luminous soul residency belfast

I have just received a Michael Franti CD from Victoria through the post.
Victoria was one of the many participants on the project who illuminated our souls...
...and now my speakers! Thankyou :-)




This is a video that I have compiled of shots taken over our whole week at Open Arts.
The poem was written & performed by Julia Dean- Richards.
It can be seen written further along the blogs.

This is a video of the groups final pieces of choreography devised during the week.
The music is by Iron and Wine

Sevendale School after school dance club

We are well and truly into our second term delivering the dance club at Sevendale.

We have been exploring some very exciting themes such as travelling to space, air travel, exploring the jungle Halloween and Bonfire Night.

This dance club will continue after Christmas and we hope that we may get some new participants for it from school.

EPiC Arts

In August this year EPiC Arts from Cambodia visited Blue Eyed Soul in Shropshire for two days of exchange, research and fun. We spent time on the ropes, a new experience for EPiC dancers one of whom had been waiting for the opportunity since seeing BESDC perform in Hong Kong in 2006. We also shared stories and experiences as dance artists working in an inclusive context.

At the core of the group were four young men in their early 20's, two wheelchair users and 2 deaf who were the most enthusiastic, daring and responsive dancers you could wish for. Having climbed trees at home since childhood they approached the aerial work without fear and with invention and creativity. When the harnesses proved uncomfortable they swapped to the cocoon but used it in a completely new way, wrapping and twisting their legs and bodies into the fabric allowing dynamic and exciting movement.

I was so struck with the group that I made a sure to see them perform at Liberty Festival in London and was not disappointed. Their level of technical skill, performance charisma and professionalism was obvious to see and left me hoping two things; firstly that there might be young disabled dancers in the UK with such strong desire to reach a similar potential and secondly that BESDC might continue to work with EPiC in the future.

A dialogue is continuing with many creative possibilities. As BESDC pursue their R&D in China with a quest to seek out and support the inclusive dance community it fortuitously turns out that EPiC Arts are planning to open a centre in south China in the future. A collaborative approach makes infinite sense in a country that is very protective over their disabled community and will need a gentle and careful development of trust. With a shared belief and incurable optimism for the future the international dance community will continue to grow and flourish.

Epic Arts image by Kathryn O'Connor

Mighty forearms

Professional development is important to Blue Eyed Soul and so the Company has always encouraged its staff to seek out training opportunities that support their practice. With this in mind I signed up for a course to deepen my knowledge and understanding of the aerial dance work that we have been developing for the past ten years. There is no training available that matches exactly what we are doing but I did fund an Industrial Rope Access course that seemed to fit the bill.
Day one of a five day course... large warehouse building fitted out with a multitude of ropes, down, around, in, out and over various steel girders, ladders and barriers, very high and very cold! Me and five off shore riggers with skills in welding, lagging, fixing and assembling. We were led through a whole range of rigging tasks to move safely around the ropes and structures.
Day five and a fault free assessment means I get my level 1 irata qualification. It was an incredibly difficult week both physically and mentally, every move mechanically precise and physically challenging but it was also huge fun with a lot of laughing.
Image - teaching aerial at Bishops Castle, photographer Kathryn O'Connor

First Contact – Luminous Soul Dance Residential 2010 By Julia Dean-Richards

First contact, Helen Lewis[1] studio

from the Crescent window, Belfast

above the cafe: carrot soup and raspberry tea

we looked out upon a green, open space.

Ten o’clock, with Helen Lewis

imprisoned, shy, our senses shifting

our first electric morning

as we began to move

we saw our luminous souls uplifting.

At twelve we came to lie still

in the kindness

of soft, dancing bellies.

Soon we were styling it out

beginning to sing our colours.

Where did the quick time dance to?

Trusting in our new confidence

My ‘slow’ counterbalanced your ‘dynamo’.

Adapting, we travelled together

wheeling and leaning.

‘learning I’ asked you to show me how to speak with you.

By one o’clock

Helen Lewis is liberated

she joined us in our melting.

