We invite teens aged 12–16 to the Out of Sight Laboratory: eight sessions on the body, the gaze of others, school, boundaries, and the freedom to be yourself.

Why do we start moving differently when someone enters the room? Why do we become louder around some people, while around others we almost disappear? Why is it sometimes so hard to say "no"? And who actually decides what is considered cool, weird, beautiful, or wrong at school?

We will explore these questions through movement, dance and acting improvisation, voice, text, observation, and working with a camera.

The laboratory requires no prior dance or acting experience. Here, you can experiment, make mistakes, observe yourself and others, and find your own way of existing among the glances of others without losing yourself in them.

Adolescence is a time when relationships with those around us (their gaze, judgments, and expectations) can profoundly shape how we perceive ourselves. Yet we rarely notice how we adapt to others, why we feel free in certain situations and restricted in others, or why it is sometimes so difficult to say "no" or express ourselves.

Our laboratory offers an opportunity to explore these processes through direct bodily experience. Through movement, play, and improvisation, we will learn to notice our reactions, feel out our boundaries, test different ways of interacting with others, and discover new options for responding in familiar situations. Rather than offering ready-made answers or teaching "correct" behavior, our goal is to create a space for experimentation where participants can better understand themselves, find their own anchor points, and broaden their understanding of how multifaceted we can be. This experience can prove useful far beyond the laboratory: at school, at home, in friendships, and in any setting where listening to oneself is just as vital as listening to others.  

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Program

Sunday, November 1, 14:00–16:00
Me and My Body

We start with ourselves. We explore the body: how it is built, how it moves, where freedom arises, and where tension lives. We observe our habitual gestures, gait, posture, and voice, gradually connecting movement with personal stories: who I am, what I want, and what happens to me in different situations.

Sunday, November 8, 14:00–16:00
Me and Others

What changes when another person appears nearby? We work in pairs and in group settings: exploring distance, trust, touch, gaze, leadership, and submission. We test leading, following, agreeing, resisting, and noticing the exact moment we start adapting to someone else.

Sunday, November 15, 14:00–16:00
Out of Sight

What are we like when no one is watching? How do we sit, eat, dance, talk to ourselves, get angry, feel bored, or rejoice? We explore the difference between being alone versus being seen by someone, attempting to understand which of our actions truly belong to us.

Sunday, November 22, 14:00–16:00
The Camera

A phone appears, and a person becomes someone slightly different. Why? We will film one another and observe how facial expressions, voice, posture, and movement change when the camera turns on. What happens when we need to attract attention? What about when we want to become invisible? Can we eventually forget the camera and return to being ourselves?

Sunday, November 29, 14:00–16:00
School: Insiders and Outsiders

School is a place where rules and hierarchies form rapidly. Who is "cool" and who isn't? Why do clothing, money, looks, grades, or friend groups suddenly dictate how someone is treated? Through fictional scenarios, movement, and acting improvisation, we explore mockery, group exclusion, peer pressure, bullying, and the moment a harmless joke turns into abuse.

Sunday, December 6, 14:00–16:00
No

What happens to the body when we are afraid to refuse? Why do we sometimes laugh along with everyone else even when we don't find it funny? Why do we agree to things we don't want? We explore personal boundaries, group pressure, and different ways to say "no": through voice, body, distance, eye contact, stepping away, or asking for help. We learn to spot the distinction between conflict, play, aggression, and abuse, and recognize the moment a boundary has been crossed. 

Sunday, December 13, 14:00–16:00
I Am Watching

We constantly worry about how others judge us, yet we judge others every single second. We observe how quickly we construct a narrative about a person based on their appearance, clothes, movement, or voice. We practice looking without immediate labeling, shifting perspective, and noticing our own stereotypes.

Sunday, December 20, 14:00–16:00
How I Should / How I Want

“Be normal." "Don't stand out." "Behave yourself." "You have to." "What will people say?" In our final session, we explore the rules and expectations surrounding teens at home, at school, among friends, and in society. Through movement, text, and improvisation, we untangle these demands: what is required of me, what is expected of me, and what I truly want for myself.

Laboratory facilitators: Dmitry Severin and Maria Gubanova.

Dmitry Severin is an actor and director. He graduated from the Moscow Art Theatre School (Dmitry Brusnikin Workshop). He has collaborated with La Fura dels Baus, Practika Theatre, ARTishock Theatre, Lermontov Theatre, Anton Adasinsky, Dmitry Krymov, Slava Polunin et alias.

Maria Gubanova is a choreographer, dancer, and educator with over 15 years of experience in contemporary dance and somatic practices. At the core of her practice is the body as a means of exploring oneself and one's connection to the surrounding world through movement, improvisation, and work at the intersection of choreography, text, voice, and sound.

Classes will take place on Sundays from 14:00 to 16:00 in Atelier, an educational space on the second floor of Tselinny, located at 59 Masanchi Street. Maximum capacity is 14 participants.

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Single session fee: 8,000 KZT. Full course fee: 55,000 KZT. Classes will be in Russian.

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