public workshops

2023

Symon Henry Interdisciplinary Creation Workshop 

On March 21st Interdisciplinary Artist Symon will be offering a 2-hour workshop on interdisciplinary performance creation.  During the workshop Symon will share a short presentation on their work and process, followed by an interactive workshop wherein participants will either perform a section of Symon’s work, or create their own graphic scores.

 Open to all ages; no professional artistic experience required.  Workshop will be facilitated in English.

At New Works Calgary we are working towards fostering safe and supportive artistic creation spaces; no forms of racism, sexism, transphobia/homophobia/biphobia will be tolerated during the workshop.  

March 21st - 6:30-8:30PM

The Abattoir Studio at cSpace King Edward

Workshop is $15 or PWYC

Symon Henry

An encounter between visual arts, poetry and music presides over the approach of Egypto-québécois composer and sound artist Symon Henry. Leaving aside the conventional writing of notes attached to a staff, the Montrealer’s music is rather read and interpreted from a set of drawings forming what is known as graphic scores. Inhabited by the worlds of composers Cornelius Cardew, Jennifer Walshe and Cecil Taylor, by the sound world of Egyptian diva Oum Kalthoum, then by Cy Twombly’s flowing lines and drawn colours, Henry positions themself in a filiation of the score as a space of precision and freedom, as well as of ambiguity and mixing between canonical genres and influences.

2022

Vocal Improvisation

Workshop with Gabriel Dharmoo

October 29th 1-3pm

Theatre Encounter @ cSPACE

$15

For artists of all kinds, and the culturally curious

Co-presented with Springboard Performance

This vocal improvisation workshop (for anyone) is designed to get your voices to resonate collectively and awaken an array of unheard sounds that lie dormant in your throat. You will participate in various vocal exploration exercises, create conceptual compositions and follow an intuitive choral conducting method for non-musicians. The workshop is for anyone who is curious to explore the full potential of their vocal instrument, especially those who think they can’t sing – no musical experience necessary. It is artistic, communal, liberating and fun!

Sufi Singing For Loving Kindness & Compassion

Workshop with Shumaila Hemani

July 9th 10AM- Noon

ContainR

Registration: $10

For many centuries, Muslim mystics following the spiritual dimension of Islam called the tasawwuf have extended the message of love, religious tolerance, and harmony within diverse groups in their settings alongside promoting equity and inclusion. In this workshop, we will learn about these Sufi expressions in sound and movement from Egypt, Turkey, to Pakistan and India with hands-on learning to sing a Sufi poem from the South Asian tradition of qawwali, called Chap Tilak by the poet Amir Khusrow in a South Asian melodic mode from the North, called Raag Aiman. As a result of this workshop, you will have deeper insights into the Sufi spiritual tradition and the ways in which it empowers and brings hope to diverse cultures.

April 13 - 12 - 1:30 PM. (PAST)

Vanessa Goodman
contemporary technique class | For Dancers | $10
Location: Kinesiology Building, 376 Collegiate Blvd NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4V8

Exploring what is real and what is imagined Vanessa's class plays with the possibility of the bodies capacity. We will work through systems of anatomical organization and curiosity of state. This workshop begins with a little TLC for the body and moves into systematic physical tasks opening up the sequential organization of movement within the body.

Covid Policy: Masks and double vaccination

origin stories

workshop with derek gripper

July 10th 10AM- Noon

ContainR

Registration: $10

Three stories, origin stories if you wish. Maria Montessori’s children’s house and the explosion of writing, how Masanobu Fukuoka killed 600 trees and invented natural farming, and how FM Alexander rediscovered non-doing over one hundred years ago in Tasmania. Using our instruments we will then experiment with bringing these stories to life within the body, altering our thinking patterns and rewriting the story of how we make music.

April 16 - 12 - 3:00 PM (PAST)

Vanessa Goodman and Caroline Shaw
devised creation | For Artists from all Disciplines | $10
Location: Theatre Encounter, CSPACE, 1721 29 Ave S.W. Calgary

Devised composition workshop with Caroline Shaw and Vanessa Goodman, exploring collaboration between sound and movement. Working with themes of repetition, decomposition and regeneration, this workshop will begin with a sound and movement warm-up and continue working with sonic and movement scores used in their collaborative process.

Covid Policy: Masks and double vaccination