, performers, and practitioners eager to challenge traditional paradigms and expand their creative practice through immersive and inclusive methodologies. Participants will leave with new insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of how to engage diverse audiences through embodied and affective performance. Upon interest, related theoretical readings can be provided to deepen participants’ engagement with the concepts explored in the workshop.

About the artist

Dalija Acin Thelander works within the performing arts feld as a freelance choreographer, stage designer, and researcher. Her work aspires to contribute to the notion of choreography as an expanded practice and focuses on audience agency, intersensoriality, and emplacement. Since 2008, Dalija has engaged in intensive research on interrelational choreographic practices, particularly creating immersive sensory dance performances for neurotypical babies. In 2022, she began a three-year research project at Stockholm University of Arts, developing transdisciplinary methods that foster sensory immediacy, kinesthetic responses, and intersubjectivity, tailored to the perceptions of children with various developmental profles. She designs and creates immersive scenographies and costumes for her performances. Her work for the youngest audiences has been presented internationally, including in Japan, Korea, India, China, Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong, Brazil, South Africa, and across Europe. Dalija’s performances were also commissioned by the Royal Opera in Stockholm in 2017 and 2022. She teaches and lectures internationally, sharing her knowledge and innovative approaches. Dalija is the recipient of the ASSITEJ International Artistic Excellence Award (2021) and the prestigious Swedish Expressen Culture Award (2023).

https://www.dalijaacinthelander.com/teaching