Leo
Kees

After a great beginning at Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf, Serotonine Lab travels to  TANZ AREAL Karlsruhe. This Lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, tracing relationships between movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants develop individual movement vocabularies and a distinct style. Removed from nightlife, alcohol, or social codes, the body becomes the focus. Between dance and physical investigation, roles of audience and performer dissolve, creating a shared experiential space for collective research. 

The IMAGINE: Trilogy is a physical lecture-performance series composed of IMAGINE: Europe (2027), IMAGINE: The Future (2028), and IMAGINE: Your Life (2029). It traces three interconnected questions: how narratives of European identity have shifted over the last century and remain a work in progress (2027); how shared imagination might recalibrate future scenarios beyond dystopian narratives (2028); and how different interpretations of one’s own biography become an engine for collective identity-building (2029). With enough space for humour, physicality, and performative challenges, the journey has now officially begun. The 2027 edition is developed in collaboration with dramaturg Julia Dina Hesse; partner institutions and further details will follow soon.

Serotonin Lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, tracing relationships between movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants develop individual movement vocabularies and a distinct style. Removed from nightlife, alcohol, or social codes, the body becomes the focus. Between dance and physical investigation, roles of audience and performer dissolve, creating a shared experiential space where tendencies and qualities become visible. The lab links somatic practice, house music, and alternative movement culture in contemporary studio-based collective research. 

As part of my artistic research, I am currently looking for partner institutions for Open Labs exploring artificial intelligence as a tool for creative processes. In the context of the Serotonin Lab, the focus lies on how AI can generate live DJing to accompany improvised performances in which the boundaries between dancers and audience are dissolved. Drawing from movement research, House Music, and somatic practices, the project investigates how sound, rhythm, and collective presence can shape temporary performative spaces in which clubbing is reimagined as an embodied artistic practice, while AI becomes a tool for composing responsive sound environments in real time.

Starting in 2026, I am developing ArtsCarta: Herramientas para Artistas, a Spanish-language podcast aimed at independent artists in Latin America. The series explores what skill sets artists need to build sustainable careers in Latin America, how useful European academic models are — or are not — for Latin America, and where the biggest opportunities for innovation and reframing might lie. It draws on my years teaching career management at the Folkwang University of the Arts and on questions first developed in my 2016 cultural management thesis. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Currently in its early stages.