Tell me, hold you, bend me

know the way each of our bodies

may stretch and change

when we express our intentions.

Slide past and jam for a while

then settle here with us

to examine a newly discovered gift

turning our bodies this way and that

so the light catches, shines

on this powerful thing we do.

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[1] Helen Lewis survived the Nazi concentration camp of Stutthof by directing and performing dance for her SS captors and fellow prisoners. She also survived Auschwitz. After the war she settled in Belfast and introduced modern dance to Northern Ireland.

Luminous Soul Residency in Belfast- Thursday

As I sit here writing this blog my mind and body is full of memories from our fantastic week in Belfast. I've had a very powerful reminder as to why I am a dance artist and why I love this work so much. Today it was so obvious how much everyone's confidence has grown and how much of a connection there is between the group.

We began to look today at what material we will show at the sharing tomorrow. The whole atmosphere of being on a residential week is so powerful. I really enjoyed last night as we all sat downstairs in the hotel Lobby singing songs and playing guitar... I loved every minute of it. I cant believe we are on the final day tomorrow I really hope the group continue to develop and that maybe one day I can re-visit them.

I have loved working with Miriam again and having Julia here as my Support Worker has been so valuable... thank you both for all the laughs, support, interesting conversations, the singing and just simply for being you!!! Can't wait to post some images in future blogs.x

Open Arts Residency in Belfast- Tuesday

As I sit in my hotel room, the rest of the group in high spirits in the downstairs foyer, I reflect on the fullness of today. Is it really only Day Two?

Each day so much happens- so many connections

Through the body, newly discovered… Or is it more accurate to say Re-discovered? Re-found? Re-forged? Re-opened?

Between thought and physicality, self-belief, self-image, internal dialogue; voiced explicitly through spoken words, explored amongst the group and acknowledged; or voiced implicitly through the body’s opening pathways

Between past learning and present understanding, ‘light bulb moments’

Between people- meeting for the first time, or discovering newness in old friendships

Between people- in response to seeing how participants with visual impairments take in and express our verbal instructions of exercises, phrases and movements, we have noticed how much detail we miss out in our verbal instructions, just how inaccurate we can be, and this is deepening connections for our own understanding as dancers, as facilitators and as communicators. The gratitude I feel for this is truly noted.

Between past and present- the presence of Helen Lewis, a holocaust survivor who literally danced her way out of the concentration camps. Helen went on to develop vast amounts of dance in Belfast, she died last year and the studio we are working in all week is named after her

Connections from the wider dance world into our own little Luminous Soul bubble- we have all just returned from the Waterfront Studio where we watched AfterLight by The Russel Maliphant Dance Company: the energy is high in the group, the curiosity lit. One participant’s connection: “I get what Sally and Miriam have been asking us to do now, why they have been suggesting we copy other people in our improvisations, pick up on their movements and explore stillness and space as well as moving all the time.”

I can hardly wait to get back in the dance studio.

Open Arts Residency in Belfast

Sally Miriam and Julia have really enjoyed day one of the residency with Luminous Soul in Belfast. We are staying in a very comfortable Hotel. We all sat down together for dinner with the group of about 20 people from all over Northern Ireland on Sunday and got to know each other....lovely evening!

Today we focused on get to know you games and a selection of improvisation tasks. The group already look like they have been working together for months. One of the participants said that this approach to dance was less what dance looks like and more like saying "here's me"... Lucky that because we had already decided to follow that very same theme. In preparation for the week Sally and Miriam have choreographed their own solos based around this theme. The day ended with the group learning Miriam's and it was a brilliantly unifying high point to a fantastic day.

What a week! Dance Transformations now feels real....thanks to a wonderful day at Birmingham DanceXchange with project partners, associate artists, and West Midlands based emerging artists. Introducing the programme and discussing general ethos reinforced further the significance of DT and working in partnership with regional organisations to make it happen. Ok..........time in a beautiful studio, mentor support, a bit of cash, pure exploration, conversation, a supportive network of like minded people...........what could be a better way to spend your time?

