THE RABBIT HOLE METHOD™
A unique component of the residency program is The Rabbit Hole Method™; a specifically designed series of masterclass workshops from some of the most coveted facilitators worldwide. Each workshop is designed to evoke and inspire the artists’ creative processes around “the art of remembering,” extracting from Ancient Eastern mystic rituals, to contemporary durational performance practices. The workshops were commissioned and co-created by the rabbit hole specific to the theme, with each artist receiving a masterclass certificate of The Rabbit Hole Method™ at the completion of the program.
In its first year of concrete articulation, based on 13 years of research by The Rabbit Hole’s Founder Samina Virani, exploring mystic methodologies from around the world, The Rabbit Hole Method™ is a process of poetical inquiry that extracts and distills from contemporary artistic practises, philosophy, mysticism, mathematics and dance. It includes the teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Farid Ud-Din Attar, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Lewis Carroll, among others.
“Body, Time, Space, Access”
Lynsey Peisinger:
Athens/Los Angeles
Performer, choreographer and director, Lynsey is currently co-directing 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, an opera project by Marina Abramović.
"Body, Time, Space, Access" focuses on what causes selective memory. “Memories, like dreams, are completely our own. No one has the same memories. My layers of remembering are not yours. Just like we all inhabit our bodies differently; we remember differently. Why do I remember some things with images and some things with sensations? What causes selective memory?” - Lynsey Peisinger. The artists worked with improvisational and durational exercises that focused on stillness, concentration, release, and recall; centering on a certain kind of mental and physical awareness and flexibility that allowed access to the sensations of memory. The workshop formed part of The Rabbit Hole Method where Lynsey's exercises were closely aligned with Samina Virani's vision of "the art of remembering" residency theme.
“Zhikr; Whirling in Remembrance”
Alper Akcay:
Istanbul
Dancer, performance artist and whirling dervish, Alper created the “Dance in Heart” workshop as a tool in the investigation of “the art of remembering.”
Having transmitted itself from generation to generation, human to human, this archaic knowledge is remembered through discovering the awareness, the awakening of breath and the opening up of space….Click here to read more. where there is no judgement. This practice connects the houses of our hearts to their absolute owner, while the rhythm opens ourselves up to the intuitive knowledge perpetually existing through the human, nature, earth and the universe. Semâ, Semah, shamanistic whirling rituals are elementary sacred movements that come along with all these sacred knowledges. “The main aim of this workshop is to recall seeing, hearing and feeling through our hearts, to remember our essential values through the link between the collective, and to express this unification through and within whirling rituals.” _ Alper. Founder of The Rabbit Hole Samina Virani commissioned Alper to design a workshop as part of The Rabbit Hole Method to introduce the sacred geometric configurations of the body and Semâ practise as a pathway to explore “remembering.”
“The Art of Evoking”
Patrizia Menichelli:
Florence
Director, performer, workshop coach, costume and set designer, Patrizia is Founder of Ars, Florence, and former costume designer of Teatro de Los Sentidos where she designed costumes for over 20 years.
"“What does it mean to create an imaginary space that we are gradually inhabiting? The art of fostering the poetic experience and evoking the imaginary territory of memory, allows each artist to find his/her resonance. This workshop is designed to create moments of amazement and connections with sensory memory beyond our personal stories. Incorporating the art of listening - breath, touch, gazing, remembering - we then delve into the poetic languages of the wardrobe with our personal garments, investigating how to favor a curious look that supports the exploration of everyday life. Beyond playing a role, it allows us to travel and feel, it is something "alive" and evocative. Alice’s white rabbit game embodies curiosity, to enter another time; the time of play. From play we move into experience.” - Patrizia. In designing this workshop, Patrizia worked closely with Samina Virani to develop a session that seeks to stimulate imagination and memory and a "territory" of self-knowledge for artists, forming part of The Rabbit Hole Method™."”