Diary entry, Company 1, New Adventures and Sadler's Wells Community Group, Chantal Pierre-Packer

Summing Up The Parts- Week 4- The Weekend Day 1

The sun was shining, the weather was sweet. It made us wanna move, our dancin’ feet, yeah! What a beautiful, warm and bright May morning! Another blessed day and we got to spend it rehearsing at Saddlers Wells! Can I find any more reasons for more exclamation marks? Yes, just for the sake of it and to emphasise on paper/virtual visual methods how fun the day was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We were in the large studio with a mirrored wall and windows at the top of 2 walls either side. It was bright and fresh. We went through the walking phrase, which goes into the group phrase. The 4 groups do their routines at different times in the various places we are scattered about. It looks great. There is a movement where a group crouch down and do an action like climbing a rope and then hop over to the side. It is so interesting to watch and is another favourite part of mine.
Rachel was telling us how things would be linking and what would be happening for each transition. There was a mention of a chaos phrase. Exciting! We went through these a few times and Rachel filmed it. The lighting designer came in to watch so he could know how to light us on stage. It is all getting even more real. We know and have always known that we will be performing on the main stage, but the full impact was not realised until today I think, for me anyway. We are really going to be able to say we performed at Saddlers Wells! Us! Yes! Ahhhhhh! (Happy scream, not scared/worried/other uncertain feeling).
We rehearsed the group Superhero phrase (which is super). We went over our workspace phrases where 2 groups are a typewriter then a person in a chair. The other group does a beautiful sequence in a diaganol using legs as levers. Once again, it looks great! The extended body phrase was rehearsed. It is the one where we become the extended head and arms of Mugee (I may have misspelled your name, sorry hun). We spread more and lean in more and we were able to watch ourselves in the mirror. All together now- it looks great!
Rachel is a great choreographer and is open and friendly and gives good direction. She makes suggestions or gives us a new way to do or emphasise something and immediately it is better. Rachel told us to have more levels on the superhero phrase. We needed to get lower on the low points and really stretch and extend the others. It made a huge difference. We went through the whole piece, as best as we could, without the transitions in between. The puzzle has been put together. The lock has its key. The beans have found the bread and we nearly have our cake. It is baking and shall be ready soon. Yummy.
Lunch time. The day was hot and sunny. Some of us went to the supermarket, others to the park and others stayed in the café at Saddlers Wells. London is so fun. Everywhere you go there is something interesting to do or see. There were lots of people in fancy dress walking around Angel. Such fun. After lunch, we were in a different studio. This one was a bit smaller but it had mirrors. Yay!
We got into our pairs for a part we had started to work on which involves a little lift and a twist. We start this standing in a dance stance (rhyming fun), holding each others hands out to the side with one around the waist and the other persons’ hand on the others’ shoulder. We had to develop these and come up with more to follow on. Myself and Mugee had another life and spin and a move from a trust game, amongst others. Once these were completed, they were linked into the whole piece. We had a performance of each pairs’ routines. 2 pairs went at a time and repeated it so we could see each one the whole way through. It was lovelt to watch what people had choreographed and how diverse they were. We each said our superhero names too which influenced how we moved and the relationship with our partners.
The piece was rehearsed from the start, adding in the various pieces along the way so that we could see how it all fit together. There was a part where we went through from start to finish where it seemed we had a collective realisation that we actually now have our whole routine. Smiles, shouts of joy and a healthy applause from us all followed this. We have the cake! It just needs to be tightened up now. Time to add the icing and make it even prettier.
5pm came so quickly. Time to go after a great day of fun in the filtered sun. I think we all felt very happy and satisfied at the end of the day. See you tomorrow morning and just for good measure….!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :o)