'Spice of Life' tomorrow 2.30/7.30 - get there! Merv & Nick blew me away, exceptionally focused and committed to being the best they can possibly be, exceptional human beings - fully realising a performance - content devised by them. Their duet sits alongside live drumming, a samba band, Arty Party, a magician and much more. Loved being in the theatre, loved singing 'Something In Side So Strong' at the top of my voice, loved being amongst friends without having to manage, produce or organise a cast of 35 on stage. Thanks Rob (Spice of Life director) it was fantastic to sit back and enjoy......and laugh.......and sing............and watch Nick & Merv with pride and total respect.

This week I have worked in the office, been to London and back in one day, led a training day for 18 people, launched Dance Transformations, rehearsed a duet, spent a day in the theatre, constructed a powerpoint, had many phone conversations, cuddled my boy, danced in the kitchen, been way to tired to function, drank to much coffee BUT as this period of craziness comes to end it has been very satisfying, BES has achieved a lot and so have I.

Independance workshops in Glasgow

Rachel Liggitt and I spent two days teaching in Glasgow. Indepen-Dance are an inclusive dance company based there. One day was a workshop held for company members. This session had an exciting beginning due to the fire alarm going off and everyone needing to evacuate...in the rain... Unfortunately, or fortunately depending how you want to look at it, I was asked to stay upstairs, outside near an assembly point at the top of the stairs!!!! luckily it was a false alarm...Phew!

Indepen-Dance are a lively group of experienced adults who have a range of physical and learning disabilities. I had a wonderful day seeing the dancers really working hard and having fun. We gave them quite a lot of tasks to do and they produced some beautiful work.

Our second day was to deliver a '50 ways' professional training course. This was fully booked which clearly demonstrates the demand for such training. Dance artists and teachers from all over Scotland attended the day including one teacher from Ireland. There was a great sense of willingness to share experiences, ask questions and create debate around inclusive practise. Rachel and I had a wonderful day and I hope we can work with Indepen-Dance again in the near future.

summer aerial workshops

I hitched up the caravan and moved to Bishops Castle for ten days in August, combining the aerial workshops with a holiday in the beautiful Shropshire hills.
Based at the wonderful community venue, SPaRc, four separate groups met to learn the basics of aerial work and develop their creative dance ideas.
Daily session for local children and teenagers plus an evening session for adults were all enthusiastically received. We played with gravity, stretched our bodies and imaginations, made work together and separately and finally invited friends and family to come and see what we’d achieved.
“Never seen him so comfortable in movement” “you all looked stunning”
“Jess came home with inner confidence” audience feedback

In the second week a group of disabled artists from Epic Arts based in Cambodia joined with Blue Eyed Soul for an exchange of ideas and an inspiring and fearless two days on the ropes.

lots of lovely photos to come...

Feet on the ground

The view from my 29th floor hotel room, the longest swimming pool in the world!.
Back home and finally landing, realising that my feet have not touched the earth since I left the UK, two weeks of concrete... how can this be?
Last few days in Shanghai and Hong Kong were packed full of meetings and gatherings including an unscheduled day at the 'drama therapy in psychiatric services symposium' that turned out to be surprisingly relevant to BESDC with fascinating speakers expressing many shared objectives and outcomes.
The reunion with Symbiotic Dance was lovely, it felt like only a moment since our last visit. Tids and Arnim were missed, hopes and ideas for the future were expressed and dinner was shared.
Then a third meeting with British Council, previous ones being held in Guangzhou and Shanghai to discuss recent impressions and future plans.
I'm grateful for the opportunity to visit China and Hong Kong thanks to Connections through Culture and feel that this is only the beginning...

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Aquatic dance

Back to Shanghai and 41.2° so I'm melting...

Led a workshop this afternoon for members of the Grass Stage, a theatre organisation known for its radical and often disapproved-of work with non-professional artists. Lots of stimulating discussion over dinner then a symposium to discuss the work of BESDC; they asked loads of great questions which made the evening fly by.

