The Laughing Crowd oscillates between a dance, an installation and a concert as the work equally involves body and voice work to unfold laughter as social communication, bodily state, stirring sound and sparkling sensation. Breaking with the common sense of looking at laughter as only being funny, laughing will be portrayed as a physical manifestation of a broad range of mixed feelings.
Antoinette Helbing is a German dance artist based in Copenhagen. In her choreographic works, she shares her fascination for social interaction – exploring social phenomena such as laughter, crying and the process of how our self-image is formed. Taking the point of departure in the Feldenkrais method she has developed a choreographic practice that invites the spectator to slow down and observe closely. Audience involvement is an integral part of her work – giving the audience the role of an active participant, without being asked to do anything specific.
Birgitte Skands is a Danish dance artist, choreographer and academic teacher who has been working in the field of dance for more than 4 decades. After graduating from The Juilliard School, she pursued a career as a company dancer touring worldwide. She holds a master in philosophy of Education which is the source of inspiration for her series of Philo-Physical Lectures. Birgitte is co-creator and performer in The Laughing Crowd.