In collaboration with the euro-scene Leipzig 2025 festival, we are offering two dance masterclasses with Manuel Roque (Montréal) and Robert Ssempijja (Uganda). The two choreographers will explain how their pieces were created and present their dance technique and artistic practice. This format for encountering two renowned professionals is aimed at both dancers and interested amateurs. We invite you to discover two very different artistic worlds, both physically and mentally.
About the class
Led by artist Ssempijja Robert, this masterclass interweaves movement and reflection. Participants first engage in his daily studio practice, immersing themselves in his movement vocabulary that flows from inner embodiment to outward expression. The focus then shifts to a reflective presentation, exploring the interplay of art, personal experience, and community impact. Ssempijja guides participants through his practice, rooted in identity, transformation, and cultural reclamation. Through storytelling, reflection, and dialogue, he illuminates personal philosophies and post-colonial narratives shaping his work, emphasizing the body’s expressive power. This layered journey invites participants to explore art’s profound connections to personal and collective impact.
Far from providing definitive answers, this gathering creates a collaborative space to ponder the artist’s role in society:
What does it mean to carry memory in the body?
How do space, silence, and history live in our creative choices?
What questions guide the work, even before it becomes performance?
Underlying those questions are philosophies that define his art: the universal thread of pain, the reclamation of colonial legacies, woven into narratives of resilience and the power of collaboration, reflected in shared creative spaces.
Between Body and World is not just a presentation, it's an act of collective reflection on what it means to create, to question, and to belong. Ssempijja will unveil his creative process, a curiosity driven framework that fuels his practice.
Essay by Ssempijja Robert: STRUCTURE IS MAGIC
Language: The class is held in English.
Date & Time: Thursday, 6 November 2025, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Probebühne des Instituts für Theaterwissenschaft der Universität Leipzig | Spinnereistraße 7, 04179 Leipzig - Halle 18 (Aufgang E) | Google Map | The space is located on the same floor as the “RESIDENZ” (Schauspiel Leipzig). Please follow the signs for “RESIDENZ” and “euro-scene leipzig.”
Registration: The event is fully booked. Inscription on the waiting list: kontakt@tanzplattform-leipzig.de
Price Information:
Prices: 24€ (regular) | 18€ (reduced*) | 12€ (professional**)
*Eligible for reduced admission: pupils, students, trainees, conscripts, BFD/FSJ volunteers, severely disabled, recipients of social assistance or ALG II, Leipzig Pass holders. Proof required at registration.
**Professional: submit at registration one of: KSK-membership certificate, education certificate (<2 years), employment/activity certificate, or Website/Instagram.
About Ssempijja Robert
Ssempijja Robert is a Ugandan contemporary artist, dancer, and researcher. He is building a career in both formal and informal contexts. His practice weaves together movement, critical theory, and experimental forms. Showcasing work in both traditional and non-traditional spaces, Ssempijja’s practice is shaped by the post-colonial era and the ongoing process of decolonization. It reflects his commitment to challenging conventional norms and embracing diverse perspectives, as he seeks to forge a regenerative art practice that transcends exploitative histories and connects Uganda’s distorted past with its digital present.
His work often begins with a "pathological" curiosity unpacking the inherited structures, belief systems, and contradictions that shape Ugandan society today. Ssempijja’s work includes research projects that take the form of texts, dance films, installations, and performances, He seeks to cultivate "a regenerative art practice" that transcends exploitative relationships, connecting the distorted past with the digital present. He is particularly interested in experimenting with new methods of knowledge creation and exploring innovative ways to organize information and develop creative structures.