Ander Gates – Strangly fabulous: Celebratory explorations of Drag and Clown
02 ⇾ Feb. 05 2026 (Monday – Thursday)
09:30 to 12:30
Weekly rate:$80
Drop-in:$28
French, English
#Creative process #Interdisciplinary #Music, voice or sound #Somatic
© kimura byol lemoine
Objective
This workshop blends drag’s confidence and style with clown’s physical improvisation and connection, inviting participants to celebrate their quirks, flaws, and strengths through a playful, amplified persona. With influences from Pochincho clown pedagogy, burlesque, and Montreal’s alternative drag scene, it fosters theatrical gender exploration in a supportive space to :
- Foster self-acceptance, celebration, and exploration of gender
- Explore drag and clown intersections
- Develop improvisational skills and audience interaction
- Use movement, costume, and theatrical tools for character development
- Practice drag-inspired movement (sass, sexy walks, poses)
- Generate ideas for future performances
Content
This workshop alternates between dance-based activities with music, and theatrical improvisational clown exercises. We begin with games to warm up our playful side, then explore dance movements inspired by drag and burlesque through structured improvisations, alongside some vocabulary. Clown exercises use movement, sound, eye contact, and breath to pursue audience laughter and connection. We develop 1–2 characters during the week, who will dress themselves from the costume stash. A splash of glitter is included, but no makeup training during this course. Prerequisite: willingness to be strange and fabulous!
Workshop Rhythm
Accessibility Features
Biography
Ander Gates (he/him) is a cabaret clown and drag queen based in Montreal. He performs under two artistic personas: Dot Dot Dot and Meander.
His clown approach draws from the Pichincho clown style, a style that is gentle, somatic, and teaches tools that apply to performance and life. When it comes to dance, Ander draws inspiration from burlesque, vogue, waaking, pole dance and swing dance.
Ander is currently passionate about facilitating classes and workshops. Through sharing the traditions of clown and drag, he fosters welcoming spaces for people to express themselves, move their bodies, connect with themselves and others.
Partners
This workshop is supported by the Conseil de la formation continue arts et culture de Montréal (CFC) in collaboration with Studio 303. The CFC’s continuing education activities are supported by the Intervention-Compétences program, thanks to the financial participation of the Quebec government.