Too busy to take any photos of the workshop but I do like these fish at the hotel!

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Day off

Took a day off to visit my brother and his family who have been living in Suzhou for the past 2½ years.

They took me to 'the fourth' most famous rock garden (an illusion of space and perspective) , a silk factory (fascinatingly low tech and so beautiful to the touch), an old canal-side street (very, very hot) and then back to the hotel for a game of 'underwater guess-the-fish charades' with my niece and nephew.

Felt truly spoilt and rested.

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Night Train to Shanghai...

Writing this on the night train to Shanghai: it's packed with people who were herded together through the station system, security check, waiting area and onto the train, which actually makes sense when you arrive at your destination the platforms are empty allowing everyone to alight with ease. A 16 hour journey, I can smell cigarette smoke, beef noodles and hot feet. My travel buddies are Carmen, Irene (both in food sales!) and Tiger (11 years old going on 40) they are all delightful and teach me to play poker through scribbling on notebooks and overseeing my hand!

But to reflect on Guangzhou. I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the people I've met, workshops and performances I've taken in over the past 5 days. It's been very different from anything I have ever experienced in the UK, similar broad range of quality and experience not necessarily equated, but there are huge cultural differences.... of course what did I expect? But what's the mindset of a country emerging from communist control? The government controlled organisations, agencies and activities operating in one world and the underground cultural scene thriving as an alternative.

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Guangzhou Modern Dance Festival

The Guangzhou Modern Dance Festival daily programme was broad and varied: studio performances by young dancers that showed such skill and confidence, endearingly naïve in content and some a bit sickly sweet BUT most with an individuality and confidence that I rarely see in the UK Youth Dance Scene. Afternoon Springboard performances by emerging artists from what I could interpret shared a common thread and explored the relationship each artist has with China. They were somewhat mixed in quality.

At the other end of the scale the BIG professional performances in main house theatres have been disappointing, extremely body beautiful, monotonously technically brilliant and soul-less. What's going on with the choreographers? In the post show discussion a director was asked why he had placed a tea party (complete with table and tea service) in the middle of the piece described as 'a poem about mother nature' (complete with heavy metal tree), his answer was that he just felt like it because one day he had seen the dancers having tea together and thought it was beautiful!

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Meanwhile the inclusive workshop muddled on with energy and enthusiasm from all involved, After three sessions we said our goodbyes and made plans for the teachers and local artists to meet together again soon for some mutual support and ideas sharing. There is a real eagerness to develop the work so I hope this is a beginning for us all.

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Guangzhou

So much for my daily blogging plans...
I'm not sure if it's specific to the Company blog as I can view other blogs or it might be the writing rather than the reading or as someone suggested it could be the 'Blue' in the title is reason enough for the authorities to doubt its suitability!
The past few days have been a fascinating and confusing time, the Symposium has been looking at the position of contemporary dance in China and I've been trying to piece together a picture of how inclusive dance might fit into that...or not.
Disabled people seen so far? One. Context? Begging on the street. I'm told that I will not see disabled people here as they are hidden, only to be wheeled out when deemed appropriate.
I'm hearing about control and restriction but also about support and pride. We met a group of young independent dancers to discuss their perspective which included working on gay rights issues and providing opportunities for disabled people to dance.
Saw two performances yesterday, one an inspiring solo performed by a dancer, well respected in the modern dance community, I thought it a bit clichéd but beautiful and thoughtful. The second performance was at the extraordinary brand spanking new sci-fi opera house performed by the City Contemporary Dance Company and it was dull, really dull, so dull I fell asleep.

BUT I've just come out of a Youth Dance Showcase that was extraordinary, my breath has been taken away... will write more tomorrow.

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Hong kong

24 hours, 2 flights, 4 films, numerous meals and some nice chats later... Feeling disorientated which is probably a good place to begin...

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Setting off in the dark

4 am might be too early to write anything very meaningful. Feeling tired of traveling in advance but confident that it'll be ok. Armed with loads of Blue Eyed Soul dvd's and looking forward to meeting new people and 'connecting through culture'.

