Very Interesting Perspectives: Sounding Bodies
Online
Saturday 19th September 2026
This September and October, Fia Neises/tanzhaus nrw, Quiplash CIC and University of Atypical for Arts and Disability are partnering together to bring you ‘Very Interesting Perspectives: Blind artists’ Professional network’!
Very Interesting Perspectives (VIPs) is a new international hub, created especially for blind and visually impaired professional and aspiring artists. This project is funded by the Four Nations International Fund through Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and Wales Arts International. This radical new project will be brought to life by two innovative online workshops, followed by an in person networking event in Belfast. (Each event is independent of each other so participants can attend one, two or all three - all events are ticketed separately)
Workshop Two: ‘Sounding Bodies’ Facilitated by Fia Neises, Hosted by tanzhaus nrw
Date: Saturday 19 September
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm UK time | 12:00 - 3:00 pm German time
Where: Online Via Zoom - Zoom link will be sent out two days before the event
Languages: English, with live interpretation into German
Hosted by: tanzhaus nrw
Description:
Fia Neises is a Berlin-based artist and disability rights activist. She will host a highly interactive online workshop in which participants will explore practical tools and approaches for using the body as an instrument and acoustic storyteller. The collective research question is: How can a moving body on stage create a rich and engaging experience that goes beyond audio description for blind and visually impaired audiences?
Everyone is invited to invent and to find their very own taste and style. The participants are encouraged to bring clothing that makes sound and small instruments that can be attached to the body.
This workshop is part of the Laboratory for Creative Audio Description at tanzhaus nrw. Since 2023, blind and visually impaired artists and other interested participants have been exploring audio description for dance as a creative and experimental practice. The Lab is led by Fia Neises and Zwoisy Mears-Clarke. Find out more here: Laboratory for Creative Audio Description | tanzhaus nrw düsseldorf
The Laboratory for Creative Audio Description at tanzhaus nrw is funded in 2026 by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Workshop Outline:
All times below are in UK time
11:00 - 11:20 am
11:20 am - 12:00 pm
12:00 - 12:30 pm
Break: 20 minutes
12:50 - 1:30 pm
Small groups developing scenes:
Break: 10 minutes
1:40 - 2:00 pm
How is this session run?
Fia Neises (she/they) is a Berlin-based white, queer, blind dancer and choreographer. Since 2018, they have been driven by the idea of creating spaces in which blind audiences and artists are not merely tolerated but actively celebrated. A key aspect of her activist work is empowering her community to explore and articulate their own desires within the performing arts.
Access Requirements:
If you have specific access requirements or need reasonable adjustments to participate in this online event, please let us know when booking your ticket, or contact us in advance of the event by emailing [email protected]
Where necessary to arrange these adjustments, we may share relevant information with the event facilitator.
Interested in more from Very Interesting Perspectives?
Join the first of our online workshops: “The Radical Potential of Integrated Audio Description” on Saturday 5 September 2026.
Amelia Lander-Cavallo (They/Them), hosted by Quiplash, will be holding this innovative workshop.
Integrated audio description (IAD) is an access tool in which audio description forms part of the main audio track of a performance. Amelia will be exploring how IAD can be used as its own creative method.
Book your spot for Saturday 5 September
Attend our in-person event: 'Very Interesting Perspectives: Panel and Networking Event' on Saturday 3 October 2026 in Belfast.
This panel discussion and networking event will bring together Al and Amelia Lander-Cavallo from Quiplash, and Fia Neises to discuss the outcomes of their workshops, along with their unique perspectives as blind and visually impaired artists and artistic facilitators. On the panel, they will be joined by Padraig Naughton of Arts and Disability Ireland, and Visually impaired singers Helen Hall and Victoria Geelan to bring a diverse range of perspectives to this discussion on the experiences of blind and visually impaired artists and artistic facilitators. The panel will be followed by a lively creative networking event, specifically for professional and aspiring blind and visually impaired creatives.
Tickets for this event will be released closer to the time and will be available through The MAC’s website, box office and for purchase over the phone.
