A PERCEPTUAL ZONE: Lewis Walker

A Perceptual Zone is a month-long exploration of dance in dialogue with the elements. Born from bodies attuning to land, season, and storm, it coalesces in continual contact with the biosphere.Dance arises from the necessity to respond, moving in step with shifting conditions, shaped by the forces of nature. It is an origin of ecological art: wisdom inscribed in fascia, constellations of movement resonant with animal and elemental intelligences. It proposes an ethics of listening and being-with. It unfolds as a communion with what exceeds the self: the stretch of trees into sky, vibration of soil, pressure of air, gravitational pull of another body, the throb of the cosmos. In this reciprocity, rhythm becomes a living cycle — an environmental intimacy through which the human is re-imagined. 

Throughout October, artists Fernanda Muñoz-Newsome, Nicol Vizioli, Nissa Nishikawa, Kapila Venu, Lewis Walker, and Yen-Ching Lin offer workshops, installations, film, photography, and performance. Their practices, experimental and traditional, are gestures that honour the earth while remembering dance as both instinct and offering.

A Perceptual Zone is not performance alone. It is an opening, a space of witnessing, where dance becomes relation, navigating the currents of co-existence.

THURSDAY 16th OCTOBER - CONNECTING TO IMPROV (Observed Movement Workshop)

 5PM – 7PM

This is an open workshop focused on meditation, connection, and improvisation — inviting dancers to explore movement freely while observers witness and collaborate through their own artistic practice.

FRIDAY 17th OCTOBER - CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKSHOP (Observed Creation Process)

🕛 12PM – 4PM

Participant Application – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9dV3_rFS9q41ypesJo2kj0fWiwXMlwDsGoXL5rbwX4XP0pw/viewform?usp=header

This is a free and observed 4-hour creation workshop exploring current choreographic tools used to make performance works. Through improvisation and guided tasks, dancers will develop a short piece in real time, offering observers the chance to document and respond to the unfolding creative process. 

This opportunity is open to professional and emerging dancers or movement artists who are interested in exploring and expanding the limits of physical possibility through structured improvisation.

SATURDAY 18th OCTOBER—PERFORMANCE

🕖 7PM – 8PM

A live performance in the gallery, presenting the culmination of movement exploration and creative work developed over the previous two days.

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Lewis Walker is a London-born queer, non-binary movement artist. A former Great Britain gymnast and Acrobatic

Gymnastics World Champion, they trained from age 6 to 21 before earning a degree in Contemporary Dance. Their work spans theatre, film, fashion, music, and the commercial sector. Walker continues to choreograph gymnastics competition routines for the Great Britain, Italian and French national teams. Their creative vision and dynamic movement style have led to collaborations with Tim Walker, Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI, Tirzah, BULLYACHE, Burberry, UNTITLAB, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).

Beyond performance, Walker is dedicated to teaching movement as a tool for accessing deeper states of consciousness and developing a deeper understanding of consensual touch. Their Connecting to Improv workshop explores dance improvisation as a ritual of shared energy and expression, while MOVE HYPNO, a collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli, blends movement and hypnotherapy for personal transformation.

Walker is currently a Studio Wayne McGregor RESIDENT 6 artist-in-residence.