19th Time Passes...Penlee House Performance

posing in front of the painting
Zo, Zoe, Anna and Colin

Tiia has joined us this term, Toby, Joseph, Zo, Annis and Skye

In the warm up upstairs Trevor decided he wanted to stand on the table!

performing group with Jo L in back up and Tina backstage
Star, Kerry, Jo L,Trevor, Tina, Demelza, Tiia, Joseph, Marjorie, Zo, Annis, Anna Skye, Katherine, Toby, Colin, Katie and Zo.

The performing space was small so no photos from the performance.
We had our Christmas party/lunch in the afternoon then rolled on to Penlee House to perform and receive good news from Diana of some donations coming in!!
Demelza was able to sign some of the songs and poem at short notice..and it was lovely to see old friends in the audience.

Contrasts

Quick snap shots from verbal feedback received last night.

Joanne had never seen us before, Tony has seen us a lot and Zoe as a new performer, also interestingly an artist and musician, as I write this I realise that they all are artists and musicians, Zoe is currently studying Art A level.



"Very moving" ........Joanne Short  www.joanneshort.info/

"Dances really worked well with the exhibition in both galleries....."
 Tony Minnion www.tonyminnion.co.uk/

"As soon as I leave school I want to join the main company" ........Zoe Osmond 16 her first performance with us

Welcome to Andrew who joins us also for his first performance although used to performing with Access Theatre.

Thank you to photographer Simon Roff - photos coming soon.

It feels as though Shallal 2 is embedding itself deeper into the artistic world of Falmouth, with a good capacity audience of family and friends and those who haven't seen us approx 35, and thanks to the Falmouth Art Gallery for the commission and their support and councillors Hanna Toms and Candy Atherton whose community chest donations helped to fund our rehearsals.

Last comment from Lou Brett who although she has given us so much help hadn't seen a performance before:
"Thank you so much for the show tonight ..... I really loved it and it really felt like a response to artists' studios and making art - the more abstract it was the better it became.  Congratulations for all of that creative work."

It was a particularly hard devising and rehearsal process this time so wonderful to see it work so well and receive feedback. Thank you and well done to all the performers some of whom were unstinting in their creative efforts towards it all, and here's to the next show! 


Lastly for me the pleasure of feedback and discussion afterwards with my husband Peter who until his recent poor health has seen nearly all our work, and is my favourite critic - obviously! -he could see the difference our new improvisation approaches have given to the work.

Contrasts at Falmouth Art Gallery 18th

Shallal Residency confirmed!! 20-24 July, 2015

I have often looked longingly at the potential for residencies and thought lovely but not possible, I have 5 children, 2 now grown up, but still not an easy family to leave and go off for an artistic jaunt. There are  30 members in our main company at present and logistically with support needs etc it would cost so much and the organisation would be very high, so nice idea but not sure how we could pull it off.
So imagine my delight when Adrian Bossey at The Performance Centre said lets have a chat and see what we could do in the next year, over a cup of tea ( the only way to be really creative) he suggested applying for an AMATA (Academy of Music and Theatre Arts) residency.

I live about 2-3 miles away from The Performance Centre, it is a possible reality and we have just heard that:

 Shallal are booked into Studio C from 20-24 July, 2015.

Yippee!

  The joy of working in the space and having the time to explore and invite in guests and friends to "play"  with us.

The impulse behind the residency is to continue to explore and expand Always New our new Open Improvisation performance technique with George Bradley-Peer, and when we explore the same idea with recorded music I had the thought yesterday that we will go back to a theme we have only looked at then left of Landscapes - by providing a musical landscape /stimulus for when we haven't live music!! Oh fun can't wait....

http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/facilities/performance-centre

In scope and scale, The Performance Centre on our Penryn Campus ranks as one of the most sophisticated facilities of its kind in Europe.

Physically, it is a £19m assembly of 11 high specification performance and rehearsal studios, 12 practice rooms, an analogue and digital recording studio complex, seminar, exhibition and display spaces.

Whatever your chosen discipline, The Performance Centre encourages innovative collaborations across all our subject areas. It is a creative hub for students as well as local, national and international companies and practitioners for performance, rehearsal and devising.

But it's not simply a venue. It is a collaboration of world-class thinkers and practitioners dedicated to delivering our innovative degree programmes in music, theatre, dance, and cultural management and production, alongside a performance-based public programme.

Words not used in funding applications (and notes from Penlee House performance next Friday 19th Dec)

Starving in our garrets isn't quite as appropriate an image for performing artists as visual artists or writers, and the world changes, patronage is always important, helpful and necessary and we spend a lot of time working on applications and bids.
We have an excellent voluntary team at present and so I do hope one day to be less involved in the actual writing......anyway there are certain words you learn to replace and i would like now to celebrate them and use them again as they are the words of poetry which don't always or often sit with accountability, planning, strategy, outputs, outcomes and money - the words of bid writing.

Poetic Words

Hope .....................one of my absolute favourites and not to be lost
Wonder
Possibly
Dream
Imagine
Wish
Unsure ...................actually opening to the world of, we don't know everything?!


