Category: CPPM news
The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT) is honoured to welcome internationally acclaimed choreographer and director Lloyd Newson OBE for a one-week residency with students of the Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) master’s programme. The residency, taking place from 19 to 24 May 2025, will focus on blending movement, spoken word, and real-life testimony to create politically and socially engaged performances.
Newson, born in 1957 in Albury, New South Wales, is best known as the founder and artistic director of DV8 Physical Theatre, a company he established in 1986. A graduate in psychology and social work from the University of Melbourne, Newson discovered his passion for dance during his studies and went on to train with Margaret Lasica’s Modern Dance Ensemble. His early professional years included work with dance companies in Australia and New Zealand before relocating to London in 1980 to study at the London Contemporary Dance School. He later danced with Extemporary Dance Theatre but grew disillusioned with the lack of substantive content in contemporary dance.
In response, Newson founded DV8 Physical Theatre, pioneering a new form of performance that fused dance, theatre, film, and socio-political themes. His early works such as My Sex, Our Dance (1986) and Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men (1988) set the tone for a body of work committed to exploring complex social issues. Dead Dreams was also the first DV8 production adapted for film in 1990.
DV8 continued to garner critical acclaim with productions including Strange Fish (1992), Enter Achilles (1995), and The Cost of Living (2003), the latter of which was staged site-specifically at Tate Modern, London. In 2007, Newson began incorporating verbatim theatre into his work, using interview transcripts to shape narratives around issues such as homophobia (To Be Straight With You), freedom of speech (Can We Talk About This?), and redemption (JOHN).
Throughout his career, Newson has received over 55 national and international awards, including an OBE in 2013 for services to contemporary dance. He is widely regarded as one of the 100 most influential figures in the arts in the last century, as recognised by the UK Critics’ Circle. In 2016, marking DV8’s 30th anniversary, Newson paused the creation of new work to reflect on the company’s future.
DV8 Physical Theatre, under Newson’s leadership, produced eighteen acclaimed stage works and four award-winning films. DV8 Films Ltd., founded in 1991, produced film versions of Strange Fish, Enter Achilles, and The Cost of Living. The company’s legacy includes national and international tours and boundary-pushing explorations of physical, political, and psychological themes.
EAMT is proud to host this extraordinary artist and visionary whose work has deeply influenced the landscape of contemporary physical theatre worldwide.
Public events
Friday, 23 May at 19:00 – Open Lecture: Lloyd Newson (Free Entry)
In this public lecture, Newson reflects on four decades of creating theatre that responds to contemporary social and political challenges.
Saturday, 24 May at 19:00 – CPPM Open Class with Lloyd Newson
This final session offers the public a chance to observe the outcomes of the weeklong workshop and gain insight into Newson’s collaborative process.
From 12 to 17 May, British interdisciplinary artist Henry McGrath will mentor Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) master’s students at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT). Renowned for his physical approach to theatre and film – ranging from performing Hamlet with Poland’s Song of the Goat Theatre to establishing the experimental collective Eden’s Cave – McGrath will provide insights on embodied storytelling, solo creation, and eco-informed performance.
Henry McGrath
Henry McGrath is an interdisciplinary artist whose work merges theatre, film, and movement. He trained at RADA on the MA Theatre Lab and quickly gained prominence as a principal actor with the internationally renowned Song of the Goat Theatre, touring worldwide from 2014 to 2018 and taking on the role of Hamlet in their celebrated production, Crazy God. Alongside his extensive performance background, McGrath has also worked on mainstream television and film projects, contributing to innovative collaborations with acclaimed performance groups across the globe.
Throughout his career, McGrath has forged notable creative partnerships, including one with Amit Lahav—Director of the multi-award-winning Gecko Theatre—to develop Dangerous Desires, a BBC2 programme exploring the life and work of artist Egon Schiele. He co-founded the multi-award-winning Animikii Theatre and later founded Solo School, an online educational platform that provides interdisciplinary artists with robust frameworks to support their individual creative practice and project-making approaches. McGrath is also the Founder and Co-Director of Eden’s Cave, an experimental performance company producing theatre, film, and installation work, while offering land-based training from their base in the Forest of Dean.
In addition to his artistic pursuits, McGrath’s passion for theatre and education has led him to teach at prestigious institutions such as RADA, Plymouth Conservatoire, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Through his leadership, creative exploration, and dedication to nurturing new talent, McGrath continues to expand the possibilities for performance-based storytelling, encouraging others to blend disciplines and push the boundaries of artistic expression.
