Past Sha’ashua Labs
Funded by Arts Council England

2nd - 8th July 2007
Isle of Islay, Scotland

Sha’ashua Lab 3: “Cosmos and Creation”

In this residential summer lab which I jointly facilitated with Professor Les Lancaster from Liverpool John Moores University we connected the working practices of the Sha’ashua Labs with the story of creation found within the Kabbalah:

The mystery of creation unfolds from moment to moment within the psyche, within the body and within the soul. For the masters of Kabbalah, the essence of their path of transformation entailed knowing the ways of creation, for the totality of the cosmos is enfolded within the human, ‘the measure of all things’. Knowing the inner paths of creation was thought to be the key for transformation from a limited sphere of being to the higher state of oneness with the infinite presence of the divine. At the root of the myth of creation is the passage from nothingness to becomingness; the mystic retraces the subtle stages of that unfolding.

Similarly, in the Sha’ashua Labs we had been exploring our own individual stories of creation, seeking out and connecting to deeper layers within us, to that which is most alive and flowing … from moment to moment, from impulse to impulse, finding ways to undo our physical blocks, to release our bodies and to become vibrantly present as performers and as people.  

In this summer lab we sought an integration of the physical impulse-based practices of the Sha’ashua Labs with kabbalistic psychology. Teachings on creation informed the ritual performance processes – and our challenge was to develop new ways of bringing ancient wisdom to life in contemporary performance... to open a door to the sacred in action.










This lab took place in the delightful surroundings of a converted barn of Smaull farm in the north-west corner of the Hebridean island Islay. Huge thanks go to Briar and Philip Maxwell for offering us their two studio spaces and cottage and for making us feel so welcome! The food was delicious!  

Lab participants: Leor Holtzman, Harry Kingham, Angie Toogood, Kath Peters.