I am writing after an intense week… made more intense by cricking my neck (which I think is a collective tension from lugging a set all over the country!)
But it has also been a week FULL of gratitude!
This week I started a new project (working title “Welcome to our House”) a collaboration with Akeim Toussaint Buck, which we are creating on BA3 students at The Place in London. The Place is also where I trainied many years ago so it feels so delicious and full circle to be back here now creating!
And the group of artists are real life superstars, so it is joyful to be working with them. So far the themes emerging include;
The flow state (which I like to call a state of being in innocence or in no sense),
Holding ourselves whole versus believing we have a ‘hole’ or need fixing by someone else,
How we relate to others,
Siu Lim Tao, a Wing Chun concept meaning, “The little idea for beginning”
And of course… the snakes (because they are always there in the beginning of time…)
And then meanwhile, upstairs at The Place, I have been rehearsing The Rainbow Butterfly and I just LOVE this beautiful show, it’s message, it’s heart: WOW! The Rainbow Butterfly is finished (ish: but is a piece every really finished I wonder?) and I LOVE it!
As you know, it took us a while (two years) to get this project funded (meanwhile I toured a version as a solo but now I finally realised the full and epic vision of the show in its entirety). And I see now why the funding finally landed at the most divine timing because the piece really has arrived at the place where it is realising the vision inside my head and it is an absolute JOY to see it on the amazing team Maja.
Team Maja are: Georgina & Jay X & Joana Dias and they really are a dream team! The music was made by Marv Radio, and the costumes and silks by Zephyr Liddell. The lighting design is by Dav Bernard. We have also had some amazing guests in the space with us: Emma Houston who is a breaker and dear friend of many years (we used to train together back in the day), as our breaking expert and consultant, Bel (an amazing beatboxer!) as our voice support, and Eva Martinez as Dramaturgy (and it has been an absolute pleasure and JOY to work with her too plus another full circle having initially connected 7 years ago for my Sadler’s Wells wildcard!)
On Sunday, we will be filming the piece and getting some photos with the genius who is Dan Martin… and then we are READY to go out on the road and will be taking bookings for 2023-2025 (how exciting!) If you would like to know more, our tour pack (not quite finished but a work in progress!)
HEREI want to also say a HUGE thanks to The Place for having us, to my amazing bid writer Beverley Thomas, and to all of the team and support from Will Bridgland, Christina Elliot & Lia Pretanki at the Place, as well as all the team who originally commissioned the work: South East Dance, Dance East, Yorkshire Dance and Artists4Artists.
And of course, thank you Arts Council of England for this amazing opportunity and to Team Maja who I am so in awe of and blessed to be working with!
Meanwhile, over at Maya Gandaia, I am about to launch The SACRED Bowl on the 14th June. The SACRED Bowl is a course to bring balance to your pelvic space and includes LIVE (online) sessions in group twice yearly.
The Pelvic bowl is our powerhouse: the centre of our creativity, and also where we feel everything. This course teaches practices to bring balance and healing to this sacred space, to support you with energetic and physical boundaries and with creative inspiration to learn to live from this epic intuitive and creative centre… and for launch month, lifetime access to the course (and the twice yearly LIVE (online) sessions are only £33 (and last for life!) Sign up HERE
And finally, if you want to come and see Akeim and my choreography, support The Place graduates and also see work by Alethia Antonia,Kennedy Junior Muntanga, and Shobana Jeyasingh, book HERE