Eden’s Cave
Eden’s Cave is a research-driven arts collective that develops performance projects across theatre and film, offers community and land-based training, and hosts residency opportunities in the Forest of Dean. Comprising a core team, associate artists, key collaborators, and valued contributors from a wide array of disciplines—including academics, practitioners, artists, photographers, filmmakers, singers, philosophers, social scientists, youth workers, and change-makers—Eden’s Cave unites diverse perspectives to foster innovative arts practices and transformative community engagement.
Public events
16.05.2025 at 19:00 LECTURE (EAMT black box) – FREE ENRTY
17.05.2025 at 19:00 OPEN CLASS (EMTA blackbox)
We are thrilled to announce that acclaimed performance artist Stacy Makishi will be joining CPPM as a guest artist for the next two weeks. Originally from Hawaii, Stacy brings a vibrant and eclectic approach to performance-making, drawing on live art, film, visual art and physical theatre.
Stacy has captivated audiences at major international venues including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Albert Hall, TATE Modern and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. With over 30 years of experience as a facilitator, she is known for her ability to guide artists beyond the expected, using inventive and playful methods that spark creativity and transformation.
A seasoned educator, Stacy has taught at leading institutions such as Harvard, MIT, UC Berkeley, Wellesley College, and the University of Massachusetts. In the UK, she has also served as a resident artist and guest lecturer at Queen Mary University, London. Stacy is produced by Artsadmin.
As part of her time with CPPM, Stacy will lead an intensive workshop culminating in a public Open Class on Friday, 2 May 2025 at 19:00 in the EAMT Black Box. We warmly invite everyone to witness the results of this extraordinary exchange.
To learn more about Stacy and her work, visit www.stacymakishi.com.
We are thrilled to welcome the distinguished dancer and actress Ivana Jozic from Troubleyn, Belgium, as our guest artist for the next two weeks. The workshop will conclude with an open class on Friday, April 11, at 7:00 PM in the EMTA black box.
Ivana Jozic
Ivana Jozic is a dancer and actress born in Zagreb, Croatia. She studied dance at the School for Classical Ballet in Zagreb and London Contemporary Dance School and acting in Drama Studio London. She started to work with Jan Fabre in 2003 for the production “Je suis sang” (2003). Later she continued with other productions: “Tannhäuser” (2004), “The Crying Body” (2004), “Histoire des Larmes” (2005), “Requiem for Metamorphosis” (2007), “Orgy of Tolerance” (2009) and “Prometheus Landscape II” (2011). She toured for 4 years with Fabre’s solo “Angel of Death”, a worldwide success which won the Golden Laurel Wreath at the MESS International Theatre Festival, honouring the best overall performance. In 2008, Fabre had written and created another solo for her: “Another Sleepy, Dusty, Delta Day”. Ivana is part of Jan Fabre’s 24-hour project “Mount Olympus” (2015), and continues to work on other projects. As an actress, Ivana appeared in Chantal Akerman’s movie-installation “Women from Antwerp in November” (2007) and in Pierre Coulibeuf’s “Doctor Fabre will cure you” (2013).
Troubleyn
Jan Fabre has grown to become one of the most versatile artists on the international stage. He makes a clean break with the conventions of contemporary theatre by introducing the concept of ‘real-time performance’ – sometimes called ‘living installations’ – and explores radical choreographic possibilities as a means of resurrecting classical dance. Fabre has been writing his own plays since 1975, although it was not until 1989 that they were first performed. His texts form an exceptional collection of miniatures, as it were, with a very open writing style and reflect Fabre’s concept of theatre as an all-encompassing form of art in which dialogue functions alongside other elements such as dance, music, opera, performance and improvisation. Chaos and discipline, repetition and madness, metamorphosis and the anonymous are all indispensable ingredients in Fabre’s theatre. The acuteness and reserve with which he employs language demand innovative solutions which have also appeared in the hand of other directors to have worked with his texts.
Just like Stanislavski, Meyerhold, and Grotowski, throughout his career, Jan Fabre has put together a set of ‘exercises’ which he uses to prepare his performers (his actors and dancers) to work on stage. These ‘Guidelines for a performer in the 21st century’ have developed into the basis of his teaching and find specific expression in his work. The series of exercises focuses on systematically refining and optimising the quest for the potential of the physical acting (also known as ‘physiological’ acting). Fabre attaches great importance to breathing, the use of explosive energy, and the articulations of head, torso, and limbs. A lot of input is drawn from the kinetics of cold and warm-blooded animals.
We are delighted to announce that internationally renowned director and choreographer Sasha Pepelyaev will join us as the guest artist for our CPPM program over the next two weeks. Known for his groundbreaking contributions to contemporary dance and theatre, Pepelyaev’s appointment reinforces our commitment to pushing artistic boundaries.