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Packing for China (Connections through Culture)

Packing for China and wondering what clothes to take, something suitable for the heat? Ru has offered her red summer dress... so I google 'the colour red and china'... 'Like life-giving flowing blood and the brilliant morning glow, the red of China pulsates endlessly, radiating with a passionate fire-like heat. Red is alive, inspiring, a dream-like passion that affects all aspects of Chinese life. Colour is essential to beauty, and beauty is essential to any culture’s aesthetic'. I'll take the dress.
Very excited at the programme, something every day... a week in Guangzhou https://mail-us.gmx.com/dereferrer/?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gdfestival.cn a few days in Shanghai and a reunion in Hong Kong.

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Competitive Me in rehearsal

Merv and Nick working their socks of and sweating it out.

On reflection.............

Following Monday's night performance of 'Competitive Me' I was left with one of the most restless nights sleep since the first few weeks following my son's birth! On reflection my bad sleep was because I was very,very,very excited. Something magic happened. On first meeting Merv & Nick (over 4 years ago) I had witnessed the competitive nature of their relationship........what could be more blindingly obvious, massively attractive and 'juicy' as putting these two men together in a studio, in a gym setting, drop in a few seeds to get the process going and off they go - making a dance piece about the desire to take center stage and be the 'best you could possibly be'. Community dance always refers to the dancer 'owning their work' - 'owning the dance'. I genuinely feel they 'owned it' all the way...............................every studio process is unique, distinct, particular but this pushed all three of us in a new direction and we all said it felt great.

From washing line to Washington

It’s probably an aerial cliché but it feels as though I am only just coming back to earth after an amazing time in the US performing TAKE and Sugar at the truly American-ly ENORMOUS Kennedy Center as part of the VSA festival. Echoing the comments made by Sal and Rachel below, it was such a huge buzz and, after overcoming the technical hitches and glitches in the run-up to going, we were truly rewarded with plain sailing (flying?) Stateside. Had a really good, easy-going time travelling and room sharing with Sal (who has possibly the most-admired shoulder bag in the world). Have a few striking memories of the performace day – the life-size photo of the eminent Mark Morris glaring at us from the wall of the Kennedy Center staff canteen a little intimidating pre-performance; a surreal moment on our initial slow descent, looking up the long and high-ceilinged, red-carpeted concourse of the Kennedy center with the chandeliers looming higher than us; a million miles away from the more familiar scene in the Worcestershire barn, with the pigs snuffling curiously outside. I enjoyed the gasp and exclamation of surprise from someone in the front row when I jumped off the stage over their head, one of the new perks of performing on a high stage. Likewise the duet with Rose, hanging off the edge of the stage, balancing precariously (not always successfully!) on one foot. Finally, the amazing shadow backstage (that the audience couldn’t see) of Sal swinging in and out of sight, high up in her chair at the end of Sugar, raising her arms.

Now the bloomers are back on the washing line, ready for Cardiff…. It will be both good and strange to be back on the rig… the two versions (with and without rig) have quite a different flavour for us, so we’re dredging our movement memories to restore the other version… Excited about performing again, but as always, don’t want it to end. In the meantime, I’ll be savouring the anticipation…

last moments in USA

Sally and I on the way home...
looking forward to...
our beds and...
sharing our experiences with friends and family...
celebrating...
and the next performance in Cardiff on the 28th June.

VSA conference

Friday morning at the very Grand Hyatt Hotel
10th floor room
basement conference
we gave a presentation on Dance Transformation
international audience
positive responses, keen interest

VSA Festival performance

after an epic month of preparation
a terrible time working our way through the bureaucracy of US immigration
pack and repacking all the kit
we made it...
a fantastic time
such a warm reception from all the VSA staff
a technical crew to die for at the Kennedy Centre
hard work
huge buzz

week 2

Big change of plans, back in the barn all week instead of the theatre. Hope it stays warm for us.

Just got over the stress of the American embassy, queue tastic and very frustrating.

