LipSync* Party

LipSync* is relating to aural text - information perceived through the sense of hearing.

It is a practice of listening, noticing and supporting that invites people to reflect on their lived experience. By synchronizing lips with someone's vocals, LipSync* allows aural text to move through bodies, through individuals, through collective identities. It is an encouragement to let go of shame and become vulnerable.

LipSync* Party manifests as a performance workshop where people from different backgrounds share space and time together in order to let go and open up.

It starts with collective warm-up for moving, voicing and emoting. Afterwards I invite participants to choose a dear song they want to become with for today. We create a playlist from songs that everyone choose.

We prepare several stations, each allowing a different way to interact with the LipSync*, to support the LipSyncer* in their moment with compassion:

· Stage. A mic-stand with a (not connected) microphone, where each LipSyncer* performs their song.

· Dancers. Other practitioners can join the stage as backup dancers.

· Audience. Practitioners can support the LipSyncer* by witnessing and cheering them on.

· Camera. One practitioner is the camera-person, filming the LipSync*.

· Drawing. Papers, pens, and markers. A practitioner can trace the LipSync* through drawing.

· Spoken word. A soundboard, a speaker, a microphone, and a poetry book. A practitioner can speak alongside the lipsync, freestyle or by reading from the poetry book.

· Writing. Papers and pens. A practitioner can write letters to the LipSync* and/or the LipSyncer*, which they receive afterwards.

· Lights. Various light-fixtures which can be played with.

Party! We activate the playlist and so the LipSync* party begins. The practitioner whose song is playing becomes the LipSyncer*, while the others are free to shift between the stations to support the LipSync*.

The party unfolds as lively and convivial. Generally, the Stage-Dancers-Audience becomes a source of intensity and centrality with the other stations serving as satellites, allowing for a feeling of both collective chaos and personal contemplation.