WORKSHOP:tanz mit Kayla Hamilton

In the organizer's words:

Improvisation as Disability Culture - WORKSHOP:tanz with Kayla Hamilton

Speaker: Choreographer, dance educator & cultural worker Kayla Hamilton
Date: May 28, 2026 (Thursday)
Time: 5 to 7.30 pm
Location: Un-Label Studio
Language: English spoken language (peer-to-peer translation into German spoken language is possible if required)

Content:

In this one-day dance workshop we will explore dance improvisation from the perspective of lived experience of disability. Accessibility is the starting point for all artistic work. The workshop will be led by Kayla Hamilton, performance artist, dancer and cultural worker from the Bronx, New York. Her work focuses on the lives, stories and works of Black people with disabilities. Starting from an intersectional perspective, the workshop asks how racism, ableism and other power relations are inscribed in bodies and artistic practices. And how improvisation can create a space in which these experiences are made visible and transformed. We move away from entrenched ideas of what and how art should be.

Each workshop session includes open, guided impulses that can be taken up from different positions - sitting, standing, lying down, moving or observing - and allows participants to choose the pace and level of involvement that feels right for their body.

We work with a mixture of verbal, visual, tactile and imaginative stimuli to support different forms of participation and consciously create space for rest, pauses and reflection. Together we practice listening to ourselves and each other, adapting and responding to each other, understanding that improvisation is a shared process of paying attention and relating.

"Technique" is redefined - it does not mean sameness or imitation, but presence, relationship building and responding in the moment.

The workshop is aimed at people with disabilities with no previous experience who want to be creative, try something new and gain their first experience of dance in an open and welcoming atmosphere. The focus is on the joy of movement, experimenting and discovering together.

Instructor:

Kayla Hamilton

Kayla Hamilton is a visually impaired choreographer, educator and cultural worker. She works at the intersection of disability and Black identity.

Kayla is currently a fellow of the Pina Bausch Fellowship for Dance and Choreography. Her work has been shown at The Shed, Gibney, the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance and New York Live Arts. She has performed with Kinetic Light, Sydnie L. Mosley, Paloma McGregor and Gesel Mason, among others. A United States Artists Disability Futures Fellowship recipient and a Bessie Award winner, Kayla is co-director of Angela's Pulse Dancing While Blackand co-facilitator of How We Move, a summer intensive program for artists with disabilities. She also leads the Access.Movement.Play residency at Movement Research, developing new ways of creating art from the physical experience of disability. As a former special education teacher in the public school system, Kayla brings both care perspectives and artistic precision to her work as a consultant for institutions including the Mellon Foundation and New York Live Arts. Her practice includes choreography, dramaturgy and audio description development. In this way, she expands dance towards more openness, accessibility and justice.

Accessibility

All performance spaces are accessible. Assistance dogs are welcome.

• Accessible for wheelchair users, at ground level (door width: entrance door studio 85 cm, intermediate glass door studio 105 cm)
• Barrier-free bathroom with shower and toilet incl. a hoist for wheelchair users (door width: 82 cm)
• Barrier-free access to the garden possible thanks to stairlift for wheelchair users (door width from studio to storage room where the lift is located: 77 cm, door width from storage room to garden: 100 cm)
• Automatic door opener at the entrance door
• 3 dedicated disabled parking spaces in front of the door
• 1 additional disabled parking space of the city of Cologne around the corner
• Public transport: The barrier-free "Lenauplatz" stop on line 5 is 100 meters away

If required, we can provide the following assistance, please specify when registering:

Peer-to-peer translation into German spoken language

Further information

Address: Un-Label Studio | Hosterstr. 1-5 | 50825 Cologne-Neuehrenfeld
The Lenauplatz stop (barrier-free) on KVB line 5 (Dom / Hbf - Ossendorf) is located in the immediate vicinity of the building at Hosterstrasse 1-5.
Departure times (KVB)

For questions and further information please write to
nikos@un-label.eu
Phone +49 (221) - 5501544
info@un-label.eu

Photos: © Travis Magee

The WORKSHOP:tanz takes place as part of the Inclusive Art Labs project.