Very Interesting Perspectives (VIPs) is a new international hub, created especially for blind and visually impaired professional and aspiring artists. This project is funded by the Four Nations International Fund through Arts Council England, Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and Wales Arts International. This radical new project will be brought to life by two innovative online workshops, followed by an in person networking event in Belfast. (Each event is independent of each other so participants can attend one, two or all three - all events are ticketed separately)
Workshop Two: ‘Sounding Bodies’ Facilitated by Fia Neises, Hosted by tanzhaus nrw
Date: Saturday 19 September
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm UK time | 12:00 - 3:00 pm German time
Where: Online Via Zoom - Zoom link will be sent out two days before the event
Languages: English, with live interpretation into German
Hosted by: tanzhaus nrw
Description:
Fia Neises is a Berlin-based artist and disability rights activist. She will host a highly interactive online workshop in which participants will explore practical tools and approaches for using the body as an instrument and acoustic storyteller. The collective research question is: How can a moving body on stage create a rich and engaging experience that goes beyond audio description for blind and visually impaired audiences?
Everyone is invited to invent and to find their very own taste and style. The participants are encouraged to bring clothing that makes sound and small instruments that can be attached to the body.
This workshop is part of the Laboratory for Creative Audio Description at tanzhaus nrw. Since 2023, blind and visually impaired artists and other interested participants have been exploring audio description for dance as a creative and experimental practice. The Lab is led by Fia Neises and Zwoisy Mears-Clarke. Find out more here: Laboratory for Creative Audio Description | tanzhaus nrw düsseldorf
The Laboratory for Creative Audio Description at tanzhaus nrw is funded in 2026 by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Workshop Outline:
All times below are in UK time
11:00 - 11:20 am
- Arrival, Access and Language check
11:20 am - 12:00 pm
- Introduction
- First collective sounding exploration
12:00 - 12:30 pm
- Aesthetics of Access
- Activation of mirror neurons for blind and visually impaired people in a theater setting
Break: 20 minutes
12:50 - 1:30 pm
Small groups developing scenes:
- Selecting a prompt
- Sounding bodies as storytellers
Break: 10 minutes
1:40 - 2:00 pm
- Questions and Reflection time
How is this session run?
- The workshop will be held in English spoken language with German translation on a separate channel, if needed.
- Within the 3 hour workshop the participants can request breaks at any time. One 20 minutes break is already within the schedule.
- The workshop centers the experience of blind and visually impaired people. That requires curtain communication rules:
- Everyone repeats their name before speaking.
- Instead of the rising hand function of zoom, participants are required announce verbally if they want to share something.
- Since we will be working with sounds, it is important to disable the zoom function that suppresses background noises. Therefore you have to select "original sound“ in the sound settings of Zoom. There will be time within the workshop to check in about that. This video shows step by step how to find the "original sound" button: Youtube instructions to change to original sound
- Feel free to let the facilitator know, if there are any access needs for this particular workshop
Fia Neises (she/they) is a Berlin-based white, queer, blind dancer and choreographer. Since 2018, they have been driven by the idea of creating spaces in which blind audiences and artists are not merely tolerated but actively celebrated. A key aspect of her activist work is empowering her community to explore and articulate their own desires within the performing arts.
Access Requirements:
If you have specific access requirements or need reasonable adjustments to participate in this online event, please let us know when booking your ticket, or contact us in advance of the event by emailing [email protected]
Where necessary to arrange these adjustments, we may share relevant information with the event facilitator.
Interested in more from Very Interesting Perspectives?
Join the first of our online workshops: “The Radical Potential of Integrated Audio Description” on Saturday 5 September 2026.
Amelia Lander-Cavallo (They/Them), hosted by Quiplash, will be holding this innovative workshop.
Integrated audio description (IAD) is an access tool in which audio description forms part of the main audio track of a performance. Amelia will be exploring how IAD can be used as its own creative method.
Book your spot for Saturday 5 September
Attend our in-person event: 'Very Interesting Perspectives: Panel and Networking Event' on Saturday 3 October 2026 in Belfast.
This panel discussion and networking event will bring together Al and Amelia Lander-Cavallo from Quiplash, and Fia Neises to discuss the outcomes of their workshops, along with their unique perspectives as blind and visually impaired artists and artistic facilitators. On the panel, they will be joined by Padraig Naughton of Arts and Disability Ireland, and Visually impaired singers Helen Hall and Victoria Geelan to bring a diverse range of perspectives to this discussion on the experiences of blind and visually impaired artists and artistic facilitators. The panel will be followed by a lively creative networking event, specifically for professional and aspiring blind and visually impaired creatives.
Tickets for this event will be released closer to the time and will be available through The MAC’s website, box office and for purchase over the phone.
