WORKSHOP:tanz mit Dr. Kate Marsh

WORKSHOP:Dance
Co-Creating Practice with Dr. Kate Marsh

Date: May 02 - 05, 2026

Time: May 02 & 03 (Saturday + Sunday) from 11 am to 5 pm &
May 04 & 05 (Monday + Tuesday) each from 2 to 8 pm

Number of participants: max. 15 participants

Language: English spoken language (peer-to-peer translation into German spoken language is possible if required)

Registration HERE

Artistic practice rarely happens alone.

This four-day WORKSHOP:Dance with dance artist and researcher Dr. Kate Marsh invites disabled and non-disabled artists to work, question and experiment together in an environment based on accessibility, curiosity and shared authorship. Together we will explore access as an artistic principle and leadership as something that already exists in our practices.

Each day will begin with a shared warm-up. This practice will be based on the needs, rhythms and abilities of those present and will remain deliberately flexible. It offers time to arrive, get oriented and tune into the work.

Over the course of the day, we will explore various choreographic and improvisation-based approaches - in solo, duo and group formats. Participants are invited to bring in their own questions, embodied knowledge and artistic interests. This will actively shape the course of the workshop.

There will be a joint reflection at the end of each day. We collect observations, identify open questions and decide together what we would like to take with us into the next day.

The focus is on accessible practice: finding ways to share space, work together and support each other while taking individual and collective needs seriously. We do not see access as an afterthought, but as a creative component of artistic work (Aesthetics of Access).

I want to be with you. If you can't go, then I don't want to go. If we are traveling together, sharing political space together, building political family together, then I want to be with you. I want us to be together.

(Mia Mingus 2010)

The workshop is informed by Kate Marsh's longstanding exploration of leadership in the context of dance and disability. Together we will explore how leadership can be understood not as a position or role, but as something that is already present in our practices - in the way we organize, teach, care for each other, work and come together.

Rather than conforming to a predetermined image of leadership, the workshop honors the extensive knowledge of disabled artists: Knowledge of the body, choreography and pedagogy that can open up new ways of working in the arts.

There will be space to reflect on radical access, inclusion beyond participation and autonomous artistic practice. We will also talk about so-called "access clashes" - situations in which different accessibility needs collide - and how we can deal with them so that every body and every mind is taken into account.

The WORKSHOP:Dance is aimed at professional and semi-professional dancers, choreographers, performers, facilitators and dance educators with and without disabilities. Participants should have some experience in dance and movement. The workshop offers space to intensify and deepen one's own artistic practice and thus continuously develop further.

The format is particularly intended as empowerment for artists with disabilities who are already actively working and want to specifically expand their artistic practice, professional perspectives or visibility or have questions about leadership in this field.

Dr. Kate Marsh

Dr. Kate Marsh is a disabled dance artist and arts researcher and Assistant Professor at Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE). With over 20 years' experience in performance, teaching and research, her work explores disability, body image and leadership roles in dance. Her research is often at the intersection of artistic practice and technology, including projects on AI-assisted prosthetic co-design and digital interventions in the context of disability and dance.

Language: The dance lab will be held in English spoken language.

Accessibility:
All event rooms are barrier-free. Assistance dogs are welcome.

• Accessible for wheelchair users, at ground level (door width: entrance door studio 85 cm, intermediate glass door studio 105 cm)
• Barrier-free bathroom with shower and toilet incl. a hoist for wheelchair users (door width: 82 cm)
• Barrier-free access to the garden possible with stairlift for wheelchair users (door width studio to storage room where the lift is located: 77 cm, door width storage room into the garden: 100 cm))
• Automatic door opener at the entrance door
• 3 dedicated disabled parking spaces in front of the door
• 1 additional disabled parking space of the city of Cologne around the corner
• Public transport: The barrier-free "Lenauplatz" stop on line 5 is 100 meters away

If required, we can provide the following assistance, please specify when registering:

• Peer-to-peer translation into German spoken language
• Work assistance or mobility assistance on site (provided by Un-Label if required)
  
  Further information

Address: Un-Label Studio | Hosterstr. 1-5 | 50825 Cologne-Neuehrenfeld
The Lenauplatz stop (barrier-free) on KVB line 5 (Dom / Hbf - Ossendorf) is located in the immediate vicinity of the building at Hosterstrasse 1-5.
Departure times (KVB)

Fee per participant per workshop:

Regular: 185€ (Regular)
Reduced: 135€ (pupils, students & colleagues)
Solidary: 85€ (holders of a severely disabled pass, Cologne Pass, citizen's allowance recipients etc.)

(according to self-assessment)

Drinks and snacks will be provided.

For questions and further information write to:
nikos@un-label.eu
Phone +49 (221) - 5501544
info@un-label.eu

The WORKSHOP:Tanz takes place as part of the Inclusive Art Labs project and is sponsored by the Deutsche Fernsehlotterie.

