Mask Workshop with Gretel Burgess

This immersive workshop invites dancers and movement practitioners to explore embodiment, rhythm, and transformation through the poetic simplicity of the larval mask. Through guided improvisation, ensemble work, and embodied play, participants will:

• Expand physical vocabulary and creative range through physical expression
• Investigate presence, focus, and non-verbal expression through focus moving circle
• Explore the beauty of stillness
• Develop physical awareness
• Explore the connection between mask, body, imagination & playfulness
• Enhance clarity of movement using mask
• Explore character with simple butterfly finger puppets (Indonesian hand movement)
• Reignite spontaneity and performance intuition (opportunity for future)

Gretel Burgess has a long history of work with masks. Initially introduced to mask work during her undergraduate studies, she subsequently explored traditional mask in Sumatra, Indonesia, including the use of animal masks. She has done full suit work including touring shows throughout Australia and abroad as Blinky Bill among other characters, and has performed as Soggy in a Commedia dell’Arte troupe in Canberra. Gretel has facilitated many movement and dance programs using mask, including her work with asylum seekers on Christmas Island and with the Multicultural Council for Refugees in Darwin. She has also brought mask dance workshops into local schools, youth theatres, and art and mental health programs for young people.