Hair Suspension is a powerful tool for artistic exploration, carrying rich symbolic weight and a profound potential for internal and group connection.
This monographic intensive is designed to share pathways of exploration that stimulate artistic creation through a dramaturgy born from movement and improvisation. The primary focus lies in deep listening and connection among participants, the interplay between the roles of the rigger and the suspended artist, and collective collaboration to achieve unique movement scores.
We will explore intuitive movement within a structured, conscious framework rooted in the methodology developed by Ingrid Esperanza (Sostenidas en la Suspensión / Sustained in Suspension). This foundation will be complemented by the directorial and dramaturgical perspective of Kasper Vandenberghe (MOVEDBYMATTER), who will pose key questions to unify lines of thought, space, and movement.
Who is it for
This intensive is aimed at hair suspension practitioners with prior experience who wish to explore new possibilities in performance creation and have a strong interest in collaborative work. You must be an active hair suspension practitioner with sufficient experience to engage in a research and creation intensive of this nature.
If you have any pre-existing spinal or cervical injuries, please contact us in advance so we can evaluate your case.
What should you bring to the intensive?
Bring your own hair styling kit.
Bring comfortable clothing, two medium-sized towels, a notebook, and a pen.
Bring curiosity, openness to dialogue, and a willingness to co-create with fellow artists.
Join this intensive course
Over the course of four days, you’ll delve into the dramaturgy of hair suspension, from intuitive movement to collective performance creation.
Each day starts at 10:00 with thorough preparation (both physical and in terms of hairstyling) and a group warm-up. We always end each session with a thorough cool-down, wrapping up at 16:00.
Monday, November 2
The first day is all about getting to know each other and doing some exploring. After a thorough somatic preparation and a group warm-up, we will explore intuitive movements in hair suspension and start to build connections within the group.
Tuesday, November 3
Ingrid and Kasper will outline the artistic and dramaturgical framework. Following this overview, we will form small groups to begin developing our own artistic proposals.
Wednesday, November 4
Each group will present a work in progress and will then receive feedback. After that, the groups get back to work: refining, tweaking and continuing to develop their creation.
Thursday, November 5
On this final day, we will bring everything together. The various teams will work toward a collaborative performance in which the individual projects come together and reinforce one another.
Meet your mentors
Ingrid Esperanza is a Mexican artist, performance creator, and researcher with nearly twenty years of experience in hair suspension. Her approach has evolved from dance and hybrid languages toward a dimension that integrates the symbolic, the somatic, and stage presence. For the past eight years, she has dedicated herself to expanding this discipline through research and conscious training, developing a methodology that views the technique as a tool for personal exploration. In her practice, self-knowledge and a fine-tuned listening to the body allow for the development of a unique personal language. Currently,she is developing a project dedicated to the research, dissemination, and training of hair suspension, with the support of the Sistema de Apoyos a la Creación y Proyectos Culturales (SACPC) in Mexico.
As a high-level mentor, she has guided the training processes of artists from world-renowned companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Finzi Pasca, Franco Dragone, and Cirkus Cirkör, while collaborating with various contemporary circus companies across Europe and Mexico. Her teaching promotes a practice oriented toward well-being and physical integrity, placing special emphasis on body preparation and the balance between grounding and suspension to facilitate a safe and conscious evolution.
Kasper Vandenberghe is a Belgian circus creator, performer, director, and artistic researcher whose practice is situated at the intersection of contemporary circus, movement, visual dramaturgy, and performance art. His work explores the relationship between body, matter, ritual, and human connection, creating immersive experiences in which physical presence becomes a catalyst for reflection, encounter, and transformation. As founder and artistic director of Movedbymatter, he develops multidisciplinary creations that bring together circus with performance art, music, visual arts, and theatrical forms. His artistic language is rooted in embodied research and the creation of distinct sensory worlds where the body acts both as material and as a medium of communication.
Vandenberghe collaborates internationally with artists, cultural organisations, and circus institutions. As Haven artist he collaborates closely with Ell Circo D’ell Fuego in Antwerp. In addition to his artistic creations, he mentors emerging artists and facilitates research trajectories that investigate the evolving role of circus within contemporary performing arts. His practice is driven by a commitment to artistic experimentation, embodied presence, and the development of contemporary circus as a space for meaningful encounter, imagination, and social connection.
