RESIDENCY IN SOMERSET

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It was all quite by chance - I came upon a call for artists for a performance residency and on a whim attended an audition workshop. two days later I was packing my bags tp head for one of the most amazing and intense experience as an artist.
Staying in rural Somerset amidst lush hills and a hike path just round the corner, 13 dancers/theatre artists came together for 15 days to work on the themes of social exclusion and current youth problems due to unemployment, mainly inspired by the works of Foucault (Read ship of fools - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_fools ).
Personally for me, I had the chance to work on a variety of characterizations. We did solos, duets, and group works. Improvisation was the name of the game, and everyday was a new journey. Working with text and objects was completely out of my comfort zone but I did manage to shed my shell during the process.
The artists had a chance to design and offer a workshop for the other participants. The relation of visuals and movement had always been on my mind, and I developed 'Body Canvas', exploring the reaction of the moving body to colours, freezing on the most interesting part of a narrative to create a single 'image', and the perception of the human body as a drawing that could be erased and altered with the brush of movement.
    Of course the most exciting aspect is the fact that we will be performing 'Ship of fools' very soon in London. Cutting short the work developed in 15 days to fit a 45 minutes slot is definitely disheartening as many aspects that were close to our heart are chopped and altered to suit the needs.
But then, the most hauntingly beautiful lesson dance teaches is that everything is ephemeral and constantly changing.
But the memories shall stay on, and hearty thanks to the INCA group for this memorable experience.
Here are a few snaps from our residency :







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