paul

PAUL is the Performing Artists’ Urban Laboratory, a collective for artists by artists with a strong focus on the performing arts. PAUL is a place for artistic exchange, a place for collaboration, and a place for community. PAUL is the conglomeration of Vera, Zahra, and Edegar who support one another in their work and shape this platform together. PAUL is collectively run, without hierarchies. Together we strive for the same concepts and goals.  

Rather than delve into facts of our long lives we've chosen to describe ourselves personally, talk about our work, our art and what inspires us. Enjoy!

THE PAUL KOLLEKTIV

Vera is a performer, choreographer, director, and Yoga teacher. At the center of her artistic work lie improvisation and spontaneous movement. She focuses on research with/on a body that communicates intrapersonal, interpersonal and social processes through itself and trains its capacity for empathy through awareness of self and other.

"I am fascinated by the body; the anatomical body, the inseparability of body, mind and feeling, the everyday body, the dancing body, the performative body. In order to get to know this magical bunch of molecules, I work with Yoga, Improvisation, and Spontaneous Movement. In my artistic work, I look for possibilities to create spaces in which the body, and the moment itself, may take over, speak, listen to and understand itself through itself. As a Yoga teacher, I focus on healthy alignment on both a physical and a mental level. My goal is to help my students find an organic practice that teaches awareness and self-respect."

www.verakoeppern.com 

Zahra is a contemporary dancer, choreographer and teaching artist. She wishes to create a safe place in her classes for all students to experience the joy of movement free of judgement from themselves or others.

"Aesthetically I seek to convey the beauty in the strange, the ugly, and the mundane. I am interested in honest movement. In the exploration of the felt sense and the surfaces, textures and pathways which exist within each of us. Having had music as a deep and integral part of my upbringing I find it is what grounds my work. I am drawn to the gestural relationships between sound and movement, as well as the investigation of our genetic resonance- the memories stored inside us all. I find that the recognition of these distant stories, as well as the integration of musicality can provoke lush landscapes for movement based arts."

www.zbanzi.com

Edegar Starke is a dancer, actor, choreographer and teaching artist. The focus of his movement research lies on the social aspect and impact of a dialogue through an artistic vocabulary.  

“I am very curious about the singularities of the body in movement, this fascinating gathering of memories, images, feelings, flesh, bones, etc., and in acknowledging this, researching a path of exercises and ways of investigating what moves you and what do you move with it."

Bibo is our darling studio dog. He watches some of our classes and welcomes old and new friends to PAUL.

FRIENDS WHO Work AT PAUL

Yannis is a gentle soul who helps keep PAUL running smoothly with his work in scheduling & registration, billing & bookkeeping, and so much more. If you come to visit PAUL it is likely that Yannis is the kind face to greet you. If you sign up for a class at PAUL, it is likely that he is one swiftly replying to your emails. In addition to teaching his weekly classes, he spreads the word of our beloved space with his marketing and advertising skills. Thank you for your hard work and bright energy Yannis!

In addition to his administrative work, Yannis is a contemporary & butoh dancer, improviser, teacher and choreographer. He is in search of a way of moving and “dancing” which is strain-free, non-competitive, spontaneous, without prearranged identity, which gives pleasure and offers space for self discovery.

“Nature has had a great impact on me and my artistic way. It is minimal but also overwhelming, serene but also turbulent, gentle but also cruel. These qualities have been imprinted on our bodies. I think that the body is of the outmost importance, and a clear mind is the tool to sharpen it. I love figuring out ways to invoke body-mind connections. I also love watching people dance and I love even more to watch barriers break. Being able to go past our modern-full of anxiety and thus body&mind blocking- way of living and explore our bodies which are full of wondrous capabillities is something that excites me a lot to share with others. “

Sabina Moe is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and cute human. She is from a very small island and would love to talk to you about it.

”Dance is infinite. It is a strange art full of stranger worlds. My work focuses on taming the void, generating empathy, and living in joy. I believe that art, no matter where it comes from, is most satisfying when it ends in euphoria and tenderness. The world around us is there to be digested. Seeds of knowledge are all around us hoping to be harvested for our art. My work is about understanding what you have already been practicing and harnessing it to find new ideas. You are what you practice, you already have the knowledge. What you learn with me you can take with you and use everywhere.”

www.sabinamoe.squarespace.com