The LONDON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS (LISPA) is a centre of research and innovation, participating in the creation of the theatre of tomorrow in one of the most vibrant and culturally exciting cities in the world. Our work is to lead young theatre makers and performers towards the discovery of their individual artistic paths. In its emphasis on the nurturing and stimulation of students creative potentials,the school will equip students to participate fully in the diverse world of today's performing arts, and will be of particular interest to those excited by the idea of creating their own work. The journey which the school offers students is both poetic and practical, integrating a deep curiosity for life with a passion for theatre.
On this journey students will attain a deeper insight into their abilities as performers, actors and directors for the stage.The school's thrust is towards a young, dynamic and innovative theatre; we value the individual's capacity for creating his or her own theatre and we respect and support the common desire of young artists from around the globe to find and express together the voice of their generation.


            


LISPA is a new school for the performing arts and will welcome its first group of students in the autumn of 2003.It has been set up as an independent school so as to be able to offer to young performers and theatre artists from around the globe a uniquely stimulating and challenging meeting place. The school is based on the pedagogy of JACQUES LECOQ and was founded by THOMAS PRATTKI, the former pedagogical director of the Ecole Internationale du Theatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. LISPA offers a complete two-year programme,a one-year Initiation Course,a one-year Advanced Course, one-term Intensives and a pedagogical training programme under the guidance of a highly experienced, international team of teachers. They all bring to the school a wide diversity of experience as creators, performers or directors. They share a passion for theatrical innovation and a wish to explore with their students new territories in the ever-evolving world of contemporary performing arts.


All the performing arts strive to bring life closer to us, to engage us in the struggle and the joy of being fully alive. They reanimate the past,so we can learn from it. They suggest new worlds to fire our imagination. They allow us to see the already existing world with new eyes. But most of all they remind us of the permanent movement of life - mysterious,irrational and deeply vital - and that we in turn are all moved in kindred ways.The desire to be an artist reflects the desire to feel the movement of life around and within us. Our aim at the school is to work with this desire and to foster those qualities which our students need to be able to find their place in the performing arts: a never ending curiosity in life as it is; a strong vision of life as it could be; and a fully alive body through which to express creative vision.