Jess smacked her head on the floor rehearsing new pulley system with Aldous today, and now has a big egg.

But, apart from the above all is going really well, we seem to have Take back under our belts, the flying is feeling really good again and am slowly getting stronger.

Enjoying the company at Longlands.

re-working Take

Great first week of rehearsals for Washington. A lot of re-working, improving. Brain and body hurting! Lovely being all together again. A bit disconcerting working without the rig at first but our new set up seems pretty good now, new possibilities too.

Blue Eyed Soul = Sun, Sun, Sun! Barn on the farm was super warm, a great place to be working, alongside our pig "friends" (bit scary)

Material all there, week 2 to refine.

All the music is on a loop in my head today, it's that kind of sunny, idyllic day, as it has been all week.

Excited to get in the theatre and looking forward to VSA.

Day 2 dancers on site

Rose Eleni and Jess
reunited "seems like only moments ago..."
Tim delivers straw bales
Cherry brings us covers for them
working out the dimensions of the rigging to correspond with the Kennedy Centre

Preparation for TAKE a Dance in the Park

Day 1 of rehearsals
rigging and laying a floor
hiring a ladder
meeting the sheep dogs
occupying the space...

Post Project Reflections

Phew...the project is now over!!

Over the course of the weekend I have had time to sit back and reflect on the project at Merstone School. It was so lovely to witness the buzz of excitment and sense of achievment from all the pupils and staff involved. I see the project as if Miriam and I were the stones gently dropped into the pond and starting a gentle but awe inspiring ripple effect which reached all three schools.

Even though I have probably reached doubled figures in the amount of schools residencies I have co-led on, the hand on head/what shall we do challenges still face us. It ALWAYS seems worth it in the end as we sit back fighting tears of joy as the participants perform so beautifully.

Talking to support staff throughout the week we were constantly told how much participants are gainning from the week and how much the staff wish they could continue to work in this way on a regular basis.

As I sat looking through photographs of the project all the memories came flooding back. It is quite overwhelming to consider the magnitude of achievment for people.

I really hope we can visit again very soon. This project will stay with me for a long time.

50 Ways- Northampton- Leading with Eyes

Hello again... I just can't leave this wonderful work alone can I? Looking through more of my footage I realised that Sally and I never posted this fabulous edit of the 50 Ways Workshop we led for the Investment in Professionals programme at Northants Dance in March this year. I remember the participants on the day made a specific request to have it posted.

It is an exercise where anybody can lead a solo, duet, trio... or entire group of dancers merely by moving their eyes. It is a particularly useful exercise for people whose primary method of communication is through the movement of their eyes.

Dance About... And All the Trimmings!!!

As I sit in my garden in Nottingham, no longer officially in post with Blue Eyed Soul, I cannot resist one last look at the fantastic Dance About performance by the Contact Group in March. Clearly I got carried away and created this short edited version of the live piece. The group were so much fun to work with, adding their creative ideas to the mix, really committed, energetic and focused. A true team. After the 5 shows we invited the audience to come and learn some of the choreography and creative tasks we had used to develop it and all the performers were a great support through that process also. I feel honoured to have been given the time to create with them. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Merstone School Residency

It is now the end of day two at the Merstone School Residency. We are working with three schools with varying needs and abilities, Merstone, our hosts, is a school for children with profound and complex needs, Forest Wood is a school for children with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour and Smith's Wood College is a mainstream school. We are all working together with their staff to create a dance performance this Friday. The participants are boys and girls between 12 and 16 years old.

The residency started yesterday morning literally with the 3 schools in separate corners of the room. By the end of today it was hard to tell who was from each school as they played together in the break. The students are all bonding so beautifully. They play with each other at lunchtime and are learning some very specific things about how each other communicates and behaves.

So far we have made a group warm up sequence which we revisit at the beginning of each session exploring different qualities- tired and elastic/ 'yawny'; funky; heavy limbed; energetic etc.; explored each other's range of movement through massage and manipulation tasks; created travelling duets; created duets through different ways of touching; and begun a process of watching, feeding back and selecting material. We have been working in very close pairs and are currently looking at ways in which pairs can be swapped more so that more friendships are created.