Summing Up The Parts- Week 4- The Weekend Day 2

Good morning everyone 10am on a Sunday! Another blessed and beautiful sunny morning. How good is that! The keys were found to the Lillian Baylis studio and we went in. No mirrors, but it is a proper stage with lights, wings and seating. Rachel’s warm-up was very relaxing and got us to focus and fully be in the room mentally and physically. We closed our eyes and made small controlled circles with our bodies. After the warm-up, Rachel explained more anout the stage and where to stands in the wings (the spaces on either side of the stage hidden by the curtains), where performers wait before they enter the stage.
We practiced our workspace phrases. Nerves may have been getting to us a bit as things went a bit wrong and timings were out. This all was remedied though. No worries. Afterwards, we practiced these pieces more and worked on the timings from the start through to the end.
Lunchtime! Time to get our eat on. Most of us ended up in the park opposite and we all sat together chatting. It had gotten a bit nippy by then so we left a bit early to get back into the nice warm building. A dressmaker/costumier came in to see us and a photographer also, before lunch, so some people were being measured and having their photos taken for the programme during lunch. We were in the small studio with mirrors. The curtains had been pulled over the mirrored wall so Ian pulled them back in a lovely dramatic fashion. We have lots of nice moments like this, which is great to see. Everyone is getting to know each other and talking more.
We only had an hour left so lots had to be done. We went through our chaos phrases and the superhero phrase. More of us got measured for costumes. We are going to be in suits with ties and wearing glasses (without lenses). It is going to look super! Some people were taking pictures and videos of their phrases and other parts. It was nice to watch it back. It let us see how important every move we make is, how we stand and our facial expressions too. I need to practice! Rachel went round to each pair to add anything or tighten timings etc. To end, we went through the whole piece once more. We did run out of music but that’s ok and other things will be tweaked also.
Nearly 3pm and the rest of us went with the photographer to get our pictures taken by a big white wall in the canteen area Some ladies put on make-up and got ready for their photos, the rest of us went as we were. Someone joked that the photos would probably be tiny so the make-up would not be seen anyway. Hometime for most while others stayed to rehearse another piece in the show. Out in the street it was still lovely. See you on Tuesday Saddlers Wells.

Summing Up The Parts- Week 5

Lillian Baylis studio today. We have a fun warm-up with Rachel. We walk around saying hello to each other as we lean back and take each others’ weight. Today, we all explore silly voices, most with a high and ladylike/gentlemanly elongated “hellooooo”. Very warm after this warm-up: time for a drink of water. Rachel tells us that today we will be tidying everything up. Some people forget where they are or have not gotten into the zone yet and panic that we’re doing some sort of cleaning of the theatre! Nope, it’s tidying up the piece everyone, to make it succinct and look even better. Relax.
We go through from the top and stop after the journeys. Rachel gives us notes about how to stand and walk. We should behave like the audience is all around us and we have eyes in our backs. This makes us all walk tall and proud and keeps our focus. Paul has a strong starting walk with a good incentive. We all watch him and see the difference it makes. With the notes in our heads, we go through it again. Rachel says it is so much more improved already.
We keep going through it up to certain sections and Rachel gives us notes as we go along. In our 4 different groups, we go over the phrases again. Rachel helps each group make the movement look as good as it should. In our group, we need to focus our eyes more and know where we are looking. Look to the fingers as we stretch, follow the hand round as we spin, look into our hands as we drop the water then look out and insure there is a definite stop to our arms as we drop them. No looking down at our feet when we skip as the energy is lost. We need to look up and out and have some bounce in our skips. The lifting of our imaginary object needs to show that we have a weight that we are lifting up and over. We incorporated all this and it looks splendid indeed.
In another part where 2 groups are typewriters, Rachel is able to shave off 8 counts so we do things a bit quicker and once again it looks splendid. We walk through the chaos phrase where we are all in partners and get the counts right in our heads and work out where everyone joins the group superhero phrase. Time for a little ‘road trip’. We get led through some doors and out onto….the Saddlers Wells main stage! It is great to step out onto it and see the size of it all. It looks a lot bigger than the Lillian Baylis. People worry that they will not be able to get across the whole stage in the same way. Others worry about the amount of people in the audience. So many thoughts. Some of us just smile and feel happy at the thought of performing in a professional production. It is real. This is happening and all of our family and friends will really be out there in the seats watching and supporting us as we perform the beautiful dance in suits. Yay! If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands (clap clap, clap, clap, applause, encore, bravo. Oops, daydream!).
Back to the studio for the last half an hour. We go through it from the top but it goes a bit awry at the end. Rachel tells us that 2 groups started a bit late. Repeat. All find and dandy. People are really getting nervous and anxious now, worrying and doubting their abilities. Don’t worry folks. You all know whay you are doing and have been doing well all this time. “Things can only get better…” Just believe in yourselves.