A Legacy of Creative Innovation
While studying at Moscow University, Sasha Pepelyaev began his distinguished career in Moscow, where he discovered the art of pantomime. His early work as a mime soloist at the Taganka Theatre and the Moscow Concert Agency quickly established him as a rising star. In 1984, he took the helm as artistic director of the mime studio at Moscow State University. In 1987, during the perestroika era, he founded one of Moscow’s first independent theatre studios, “Poor Yorik.”
After “Poor Yorik” closed in 1990, Pepelyaev expanded his creative repertoire by working across various artistic disciplines, including circus, television, and drama theatres both in Moscow and internationally. In 1994, he founded “The Kinetic Theater” in Moscow, where he pioneered experimental projects that fused postmodern narratives with contemporary dance and traditional Russian dramatic styles. As the founder and artistic director of the contemporary dance company KINETIC (1994–2014), his work has captivated audiences worldwide and earned him prestigious awards such as the Prix d’Auteur (France, 1998), the Annual Prize of Theatre (Estonia, 2003), the Choreographer/Creator Award at THE BESSIES (USA, 2003–2004), and the GOLDEN MASK award in Russia (2016). Since relocating to Estonia in 2020, his recent projects have focused on integrating dance, visual theatre, and interactive video.
Workshop “Who am I, and if, how many?”
The workshop will focus on developing a framework for visual-physical performance and practical methods. Participants will explore the process from the initial concept through rough realisation, verification, and modification. This will involve analysing available tools, seeking inspiration, and examining the various phases and patterns inherent in the creative process. A key component will be the creation of a ‘sign’—an essential element of visual communication. Equally important is the ‘code’, a collection of homogeneous signs that conveys the content and intended message of the performance. Participants will investigate how objects and environments can serve as building blocks for this code. Themes for improvisation will be suggested to the participants and later form the basis of a dramatic structure or ‘story’. These themes will be reinterpreted and transformed through choreographic patterns, incorporating elements of dance, acrobatics, and contact improvisation. The core aim of the workshop is to broaden the range of tools available for creative expression, with a particular focus on the visual aspects of stage production. While developing a performance model is a desirable outcome, it is not an absolute requirement.
Within the CPPM program, Sasha Pepelyaev will lead two exclusive public events.
Public Lecture “Graphics from Movements”
21 March 2025, 19:00
Pepelyaev will showcase how custom media tools transform body movements into visual narratives in this engaging lecture.
Open Class
28 March 2025, 19:00
This open class will highlight the results of an intensive two-week workshop with our CPPM students under his guidance.
For further details and ticket information, please visit our Events section.
Over the next two weeks, CPPM is proud to host internationally acclaimed media, sound, and performance artist Marco Donnarumma as our guest artist. Born in 1984 in Naples and currently based in Berlin, Donnarumma is renowned for his transdisciplinary work that fuses contemporary performance, new media art, and interactive computer music. As a co-founder of the performance group Fronte Vacuo and a leading figure in the field, his innovative practice explores the boundaries between technology and the human body, often through the creation of handcrafted body technologies, AI-driven robotic prostheses, and biophysical musical instruments.
Marco’s work, which seamlessly blends performance art, movement research, sound, light, robotics, and AI, has taken him to 36 countries, showcasing his projects at prestigious festivals, biennials, and cultural institutions such as Ars Electronica, IRCAM, and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. In addition to his creative endeavors, his scholarly contributions—encompassing aesthetics, feminist studies, and critical theory—are widely published in leading academic and cultural journals.
CPPM invites you to join us for two special events featuring Marco Donnarumma:
- Lecture – EAMT Blackbox
Date: 28.02.2025 at 19:00 - Open Class – EMTA Blackbox
Date: 06.03.2025 at 19:00
You can register for the free lecture and buy tickets for the open class here.
We look forward to engaging with Marco’s pioneering insights and innovative perspectives on the intersection of art, technology, and the human experience.
The MA in Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) program is excited to announce its Spring 2025 season of intensive contemporary performance workshops. Open to both professionals and emerging artists, this series of workshops will be held at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia, from January through May 2025.
