a transcript, with clickables:
Lads, I’m not gonna lie. Like having to re-record that episode has really thrown me off so hopefully this is the one that gets me back onto track. There’s also a thing I’m realising where if I’m having admin weeks.. I don’t know. I’m conflicted about doing this weekly just to do it weekly. I can always find something to yap about, but I’m increasingly aware of the amount of noise on the internet and I want to be adding to that consciously and not just because I must keep to this weekly schedule. We’ll see.. so clearly in the beginning phases. I mean, you’re joining me as I walk my dog. So we’ll see.
So I am skipping a week at home, which did have a funding application in the mix of it. Not too much to say on that, except I am finding increasing ease around that, and I think when I was trying with ACE for iii, it was high pressure to me just because it was so deserving. I’m sure you’ll feel that way. I mean, that’s not true. I think some people putting funding apps just to like, have a go. All that to say. The work that I’m keeping an eye out for.. applications for, like it’s a really strong and ever more distilling distilled idea, and I think that makes it easier, is making it easier to throw caution to the wind. And I think the thing about funding applications for me is how time consuming they can be and like the language that is expected, as I’ve spoken about before in my withering takedown of ACE. But yeah, I’ve put in a couple this week too, shan’t start getting too tangled in the time frame, but, yeah, I’m feeling right about that, which is good.
Anyway, the week in question, I came into London to see La Horde and.. I really try to get a little French on that when I pronounce it.. and Rambert’s show We Should Have 1 Walked On The Moon. Geni Lou very kindly gave me access to a dress run and preview. Insane that they had full access to the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall at South Bank, like not just curated a few spaces, like had the place, like mad. I will say I ran out of steam after about an hour and a half. I was supposed to go with someone and that didn’t happen and I was coming in for the show, but it was also to see the human being. And without that, it was like, I care, I don’t care enough about this to be getting back to Margate at two in the morning. So kept it short so I can’t say I saw everything. I saw like a rave type piece when I first walked in. I saw a couple of short films in the basement of Royal Festival Hall where the free like cypher space training space is. Then I wandered over to Queen Elizabeth and saw something in the foyer. That was probably the biggest dance number that I saw and then I saw was what seemed to just be a Zoom call. Manufactured or not, I couldn’t quite tell because I didn’t stay for all of it, but enjoyed like, you know, the extraction of process, I suppose.
And then my favourite thing was in the auditorium of Royal Festival Hall, you sat on the stage and watched a film on a screen that had been put up amongst the seats. And then a duet happened in front of that. That was my favourite use of space.
I think for makers and those that I’ve spoken to, it’s really hard to watch and be amongst something like that and not be like, what would I do with this? I don’t have the answer to that but what a fucking privilege and how insane really to be given for three, four nights and beyond to kind of get it up on its feet I’m sure, takeover of those institutions. Insane.
I wasn’t, I noticed after the fact that it included kind of Rambert and La Horde company dancers and students and community, whatever that means. I took it to mean like mass like volunteer, like maybe not professionals, but I don’t know how they defined that. But I didn’t find the quality, the first thing I watched for sure, the quality of the dance, I was a bit confused. Like I didn’t think it was very good. I’m allowed to have my opinion on that and that was my opinion on that. It’s not all to my taste and I knew what I was in for with that.. But I could appreciate the rest as like, good, even though I didn’t like it particularly.
What I struggled with was the map and yes, choose your adventure and choose your own adventure and just wander around and see what you see but you’re aware that you’re at something that’s only on for three nights and there are some quite big pieces that only happen twice and trying to time your journey around with that and I didn’t think the map was particularly clear. So I struggled and that did affect my experience, made it kind of more chore than I would have liked and was kind of the thing that took me out. I just, I was like, yeah, I don’t think I have the energy for this, actually. But yeah, it happened and is a logistical feat. I’m not going to take that away from them. And yeah, I’m glad I got to see it.
I also got to see Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before it left Sadler’s Wells to note it, but mostly just to see my work on that stage. And it was really beautiful and I thought I’d judge the state of the show more harshly because it was Sadler’s, but actually, um well, that’s a separate thought too. It was really in decent shape. I went to say really good, but let’s not let’s not get above our stations here. It was in decent shape and I did get a little emotional at a point, but it is a point where I always get emotional because Barnaby Race the composer really did a thing in one of the songs and it gets me every time, which is mad because I’ve seen that show so many times.
I find noting a show difficult in the like picking battles of what to relay because when I know the pressure that the touring team are under with that show just getting it up everywhere without like my pernicketies and it’s interesting because I’m entitled to these pernicketies like it’s my work and some things aren’t in the shape that they need to be but some of the smaller notes, I’m like, without me being the person to relay them and see that they’re in, be able to have a cleaning call, see that it’s been fixed, then watch that night, then maybe watch the next night as would happen in the initial building of a show generally.. without that ability, just like passing this on to a DC2 as well, not even to a Resident and DC’s.. love them and they are doing a stellar job, I didn’t choose them and they were bestowed upon me, which is, I could honestly talk for like two hours about the journey of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and how my team or lack thereof has come about.
But yeah, I find that really interesting because I watch it, I see it, I write it down, and then it comes to relay and I’m like, there is no point in doing this. A me problem perhaps, but a systemic problem almost probably more.
So that happened and then on Sunday, I’d taken the summer off with sweet spot sundaze sessions. Generally quieter turnout and there are a couple of instances last summer where I had to shift dates because one must frolic and see the music artists that I love so I just kind of decided to not do it and we were back and it was lovely. It’s really good timing for me as well at the minute with the work that I’ve been doing at Choreodrome, it’s born out of sweet spot sessions and the sessions with my mates that predated those and to return to it and like the core and feeling of the thing was really, really special for me. And yeah, just to hold space for peeps to come and do what they want. And yeah, it’s not something I take lightly, however lightly the endeavour actually is. Yeah, really beautiful to return.
I’ll leave it there and I’ll return. I’ll return with more things next week.
Never*. oops.
Dance Captain
