Social Improvisation approaches improvisation as an inherently empathetic practice. It asks us to acknowledge co-existence in the space — forms and impulses different from our own — and to be shapeable while staying clear about our own shape. Body, voice, and community are treated as forces that shape each other in real time, rather than elements a performer controls alone.
The class creates a space that resembles everyday life more than performance: open, non-judgmental, free from the pre-assumed posture of “being a performer.” Through improvisational sessions, participants are invited to unpack their own material honestly — approaching the work personally, rather than performing a version of oneself shaped by external expectation. This can resemble unpacking one’s own luggage: arriving, session by session, at a clearer image of oneself, with shape and form allowed to emerge and develop organically afterward, from within the group, rather than being imposed from the outset.
At its heart, Social Improvisation asks a simple question: how do we objectify each other, and how might empathy and openness — practiced together, in community — help us loosen that habit, toward others and toward ourselves.
What to expect: an open, exploratory class combining group and individual improvisation, working with body, voice, and presence in real time. No prior experience with improvisation is required — the practice is built to meet each participant where they are.
Sulekha Ali Omar is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator based in Oslo. She trained at Bårdar before completing a Bachelor’s degree in Dance at Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo (KHiO) in 2007, followed by a Master’s in Choreography at KHiO in 2023, through which she developed the method Social Improvisation — using improvisation as a gateway into the social, where body, voice, and community shape one another in real time. In her own work, she is interested in exploring the magnitude and web of identity politics through this method.
Throughout her career, she has worked with leading figures in Norwegian performing arts, including choreographer Ingun Bjørnsgaard and director Marit Moum Aune. She has taught at KHiO, Høyskolen Kristiania, and Oslo Steinerskole. A crucial advocate for diversity within Norwegian art institutions, she has served on the boards of Dansens Hus and Kulturdirektoratet, and holds further board and committee roles including Performing Arts Hub Norway (PAHN). In 2011, she was recognized with the Hedda Award for her work at Brageteatret.
PRAXIS Morning are "morning sharings" with artists who share their practice, score or repertoire. Tuesday till Thursday, from 09:30 - 11:30