Schedule
24 Feb – 07 Mar: Marco Donnarumma (Italy/Germany)
17 – 28 Mar: Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Balitronica Gomez, and Sarah Stolar LA POCHA NOSTRA (USA)
31 Mar – 11 Apr: Ivana Jozic TROUBLEYN JAN FABRE (Belgium)
21 Apr – 02 May: Stacy Makishi (Hawaii/UK)
12 – 17 May: Henry McGrath EDEN’S CAVE (UK)
19 – 24 May: Lloyd Newson DV8 PHYSICAL THEATRE (Australia)
Each workshop offers a unique opportunity to engage with internationally acclaimed artists and explore different approaches to contemporary physical performance making. These workshops take place with CPPM students, so the places for external participants are very limited. The fees for each workshop is ranging from 500 to 800 EUR.
Workshops run for one or two weeks, from Monday to Friday, every day from 11.00-14.00 and 15:30-19:00. Last Friday is the Open Class, which is for the general public to observe.
For more information and to access the online application form, please visit our Open Workshops website.
We are excited to announce an intensive two-week workshop led by internationally renowned guest artists Wim Vandekeybus and Maria Kolegova from the acclaimed company Ultima Vez. The two-week workshop, which will run from 10-21 February 2025, will challenge traditional boundaries of performance and inspire participants to explore Ultima Vez’s distinctive style and creative process. Wim Vandekeybus holds an open lecture on 14 February at 19:00, and the entire workshop will conclude with an open class on February 21 at 19:00, where the public can witness the outcomes of the two-week workshop.
WIM VANDEKEYBUS
Wim Vandekeybus (b. 1963) is a Belgian choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and photographer who founded his company Ultima Vez in the mid-1980s. He burst onto the international scene with his debut piece What the body does not remember(1987), which won a Bessie Award for groundbreaking work; his second production, Les porteuses de mauvaises nouvelles (1989), received the same distinction. Over the past few decades, Vandekeybus has established himself as a trailblazer in contemporary dance, creating performances that challenge boundaries both at home and abroad.
Known for his visceral and high-energy style, Vandekeybus explores the clash between intuition and intellect, the physical and the emotional, and the tension between individuals and groups. Central to his work is the idea of how humans respond to extreme situations—what he calls “the moment of catastrophe.” Despite these intense themes, he also weaves elements of humor and playfulness into his choreography, showcasing an ever-present duality that lies at the heart of his performances.
Throughout his career, Vandekeybus has pursued a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating music, film, and theatrical narrative into his dance works. He has collaborated with renowned musicians including David Byrne, Marc Ribot, and Trixie Whitley, and created short films such as Blush (2004) and Monkey Sandwich (2013) that often stand on their own. Always seeking new forms, his work has evolved from purely physical explorations to more elaborate narratives, exemplified by adaptations of classical tragedies and collaborations with contemporary writers. Even as he expands his storytelling scope, Vandekeybus’s bold, dynamic choreography remains rooted in the raw power of the moving body.
MARIA KOLEGOVA
Maria Kolegova is a Russian-Belgian dancer and teacher who began her ballet training at the age of five. She went on to study contemporary dance at the School of Contemporary Dance in Yekaterinburg, supported by the Centre of Contemporary Art. In 2004, she performed a solo by L. Aleksandrova at a contemporary dance competition in Seoul, South Korea, where she won the gold medal.
From 2007 until 2012, after graduating from the Theatrical Academy, Kolegova was a member of the Russian Chamber Ballet “Moskva” in Moscow. During this period, she collaborated with prominent choreographers such as Martin Forsberg, Andrea Boll, Régis Obadia, Paul Selwyn Norton, and Nikita Dmitrievsky, contributing to works like Terraclinium (Dmitrievsky) and If mushrooms would grow in the mouth (Boll). Her diverse performance background led to continued experimentation with various dance techniques, martial arts, and yoga.
Since 2012, Kolegova has been performing with choreographer Wim Vandekeybus’s Ultima Vez, dancing in notable pieces such as What the body does not remember (2013), Mockumentary of a contemporary savior (2017), and Hands do not touch your precious Me (2021). Alongside her performance career, she is actively involved in pedagogical work, teaching workshops, company classes, and assisting in multiple creations and training programs across Europe and Russia. Through her artistic and educational pursuits, Kolegova continues to expand her creative horizons and foster the next generation of dancers.
ULTIMA VEZ
Ultima Vez is a dance company that was established in the mid-eighties by Wim Vandekeybus, a choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and photographer. The company showcases Vandekeybus’s unique style of movement, which explores themes such as the conflict between body and mind, feeling and intellect, and group and individual. His performances are dynamic and full of conflict, exemplifying a language of movement that contrasts intuition, impulse, and instinct with energy, risk, and danger.
