A different studio to rehearse in today. Lots of stretching and milling around before we start. The studio has mirrored walls on three sides- cue sheepish averted eyes to the floor or towards the blank wall. Meet some new people.
Rachel leads us in a warm-up of nice extended and contracted movements and a routine that ups tempo and is fun to remember. We get in a circle and play a getting-to-know-you game where we say our names and say something about ourselves, true or false, whilst carrying out an action/movement. Oh no! Multitasking! Deep breaths. It is great to see what everyone chooses to say and do. One that stands out is a woman who is a wife, mother and a friend. She actions the many hats she wears and the stresses she undergoes or manages.
Rachel tells us about the music we will be using for the piece and we have a listen to it. Then we discuss how it made us feel and the things that come to mind. There are lots of travelling happy times, like a wonderful road trip somewhere with friends.
We then think about journeys we make in our daily lives and map out our journeys in the space. Many journeys meet, pass by each other or even collide. When we are not concentrating on our own journeys, it is nice to look up and see the movement about the room, like a polite and mannerly busy day on a London street. “Afer you”, “No, after you”, “Oh, how kind”, and the like.
To expand on this, we are given a number 1-4. We are asked to start our journeys in a cascade after a certain amount of counts in the music for each group. Any confusion and uncertainty throughout is understandable and humorous to watch. We all try to remember counts, remember our journeys and also to look up so as not to bump into each other!
We were asked to think of two character traits last week and these were then utilised for the next task. We devise four movements each in our groups then learn each other’s movements. 20 movements to learn! Gasp, shock and horror. No worries, lets just go for it. All the movements are very different and individual to each person. You start to see more about them through this. Our group managed to learn 10 moves and put them together in some sort of flowing piece. When it comes to performing it however, we freeze at the end and have a little conversation about what comes next. Never mind the audience watching, lets have some tea while we’re at it. All good fun and just a starting point for greater things to come of course.
End of the session and homework for next week. Superheroes and characters. Thoughts of telephone boxes, tights and short shorts spring to mind. Whoosh. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s….it’s….Well, I don’t know yet but I will definitely have a super superhero name by next week anyway.
Photos: Gigi Giannella
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