Performing Lab Retreat
January 17, 2027 | 8:00 am – January 22, 2027 | 5:00 pm
A five-day immersive retreat for performers, dancers, actors, theatre-makers, musicians, facilitators, and creative explorers seeking to deepen their artistic practice through movement, ritual, physical theatre, and embodied creation.
Led by internationally acclaimed theatre practitioner Sukh Ahlström, Performing Lab is a rare opportunity to train in an intensive residential setting that combines physical theatre, Kalaripayattu, movement research, rhythm, voice, clowning, and collective creation.
Participants will spend five days living, learning, creating, and sharing alongside fellow artists in the natural surroundings of Vinyasa Earth. Through rigorous training, creative laboratories, reflection, and community living, the residency offers practical tools that can be directly applied to artistic projects, performances, teaching practices, and personal creative journeys.
Upon completion, participants will receive an official certificate recognizing their participation in the residential and artistic laboratory.
What You’ll Explore
Over five immersive days, participants will train across multiple disciplines that have shaped contemporary physical theatre and embodied performance practices around the world:
- Physical Theatre
- Kalaripayattu (Ancient South Indian Martial Art)
- Body Weather
- Active Meditations
- Clowning
- Pantomime
- Rhythm Training
- Voice & Singing
- Body Percussion
- Contemporary Movement Practices
- Creative Composition & Devising
Each discipline becomes a doorway into deeper artistic awareness, stronger stage presence, richer expression, and a more versatile creative practice.
Why Attend?
Most training programs focus on improving skills.
Performing Lab focuses on transforming the artist.
This residency is designed to help participants:
- Expand their physical and expressive range.
- Deepen presence and performative awareness.
- Discover new movement qualities and energetic states.
- Learn practical tools for artistic creation and composition.
- Strengthen improvisation and adaptability.
- Develop confidence in collaborative creation.
- Build a sustainable creative practice.
- Reconnect with curiosity, play, and artistic intuition.
By the end of the residency, participants will have developed a richer creative toolkit, stronger artistic awareness, and practical methodologies that can be integrated into future performances and projects.
Learn With An International Artist
Sukh Ahlström
Sukh Ahlström is an international performing artist, director, and educator with more than twenty years of experience across physical theatre, dance, martial arts, theatrical anthropology, and embodied creative practices.
She has taught and facilitated artistic processes in Chile, India, Denmark, Brazil, Serbia, and Greenland, working with more than 6,000 artists and students throughout her career.
Sukh is a certified practitioner of Kalaripayattu and a former member of the artistic ensemble of Odin Teatret in Denmark, one of the world’s most influential theatre companies. Her work combines rigorous training, artistic research, intercultural methodologies, and embodied creative practice to create deeply transformative learning experiences.
Investment & Accommodation
All residency options include:
- Full access to the five-day Performing Lab curriculum
- Daily training sessions and creative laboratories
- Shared community experiences
- Two vegetarian meals per day
- Access to Vinyasa Earth’s studios and creative spaces
- Final showcase participation
- Official Certificate of Participation
Early Bird Dorm
₹20,475 (Inclusive of GST)
Shared dormitory accommodation for the duration of the residency.
Limited seats available.
Dorm Residency
₹24,150 (Inclusive of GST)
Shared dormitory accommodation with the full residency experience.
Cottage Residency
₹32,025 (Inclusive of GST)
Twin-sharing earthen cottage accommodation for participants seeking additional comfort and privacy.
Artist Scholarship
₹15,015 (Inclusive of GST)
A limited number of scholarship-supported dormitory seats are available for emerging artists, students, and practitioners who may require financial assistance.
To apply for a scholarship, send an email to vinyasa.ashram@gmail.com with the subject line:
“Application for Scholarship for Performing Arts Residency January 17-22”
In your application, briefly share:
- Your artistic background
- Why you wish to attend Performing Lab
- How the residency will support your artistic journey
- Why you are applying for financial assistance
Scholarships are awarded based on artistic intent, commitment to practice, and available seats.
To Apply
Drop us a mail at vinyasa.ashram@gmail.com or register below
Valkirie Theater × Vinyasa Earth
Performing Lab is a collaboration between Valkirie Theater and Vinyasa Earth, bringing together international performance methodologies and immersive community-based learning.
Valkirie Theater contributes decades of experience in physical theatre, artistic research, intercultural performance, and embodied creative practices.
Vinyasa Earth contributes a unique residential environment designed specifically for artists, creators, and seekers. Here, learning extends beyond the studio into shared meals, conversations, reflection, nature, and community living.
Together, they create a learning environment that offers:
- International-quality artistic training
- Residential immersion
- Cross-cultural exchange
- Community-centered creation
- Personal and professional artistic development
This combination allows participants not only to learn techniques but also to experience how artistic practice can become a way of living, observing, and creating.
The Retreat Experience
The retreat follows a carefully designed rhythm that balances training, learning, reflection, nourishment, and community connection. Mornings begin with physical training and energetic awakening practices. Afternoons are dedicated to technical training, movement research, creative laboratories, and artistic exploration. Evenings create space for reflection, dialogue, integration, music, and community gatherings. Throughout the residency, participants move through a process of training, experimentation, observation, creation, and sharing. The residency culminates in a final showcase where participants present fragments, discoveries, and creative work developed during the process.
Who Is This For?
- Actors and theatre practitioners
- Dancers and movement artists
- Circus artists
- Directors and creators
- Musicians and performers
- Theatre students and professionals
- Educators and facilitators
- Anyone interested in embodied creativity and artistic exploration
Previous experience in every discipline is not required. What matters most is curiosity, commitment, and a willingness to engage fully in the process.
What You’ll Take Home
- Official Certificate of Participation
- Practical tools for artistic creation and performance
- A deeper understanding of physical theatre methodologies
- Expanded movement and expressive capacities
- New creative strategies and perspectives
- Inspiration for future artistic projects
- Meaningful connections with an international artistic community
- A renewed relationship with creativity, body, and expression
Join us in Jaipur for five days where technique meets ritual, discipline meets play, and creation becomes a living experience.
₹24475