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