Title of the Masterclass: The Knowing Body
Instructor: Dancer, choreographer, and author Diana Niepce
Date: May 10 & 11, 2025 (Saturday & Sunday), 11 AM – 5 PM
Location: Un-Label Studio
Language: English spoken language (Peer-to-peer translation into German spoken language available upon request)
About the masterclass
The Knowing Body is an intensive two-day masterclass focusing on improvisation, body awareness, and the relationship to space. It invites participants to engage with the unknown, question physical and mental boundaries, and explore new forms of expression. The body as a state of possibility.
How can we rethink the body? How can movement be explored beyond fixed structures?
A central theme of the masterclass is the perception and reinterpretation of one’s own body and its limits from within. This process involves and critically examines internal and external influences that define and limit the body as a narrative and a manifestation. Diana Niepce explores the concepts of improvisation—how space is perceived and used, what elements shape a movement or action, and how a deep perspective penetrates the idea of the hybrid body, which ultimately finds its presence on stage through irony and sarcasm.
In addition to physical practice, the masterclass provides space for critical discussions on art as a political and social tool. It encourages participants to reflect on their artistic practice in the context of relevance, communication, origin, and transformation. This makes it a valuable experience for dancers and artists working at the intersection of art and society.
In her previous works, Portuguese dancer, choreographer, and acrobat Diana Niepce explored her recovery process following a trapeze accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury. As a performer, she has since been searching for new forms of expression that challenge the audience to rethink aesthetic body norms.
The masterclass will be held in English, with peer-to-peer interpretation into German spoken language available upon request.
It is open to professional and semi-professional artists with and without disabilities from various fields of the performing arts, including dancers, choreographers, performers, actors, musicians, directors, dramaturgs, as well as cultural professionals and other interested individuals.
Expert
Diana Niepce is a dancer, choreographer and writer. She graduated from the Escola Superior de Dança, did an Erasmus at Teatterikorkeakoulun (in Helsinki), and a Masters in Art and Communication at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She is an associate artist at Espaço do Tempo and the creator of the pieces “Forgotten Fog” (2015), “Raw a nude” (2019), “12 979 Dias” (2019), “Dueto” (2020), “T4” (2020), “Anda, Diana” (SPA Prize, 2021), “O outro lado da dança” (2022), “Enfreakment” (2024), “Utopia” (2024) and “Norma” (2023). Curator of the Political Bodies Cycle of conferences and performances (2024, Culturgest). As a dancer and performer, she has collaborated with national and international artists. She is the curator and trainer of the Introduction to the Performing Arts for Artists with Disabilities (2020), Fora da Norma (2023, Biblioteca de Marvila) and Norma (2023, TNDMII). Her most recent publications are the article “Experimenting with the body” in the newspaper Coreia, the book “Anda, Diana” (ed. Sistema Solar) and the story “Broken and stinky, they are the pebbles.” for the Rota Memorial do Convento.
Access
All event spaces are wheelchair accessible. Assistance dogs are welcome.
- Accessible for wheelchair users, step-free access
- Barrier-free restroom with shower and toilet, including a hoist for wheelchair users
- Garden access via stair lift for wheelchair users
- Automatic door opener
- 3 designated accessible parking spaces directly in front of the venue
- 1 additional accessible parking space provided by the City of Cologne around the corner
- Public transport: The barrier-free stop “Lenauplatz” on Line 5 is located 100 meters away
If needed, we can provide the following support services—please indicate your requirements when registering:
- Peer-to-peer interpretation into German spoken language
- Interpretation into German Sign Language (DGS)
- On-site work or mobility assistance (provided by Un-Label if required)
More information
Address: Un-Label Studio | Hosterstr. 1-5 | 50825 Cologne-Neuehrenfeld
The Lenauplatz stop (barrier-free) of KVB Line 5 (Dom / Hbf – Ossendorf) is located in close proximity to the building at Hosterstraße 1-5.
Departure times (KVB)
Participation Fee: €50 | €75 | €95 (self-assessed) per participant per weekend
For questions and further information, contact us at:
masterclasses@un-label.eu
+49 (221) – 5501544
info@un-label.eu
Photo: ©Alipio Padilha
