stagnant

oh for a whoosh, spit, drip or drizzle, a splash, rush, swirl or eddy...any stirrers ??

Reminders

I got a CD of photos from Stir the other day. Just spent a very enjoying time looking through them. It's amazing that over a month later there are a number of individual moments captured that I can still remember experiencing - they have truly stuck in my mind.

I obviously have a few favourites, and unsurprisingly a fair number of them feature yours truly, but I'm again blown away by the quality of the photography - well done Adam! There's some serendipitous moments that made me laugh out loud, some carefully captured perspectives that made me notice things I never would have seen, and just some lovely expressions and shapes captured that I would never have got to see otherwise.

I really appreciate getting a copy of the photos and am keeping them close to hand as a reminder and inspiration for the future.

A selection of photos

Hi all
Images published on the Cheshire Dance website this time.
A selection from the whole project.
Enjoy
http://www.cheshiredance.org/gallery.html
Adam

Souvenir bruises and Thank yous

After returning from a relaxing, celebratory drink on Sunday night, I was sore, but contented after a job well done. A couple of hot baths later and I'm fully recovered and raring to go.

Just wanted to say a big thank you to Jacqueline and Ruth for inviting me onto the project and helping me find my dancing body again. I'm even more certain now that I've done the right thing heading back into the community dance world. I would definitely not be feeling as ready, as confident and as excited to get started if I hadn't had the privilege to participate in Stir.

Thanks also to Jody who did a fab job keeping everything organised. Thanks to Trisha for inspiring me to get my Yoga video back out!

Thanks again to the group...it couldn't have been a friendlier bunch (and Facebook me as well as James! ). I look forward to our crossing paths in the near future...and also any more collaborations...let's get the next project on the go!

See y'all soon

xx

Unofficial photography

Kazik found it, I'm sharing it...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbandigital/3871554258/in/set-72157622129343710/

Reflection

In the aftermath of the project, as my body starts the healing process, I wanted to write about my experience as a whole, as well as how the last week's work has been.

Our final week had a very different feel to before, though I cannot contribute that all to the difference in focus. Having now spent two weeks working with Ruth and Jacqueline, as part of this group of supportive dancers, and had some time between each session to let the experience settle in my mind and body, I find that my initial reaction to such a different process (namely shock and confusion) has subsided and now I have been able to not only embrace this new way for me to work but actually embrace and enjoy it. The focus has been entirely different too, however.

Our first session, the residential/retreat week out in the beautiful greenery of that place whose name I've forgotten, was a very grounding experience. As a group we introduced our movement to each other and studied in quite a lot of depth some particular types of movement without the distraction of thinking about how this would be used in the space. When we did visit the space briefly it was to play and have fun.

The second session served a different purpose, to now intentionally explore the space, the movement that reflected it, and to develop ideas, movements and phrases that could be used in the piece. Again, in order to protect us from getting too fixed, we kept each moment as a separate idea, with only a brief glimpse of how it might develop into a piece in order to prepare us for our latest time together.

This third and final session moved gears into creation, shaping and setting of the final work. Some work was forgotten, some rejected and others mourned as limitations made them unavailable to the piece. Getting into the more familiar territory of planning, rehearsal and performance I will admit to feeling much more comfortable with this session. This coupled with the now close connections I have with the individuals in the group meant that the whole week has been a joy.

I'm massively grateful to have been able to go through such a different project in such a safe and supported way. The fact that I couldn't see how it would work out in the end has been an excellent exercise in allowing events to unfold and to not resist them.

In the work I have previously been involved in I have seen a lot of the second and third structures, the exploration and setting of movement, but the ideas introduced to me by having a session to explore some more underlying thoughts and concepts before going into movement will be invaluable to my dance work in the future.

As well as a new and improved way of working, I have been fortunate enough to meet some truly beautiful people through this project. Whilst it is natural to bond more with some that others, through circumstance or personal resonance, I am delighted that there is no-one who is a stranger to me at the end of this project. To have been surrounded by folks with open hearts and minds, eager to connect and find common ground, is such a radically different experience to that which most of us experience from day to day that I am truly grateful to have been immersed in that for even a short length of time. I have a renewed sense of determination, shared with others in the group, to ensure that this experience does not end with this project.

Personally, this project is part of my 'Summer of 2009' which is going to be a landmark in my life for years to come. I have talked about 2009 being my year of personal exploration within the group and this summer has been a turning point for me, with the Stir project forming part of that transformation. I still don't know where I'm going, but at least I can be at peace with that now. I don't know how things will work out, but I have a great lesson in Stir of going with, rather than against, what I am experiencing in the moment. I have had amazing conversations that have helped me to clarify and explore ideas fundamental to my way of seeing the world and it is not an exaggeration to say that I am a completely different person to when I first came along to the project, and that is not limited to the surface level.

I'm searching for more ways to express the impact that this project, and the time which it has spanned, has had on me. Perhaps for now I will have to let it settle some more and come back here to reflect on the impact that will be felt in the coming months.

Thank you to everyone involved, and if you're on Facebook then friend me!

let's try that again with the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1KOcBYGjM

MJ tribute