---English Language---

WORKSHOP:Dance
Co-Creating Practice with Dr. Kate Marsh

About

This four day WORKSHOP:Dance invites disabled and nondisabled artists with an existing practice to work, question, and experiment together in an environment built around access, curiosity, and shared authorship.

Each day begins with a collective warm up practice shaped by the needs, rhythms, and capacities of everyone in the room. This opening session remains fluid and adaptive, offering space to arrive, tune in, and prepare for the work ahead.

Throughout the day, we will move through a range of choreographic and improvisatory explorations, including solo, duet, and group tasks informed by the diverse practices of the artists present. Participants are invited to bring their own research questions, embodied knowledge, and artistic curiosities. These will actively shape the direction of the workshop.

We will close each day with a shared reflection, gathering insights, naming emerging questions and identifying possibilities to carry forward into the following session.

At the heart of the WORKSHOP:Dance is a commitment to accessible practice: finding ways to share space, collaborate, and support one another while honoring both individual and collective needs. Together, we will explore how access can be generative, relational, and integral to artistic enquiry.

I want to be with you. If you can't go, then I don't want to go. If we are traveling together, sharing political space together, building political family together, then I want to be with you. I want us to be together.

(Mia Mingus 2010)

The workshop is informed by Kate's long-term exploration of leadership within dance and disability. It asks how leadership might be understood not as a role or position, but as something already present within our practices - in how we organize, teach, care, make and create together.

Rather than fitting a prescribed model of leadership, the workshop recognizes the extensive knowledge held by disabled artists: knowledge of bodies, choreography and pedagogy that can open new ways of working in the arts.

There will be time to explore ideas of radical access and inclusion beyond participation, moving towards autonomous artistic practice. We will also address "access clashes" - moments when different needs conflict - and consider how they can be navigated so that every body and mind is accounted for.

The WORKSHOP:Dance will be held in English, with peer-to-peer interpretation into German spoken language available upon request.

The professional training is aimed at professional and semi-professional dancers, choreographers, performers, facilitators and dance educators, with and without disabilities. Participants should bring some experience in the field of dance and movement.

The WORKSHOP:Dance offers a space to intensify and deepen one's own artistic practice and to continue developing on an ongoing basis. The format is understood particularly as empowerment for artists with disabilities who are already working actively and who wish to further develop their artistic practice, professional perspectives or visibility in a focused way, or who have questions regarding leadership in this field.

The workshop creates an inclusive working environment that enables collaboration on equal terms, exchange and collective artistic creation.

Dr. Kate Marsh

Dr. Kate Marsh is a disabled dance artist-researcher and Assistant Professor at Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE). With over 20 years of experience in performance, teaching, and scholarship, her work explores disability, perceptions of the body and leadership in dance. Marsh's research often sits at the intersection of creative practice and technology, including projects on AI-driven co-design for prosthetics and digital interventions in disability and dance. She is committed to amplifying disabled voices in the arts, challenging traditional notions of leadership, and advancing inclusive, innovative approaches to dance research and practice.

Language: The masterclass takes place in English spoken language.

Access

All event spaces are wheelchair accessible. Assistance dogs are welcome.

• Accessible for wheelchair users, ground-level access (door width entrance door 85 cm, door width glass door to studio 105 cm)
• Barrier-free bathroom with shower and toilet, including a lift system for wheelchair users (door with 82 cm)
• Barrier-free access to the garden via a stairlift for wheelchair users (door width studio to storage room where the lift is located 77 cm, door width storage room to garden 100 cm)
• Automatic door opener at entrance door
• 3 designated disabled parking spaces directly in front of the venue
• 1 additional disabled parking space provided by the City of Cologne around the corner
• Public transport: The barrier-free "Lenauplatz" stop often he streetcar line 5 is 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

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 per workshop:
Regural: 185€ (regular)
Reduced: 135€ (for pupils, students and colleagues)
Supportive: 85€ (for people with a disability ID card, the Cologne Pass, and recipients of Citizen's Benefit (Bürgergeld), etc.)

(according to self-assessment)

Drinks and snacks will be provided.

For questions and further information, contact us at:
nikos@un-label.eu[NK1]
+49 (221) - 5501544
info@un-label.eu

The WORKSHOP:Dance is part of the project Inklusive Kunstlabore and is funded by: Deutsche Fernsehlotterie

Photo: © Annette Etges

Information Simple Language:

Un-Label works together with artists.

They are dancers, musicians and actors.

We offer workshops.

We call these workshops Labs.

We offer these workshops for everyone.

For people with and without disabilities.

For artists. Dancers and theater makers.

Everyone can take part. Even YOU!

Workshops by Un-Label: Un-Label offers mixed-abled workshops with outstanding artists to artists and cultural practitioners who want to make their work inclusive. In our workshops, participants with and without disabilities break new ground in the performing arts together with international coaches from the scene: they explore and redefine the boundaries of the arts, bodies and creativity.