Introduction:
As a performance practitioner, I offer a 20-minute workshop to introduce how to use the body as a medium of expression. While this type of teaching typically occurs in person, I have adapted the session specifically for online delivery. Over the course of 20 minutes, students or participants gain a basic understanding of how artists utilise their bodies in their work by engaging in and creating their own mini performances. This is a practice-based workshop.
Participants: Victor (CL), Kitty (Technician in Fashion), Maliha (Industry Planning Specialist).
Content:
Slide Link (please see the images through this link)
- Introduction: I begin by explaining what we will cover in the 20 minutes. I clarify expectations, as the participants are not performance students.
- Exercise 1: Participants express their current status and feelings through their bodies, without using facial expressions. They are given 1 minute to prepare and then present their expressions through the screen.
- Exercise 2: I show 5-6 images of performance works, and participants describe what they see. I ask questions what to see and told them to say/shout what they see. Each slide is shown for about 30 seconds to prevent overthinking.
- Explanation: I explain how performance artists use their bodies in combination with various features around them to express ideas.
- Exercise 3: I show the same 5-6 images again, but this time with slight variations. We take more time to observe each image, and participants describe what they see.
- Explanation: I further explain how performers use their bodies to express ideas.
- Final Exercise: Performing Dish – Participants choose the recipe for their favourite meal and express the cooking process using their bodies within 30 seconds. They are encouraged to focus on the most important elements of cooking, such as movement, sound, texture, or their relationship with objects.
Participant Feedback:
Overall, the participants enjoyed and engaged with every exercise, despite the workshop being screen-based.
- Introduced myself and the teaching context, warning participants about the need to perform but offering an out for those who might feel uncomfortable.
- provided additional context for the images and connected them back to performance art.
- explained the final task and its rationale, though there was no time to complete it.
- The session was amazing and generated a lot of reflection on their own bodies.
- Being directive worked well (e.g., shouting out responses even with cameras off) and kept things moving. participants appreciated being given permission to break traditional classroom etiquette and having alternatives provided.
- Participants liked the first activity, which turned them into “material,” and appreciated how the final exercise linked back to the first one.
Final Thoughts:
One of my concerns was engagement. Given the nature of performance practice, if participants are not in the right mood, the exercises may not work effectively. On that note, three participants were really engaged and enjoyed tasks.
As I rarely teach online, technical issues (such as video not working) caused delays and wasted time. Ideally, I would have liked to complete all the exercises, but I miscalculated the time and couldn’t fit in the final exercise. Even though this was an online session, I tend to pack a lot into my seminars. While there was no specific feedback on time management, I recognise the need to explore deeper into fewer topics rather than trying to cover too much in one session. A previous Peer feedback from Observation suggested that some topics should be explored in greater depth. For future sessions, I plan to take more time to focus on one topic and not worry about students getting bored if I don’t include enough variety.
I am also proud of using minimal slides and text during the session. This approach encouraged participants to focus more on what they were doing and seeing rather than following written instructions. This doesn’t mean I undervalue written PowerPoints, but as an art university lecturer, I am mindful of how teaching materials are seen and used. I always ask myself whether the materials are creative and inspiring enough, and why/how I show certain images or texts. It’s important to differentiate our approach from conventional uses of PowerPoint in workshops like this.