Vandekeybus’s performances take the form of associative montages that cross borders between disciplines while maintaining their strong-rooted autonomy. Live music and video/film are integrated into his theatrical expression, often serving as the driving force behind the performances. Vandekeybus has collaborated with several musicians, including Thierry De Mey, Peter Vermeersch, and David Byrne. He has also created short films like Blush and Monkey Sandwich, as well as his first feature film, Galloping Mind.
Over time, Vandekeybus has developed a stronger narrative style that presents coherent fables with a broader scope, frequently revolving around community, individuals, and conflict. His recent work, including Mockumentary of a Contemporary Saviour and TrapTown, reveals his profound concern about the current global political state. Every one of Vandekeybus’s performances marks his quest for new forms rooted in the essential energy of the body itself. Ultima Vez’s performances are highly acclaimed, not only in Belgium but also around the world.
The moment has arrived!
The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre’s international Master’s program in Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) welcomed a packed audience for “Here We Are Now,” a one-time event marking the beginning of the program’s highly anticipated Spring Season 2025.
This special evening introduced the third CPPM cohort—16 students hailing from 13 different countries—who collectively demonstrated a vibrant tapestry of artistic perspectives. The new cohort includes Ana Trif (Romania), Anette Pärn (Estonia), Charis Taplin (UK), Clarisse Degeneffe (Belgium), Daniel Ortiz Amézquita (Colombia), Dita Lūriņa (Latvia), Edward Skaines (Australia), Elar Vahter (Estonia), Jeson Joy (India), Juuli Hyttinen (Finland), Leah Gayer (Germany/UK), Maarja Tosin (Estonia), Maria Papachristodoulou (Greece), Avery Gerhardt (USA), Oskar Moore (Latvia), and Zhenyan Ding (China).
Throughout the evening, these new students stepped into the public eye for the first time—both as individual performers and as a unified ensemble—showcasing the diverse artistry that will define their journey in the CPPM program. In addition, details were unveiled about the Spring Season’s upcoming events: open classes, lectures, workshops, and the ever-popular Expromt evenings.
With a whole house cheering them on, the new cohort’s first performance radiated excitement and possibility, setting the stage for a very exciting season, event of which can be found at www.cppm.ee
We are delighted to announce the start of new cohort of our CPPM (Contemporary Physical Performance Making) course. Grzegorz and Alicja Bral—the visionary team behind the internationally renowned Song of the Goat theatre company in Wrocław, Poland—are our very first guest artists of the academic year.
From January 27 to February 7, Grzegorz and Alicja will conduct an immersive workshop at the EMTA Black Box, offering participants a unique insight into the artistry and techniques of Song of the Goat training and creative methods. Students will have opportunities to learn from the company’s innovative approach, combining music, text, voice, body, and imagination into an intense, rigorous training process.
PUBLIC LECTURE
Date/Time: February 5, 2025 at 19:00
Venue: EMTA Black Box
During this public lecture, Grzegorz Bral will share the evolution and philosophy of Song of the Goat, detailing how they developed their interdisciplinary method of actor training.
OPEN CLASS
Date/Time: February 7, 2025 at 19:00
Venue: EMTA Black Box
Concluding their residency, Grzegorz and Alicja will lead an open class where attendees can witness the fruits of their workshop training.
About Grzegorz Bral
A theatre director and educator, Grzegorz Bral is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Song of the Goat. He established the Bral Acting Method, presides over the Song of the Goat Association, and has been instrumental in creating cross-cultural events such as the Brave Festival and Brave Kids. Bral has earned numerous accolades for his artistic and educational contributions, including an Honorary Order from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Scotsman Fringe First, and the Herald Angel Award.
About Alicja Bral
Alicja Bral holds two doctoral degrees—one in theatre history from the University of Gdańsk (2010) and another in Practice as Research from the University of Kent (2021). Since 2016, she has written dramatic and poetic texts for Song of the Goat, contributing significantly to the company’s repertoire. Alongside Grzegorz, she co-founded the Bral School of Acting in London, where she lectures on theatre anthropology, acting techniques, and stage writing.
About Song of the Goat
Founded in 1996, Song of the Goat (Teatr Pieśń Kozła) has earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most groundbreaking theatre companies, known for weaving together movement, music, and text into profoundly resonant performances. The company’s Acting Coordination Method challenges actors to integrate voice, body, and imagination in an emotionally charged, musically driven form of storytelling.
Join us in welcoming Grzegorz and Alicja Bral as they inspire our new CPPM cohort with their innovative spirit and transformative performance methods. Don’t miss the chance to delve into the world of Song of the Goat during their public lecture on February 5, and open class on February 7—all at the EMTA Black Box. We look forward to seeing you there!