Experience report: Laboratory of Performance as Creation at the University of Aveiro

Abstract

This is an account of my experience at the Laboratory of Performance as Creation at the University of Aveiro from march to may 2022. This laboratory brought together three researchers from the doctoral program in music at the University of Aveiro and the meetings were held weekly in presential and online formats. The objective was to encourage creativity in the performative process and to emphasize the body as an instrument and means of expression. From this, we experienced and reflected on several common elements of disciplines such as body awareness, meditation, yoga, improvisation, dance and breathing that could bring benefits to the interpreter during public performances. We believe that having confidence in our body and in our abilities to create is fundamental for artistic development. This space offered an opportunity for discussion, experimentation and reflection on several essential aspects of artistic activity and, through collaboration with the other researchers, it fostered my ongoing doctoral research. To demonstrate the laboratory's influence on my research, videos of projects carried out will be presented. At the end of three months of joint work in the laboratory, a workshop was held at the University of Aveiro through the program “From students to students”. The workshop was a way of applying and disseminating these tools with undergraduate students from the Department of Communication and Arts.