The staff at all schools have been particularly sensitive,knowledgeable and supportive of the students, the choreographic process and our needs as well. Whilst exhausted, we are also absolutely thrilled and inspired to be here.

LIKE Youth Dance Workshop

Last Saturday Misha and I delivered four short workshops as part of an activities day set up by Telford Council. The day was held at Sundorne Sports Village in Shrewsbury. We were assisted by Vinnie a freelance dance artist who works in the Telford Area. We worked with young people from the age of 8 to 15/16 with physical and learning disabilities. We had originally planned to teach a session based on super heroes but very quickly decided to change the plan to something more physically dynamic and shorter as our 45 minute sessions were condenced to 20 minutes. It was lovely for me to see one or two young people I had previously worked with. We had lots of interest from the young people and their familiies about other activities they could do with us. We have taken details from lots of people for our mailing lists and future LIKE activities. Despite being unwell with a raging ear ache on the day I had a wonderful time and feel that I rose to the challenge of changing the original workshop plan at the last minute.

Open Arts Workshop in Londonderry

Last week myself and Miriam delivered a days workshop to a lively group of adults.It was also the first time I had worked with Julia my new support worker.The session was delivered for Open arts, who are an organisation who promote the inclusion of disabled people in arts activities. They are based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Open Arts are starting a project called Luminous Soul- a dance project for disabled people who would like the opportunity to train to be professional dancers/dance teachers over the next 3 years.There have been a number of workshops delivered prior to our session one of which was with Cando Co.

Our role was to deliver the session whilst the senior staff were carrying out an audition to choose the most suitable participants to be involved. We all met to discuss individuals at the end and give our professional opinions about their suitability for this project.

We had planned quite a challenging Technique session for the morning and then delivered tasks for more creative work. We were delighted to see that everyone was able to be actively involved and very comfortable with adapting movememnt to suit their own movement range. We were very quick to offer alternative movements throughout the day but most people were very capable. Prior to us leaving for Belfast I spent some time on my own planning some ideas. When Miriam began to look at my iniial ideas she stressed that I had put together some good suggestions and ideas for us to build upon. I had spent a long time thinking the plan through so was delighted with Miriams feedback.

The entire trip was a complete success and great fun, what with bumping into famous sports stars and drewelling over fast cars...this was all going on at Birmingham Airport before we had even left!! Once we had arrived in Ireland we set off to find a nice quiet place for an evening meal and to my delight we found a resturaunt which was hosting a Kareoke night that evening...I almost squeeled with delight!! Yes it had to be done i was not going to miss this opportunity.

Going back to the work, it was a pleasure meeting such lovely people and very exciting to see that a whole new breed of disabled peolpe are starting their careers in dance and seem as passionate about it as i was in my early years and still am today!!! I'm keeping my fingers crosed we can return to see the group develop in the coming months and years.

wheelchair dancers and tuesday night youth group, video

Last night was the last of our sessions with the Cannock Wheelchair Dancing Group at the Cannock Chase Youth Club.

The previous week we had a fantastic time watching... and learning... some of their dances. It was the first time for most of the young people to experience dancing in a wheelchair and it caused great excitement. I got to use Sally's chair and got a teeny insight into the delicate and exact nature of her particular chair's centre of balance. Easy to tip it is! The great news is that two of the memebrs of the Youth Group went along to the Wheelchair Dancers' session this week! Result!

So last night most of the Youth Group were out at the panto.... oh no they weren't.... (couldn't resist!) and so inspired by watching the patterns they make during their dances, we presented them with the choreographic task, The Grid.

We were very impressed by the group cohesion and creativity. We are currently working on a video that will be uploaded shortly.... watch this space!

The Blue Eyed Soul Brochure

Wheelchair Dancers and Tuesday Youth Group, Cannock

Last night was one of those nights...