---- ENGLISH ----

Improvisation as Disability Culture - WORKSHOP:dance with Kayla Hamilton

Facilitator: Choreographer, Educator & Cultural Worker Kayla Hamilton
Date: May 28, 2026 (Thursday), 5 pm -7:30 pm
Location: Un-Label Studio
Language: English Spoken Language

About

In this one-day dance workshop, we explore dance improvisation through the lens of lived disability experience.

Accessibility is the starting point of all artistic work here. The workshop is led by Kayla Hamilton, a performance artist, dancer, and educator from the Bronx, whose work centers the lives, stories, and works of Black disabled people. Drawing from an intersectional perspective, the workshop asks how racism, ableism, and other power structures inscribe themselves in the body and in artistic practices. And examines how improvisation can be a space in which these experiences are made visible and transformed.

We move away from fixed ideas about what art should be and how it should look. Each session includes guided, open-ended prompts that can be engaged from a range of positions - sitting, standing, lying down, moving, or observing - allowing participants to choose the pace and level of involvement that feels right for their bodies.

We will use a mix of verbal, visual, tactile, and imaginative cues to support different ways of participating, while building in space for rest, pause, and reflection. Together, we will practice listening, adapting, and responding to ourselves and each other, understanding improvisation as a shared process of attention and relationship.

Technique is redefined - not as sameness or replication, but as presence, connection, and responsiveness in the moment.

This workshop is open to disabled people without prior experience who want to be creative, try something new, and have their first experiences with dance in an open and welcoming atmosphere. At the heart of it is the joy of movement, experimentation, and shared discovery.

Speaker

Kayla Hamilton

Kayla Hamilton is a choreographer, educator, and cultural worker working at the intersections of disability and blackness. Her work has been presented at The Shed, Gibney, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, and New York Live Arts, and she has performed with Kinetic Light, Sydnie L. Mosley, Paloma McGregor, and Gesel Mason. A United States Artist Disability Futures Fellow and Bessie Award recipient, Kayla leads as co-director of Angela's Pulse Dancing While Black and as co-facilitator of How We Move, a summer intensive for disabled artists. She also directs the Access.Movement.Play Residency at Movement Research, cultivating new ways of creating through disabled embodiment. A former public school special education teacher, Kayla brings care and rigor into her work as a consultant with institutions including the Mellon Foundation and New York Live Arts. Her practice spans choreography, dramaturgy, and writing verbal descriptions, pushing dance to be expansive, accessible, and just. Kayla is a fellow of the Pina Bausch Fellowship for Dance and Choreography.

Access

All event spaces are wheelchair accessible. Assistance dogs are welcome.

• Accessible for wheelchair users, ground-level access (door width entrance door 85 cm, door width glass door to studio 105 cm)
• Barrier-free bathroom with shower and toilet, including a lift system for wheelchair users (door with 82 cm)
• Barrier-free access to the garden via a stairlift for wheelchair users (door width studio to storage room where the lift is located 77 cm, door width storage room to garden 100 cm)
• Automatic door opener at entrance door
• 3 designated disabled parking spaces directly in front of the venue
• 1 additional disabled parking space provided by the City of Cologne around the corner
• Public transport: The barrier-free "Lenauplatz" stop of the streetcar line 5 is 100 meters away

If needed, we can provide the following support services. Please indicate your requirements when registering:

• Peer to peer translation from english to german language.

More Information

Address: Un-Label Studio | Hosterstr. 1-5 | 50825 Cologne-Neuehrenfeld
The Lenauplatz stop (barrier-free) of KVB Line 5 (Dom / Hbf - Ossendorf) is located in close proximity to the building at Hosterstraße 1-5.
Departure times (KVB)

For questions and further information, contact us at:
nikos@un-label.eu
+49 (221) - 5501544
info@un-label.eu

Photos: © Travis Magee

The WORKSHOP:dance is part of the project Inklusive Kunstlabore

Price information:

Free admission - please be sure to reserve a free ticket