Co-Creation and Choreography at a Distance: An Online Workshop Series
This free workshop series explores how online creation can be used to prepare for in-person rehearsals, enable global collaboration, and widen access in the early stages of making new dance work.
Over a series of five 45-minute sessions, participants will work together to discover better ways of choreographing remotely; going through the full process of creating a short new piece to gain a practical understanding of both the challenges and the potential of digital dance-making.
During this project, the group will develop a piece of new work that builds on ‘Factory Devotion’ – a previous collaboration between artists from the UK and Indonesia that performed in Jakarta in 2025, and was commissioned as part of the British Council’s celebration of English National Ballet’s 75th anniversary.
Sessions will be held in English, but we warmly invite participants from all around the world to take part in this experiment. We Are Epic have a long history of producing international collaborations between artists, and the session times have been chosen to allow dancers from the UK and Asia to create together across borders.
Who is this for?
This series is designed for dancers at any stage of their journey who want to develop practical experience in co-choreographing a piece. We especially welcome:
- Participants from inclusive dance groups from UK, Asia or across the world
- Dancers, dance students and emerging artists interested in inclusive practice and international collaboration
- Artists curious about how digital tools can support choreographic creation and remote ensemble-building
No prior choreographic experience is required. Just a willingness to explore, share, and work together. The focus is on process and all contributions are valued.
What will the sessions cover?
Session 1: The Remote Ensemble
- Building presence and connection online.
- Introductions to the group and shaping what we want to learn from the series.
Session 2: Improvisation and Spontaneity Through the Screen
- Practical session: guided improvisations and small group sequence creation.
- Exploring how to keep connected and responsive across distance.
Session 3: Devising with Purpose
- Creating individual and group sequences around a shared theme.
- Combining discoveries into a longer sequence.
- How technology might assist participants to capture and contribute ideas.
Session 4: Polishing and Presenting
- Examining how camera angles, framing and staging change how we view the work.
- Refining the choreography together and making the most of the online format.
Session 5: Performing and Preparing the Next Stage
- Practicing and performing the final Research & Development piece.
- Discussing how to translate the work for in-person rehearsals or preparing the work for a further digital phase.
- Reflecting together: what did we learn, and what can we carry forward?
Your Workshop Leader
Lauren Russell is a freelance dance artist and producer specializing in inclusive dance. She is Lead Artist for We Are Epic in the UK, and has worked with organisations such as Sidekick, Sense and People Dancing, as well as performing with Propel, the UK’s only professional all-wheelchair dance company. Recently, Lauren co-created and performed Factory Devotion, a contemporary duet with Indonesian dancer Arif “OneLegz,” developed in Bali and performed in Jakarta in December 2025.
When and where?
Sessions will be held online through Google Meet at 1pm – 1.45pm (UK time / UTC+1) on the following dates:
- Monday 14th September 2026
- Monday 21st September 2026
- Friday 25th September 2026
- Monday 28th September 2026
- Friday 2nd October 2026
A Note on Inclusion
We welcome participants from all backgrounds, and movement tasks will be adaptable to all bodies, minds and levels of experience. Live captioning will be available throughout. We’ll be adapting the inclusive practice we use in the studio and acknowledge that this will open access to more people but may also present us with different or new barriers. It’s an exciting collaboration opportunity to see what is possible and what can be improved for the future.
Still have questions?
If you have any questions, get in touch with Jack at jack@epicarts.org.uk
@dancephotographeruk/Dani Bower Photography