...when I remember why I am a dance artist

A roomfull of disabled young people between 12 and 18 dancing in duet and trio with a group of much older adults who use wheelchairs to dance in.. and have been doing so for 40years.

Laughter, movement, joy, communication... physicality, touch.

After a particularly tentative start to the evening, Sally and I got back into the car after the session had finished, looked each other in the eye and 'whooped' with absolute delight.

Wander: A Human Landscape 遊蕩於人生風景 (reflection)

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We were walking back from dinner to rehearsal in an obscure part of Hong Kong, when I asked Rachel how she found the city.

Rachel had to think about it. “Well, I find Hong Kong to be a very tolerant place.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Tolerance and generosity are not really the first things that comes to mind when I think of our bustling metropolis. But then, Hong Kong is home. It can be a bit hard to tell from the inside.

“Well, for example, just now at the restaurant [and we were with Kwok Wah, a wheelchair buddy], they were happy to set a table outdoors for us. In England they might have thought it to be a lot of hassle, made a lot of fuss.”

Much later, when I was struggling over the two lines of reflection I had to hand in for the program notes when things finally clicked into place. The world is our mirror: Rachel finds Hong Kong to be a friendly place because she is a generous person with a wide-open heart. And when I say wide-open, I mean flood-gate wide. It’s a sort of life-force that sweeps aside all jet-lag, embraces the struggle of working in a different language, and says yes, yes, YES!

Looking back, it’s pretty incredible to realise what the group has managed to achieve in a period of twelve days. It makes me realise how if the director is clear about what she is doing, and is backed up by a solid team …. kapow! Anything is possible.

“For this jump to work,” says Rachel to Vinci, “You have to fly past Maru. If you imagine jumping into Maru’s arms, you’re going to be heavy. But if you go past Maru, you’ll be much lighter.” She demonstrates, slamming into 丸仔, who catches her in a spin.

Watching them at work, I realize that this actually can be a much more general principle. If I’d stopped – as I did the first couple of days – to consider how I should be pacing myself: yesterday’s rehearsal, today’s tai chi with my sifu, back to rehearsal, teaching, parent-teacher conferences; rehearsal with my own ensemble for an upcoming performance, a school tour performance, not to mention the ongoing protest against the high-speed rail… I would be exhausted. (Actually, looking at the list, I have every right to be exhausted.)

But the trick is to let all of that go. Prepare well, stay present, and embrace the company of people you are working with. Let that give you energy.

This was particularly easy with this ensemble, because we had people who was so direct with their affections. Wai Yee would grasp my hand and touch it to their cheek; So will clutch at me in his strong hands and not let me go to dinner. May will whisper (at two words a minute), “Can you help me get my bag?”… and then give us souvenirs of pottery and Chinese knots that she has made with her feet…

When I dropped into evening rehearsal with my own ensemble on Friday evening, I brought along the energy from the Blue eyed Soul rehearsals.

“Hey, I learnt this new warm up today. It’s called the pizza warm up!” The cast couldn’t believe how silly the warm-up I learnt from Tidds was, but the excitement was infectious. By the time I taught them the other stretch where you just anchor yourself against your partner, the cast was all rolling on the floor with laughter. It was a wonderful rupture to our usual routine. So when I think about Tidds, I am reminded of her quirkiness, which – when combined with her attentiveness, added a real mix to the project.

I was amazed by how quickly the show came together; and I know that this was due to Arnim’s video and lights. So smart, I thought, to bring along someone to take care of the technical side of things, and really transform the space. The video was really magical (My personal favourite is the “Merry Christmas” circle-dance with the wheel).

What a team. What a fortnight!
I suspect that this visit from Blue Eyed Soul will plant a lot of seeds in all of us, and continue to bear fruit in the days to come.


Hofan is the Artistic Director of Burnt Mango Dance Theatre. She was delighted to be part of this project between Blue Eyed Soul and the Symbiotic Dance Troupe / Center for Community Development. A variant of this post can be found on her own blog here.


Photos by Arnim Friess.