The reason for these, I am sitting down preparing words of poetry for next Friday's performance at Penlee House. I am looking forward to it as we drag out and dust off old favourites, along side new work:
I sit here immobile - beautiful, from Bill's Dream performed in Penlee Gardens many years ago
Mothers and Daughters with it's third set of mothers and daughters, the original Marjorie and Zoe are joined by Katie and Zo with Katherine
Port Quinn - third time, first performed at The Acorn Theatre, Penzance over 20 years ago, when we were named Sea-Saw!
Johnny Groat whose main performance was before the start of a Mazey Day Parade out side St John's Hall over 20 years ago!! with Tim and Zoe
I first heard this song at a friends wedding party in a quarry with a lake, it was sung by Crone Hire, Anna Marie Murphy and Sue Hill, who had just paddled around the corner with a large withy pink heart lantern in a canoe - not to be forgotten!

Also inspired by the fact that my favourite art forms are non-verbal, dance, art, music they open us to the world without words, which can surround them but but can't fully explain them.

Next week our performance is inspired by the Walter Langley painting titled "Time Moveth Not, Our Being 'Tis That Moves" 1882.

Thank you to our new trustee Tina who researched these for us.

"Time …..

Still on its  march, unheeded and unfelt,

Moves our being

We do live and breathe

And we are gone"

Henry Kirk White

Here's the passage where the quote for the painting comes from:

Time moveth not! - our being ‘tis that moves;
And we, swift gliding down life’s rapid stream,

Dream of swift ages and revolving years,

Ordain’d to chronicle our passing days:So the young sailer in the gallant bark,
Scudding before the wind, beholds the coast
Receding from his eyes, and think the while
Struck with amaze, that he is motionless,
And that the land is sailing. 

Shallal 2 Portmeor exhibition rehearsal, Thank you to Anne

Last night Shallal 2 went to Falmouth Art Gallery to rehearse, the beauty of the space: surrounded by current Porthmeor Studios art work, shiny smooth wooden floor, high ceiling was enjoyed by all of us, it helped us focus and there was a lot to do. Everyone rose to the occasion as I changed the order and one piece of music...
The rehearsals had been struggling with a narrative that seemed to work, but didn't quite...so narrative out the window - hurray for me, I'm not a story teller - but a struggle for some performers who are ...so congratulations to Eddie as he found his way through all the changes and by the end had taken his characters and scenarios into their new flow. We are now working 'contrasts' and are much happier, if we could have a large stage...who knows maybe Performance Centre in the summer - I would explore splitting it and using alternate sides. But for now, well done performers and thank you for your patience it has been a tough creation process, we have lost Peter for this term as he had health issues and he held a lot of the focus in some dances, but we have been joined by Andrew whose mum Aileen dedicatedly drives from their home at St Breward nr Wadebridge each week, so Andrew can come, and Zoe Osmond who has worked with us over years but hasn't  been available for a performance before.
Thanks to Falmouth councillors Candy Atherton and Hannah Toms for supporting this project as well as Falmouth Art Gallery for the invitation.

Thanks also to new trustee Tina Cockett and all past and present behind the scenes supporting Shallal.

Big Thank you to trustee Anne Mackay who has just left.
 Anne has done most things in her time with us:
Supporting many early Shallal 2 sessions, supporting performances and fund raising events, introducing the popular open mike sessions, research, writing applications for Friends and Dancing particularly, supporting and developing the new Sketchbooks and Shallal Studios, supporting main company Art  and production sessions, generating sponsorship from Derwent art suppliers and more..... This is where you begin to worry you have forgotten something. I have, her whole family have given generously of their time and talents, digital support and design from Jem, Zian and Jewel helping at fund raising events, Rhoda a loyal audience, and Skye - we'll save her full thanks for another time - who we all know so well and this is just the art side as behind the scenes within the trustees and ethos world Anne has shared skills, outlook and support, and has seen many changes in her 5+ years with us and without the support from trustees behind the scenes we may not have survived.

Jo Lumber, Jewel, Jem, Skye, Anna, Anne, Sue Leggett and Toby

Thanks also to trustee Sue Leggett who helped us for a year and brought valuable skills, approach and experience.

Shared Vision 25 July - late post of feedback/comments

while checking through old posts I found this in draft form....never too late to share so here it is with apologies for lateness!

Audience Comments

"...really enjoyed the performance it was beautiful."  

"Absolutely beautiful evening  - thank you again Shallal,"  Kerry xxx (Kerry worked with us many years ago) 

"Very moving" - Helen James

"Brilliant Show"

"Thank you for a very entertaining evening with lots of magical moments."

"We came to see Shared Vision at the Performance Centre and wish to say how wonderful it was.  Thank you to all who participated and to Jo and Colin and everybody.  The dancing, the themes and the music, absolutely terrific.

Thank you,"

Esmé, Cathy, Peter and cousin Caroline and friend Paru.

from the 21 Nov Penlee House

               Many thanks to Barbara, Louise, Zoe and all the team at Penlee House.

                                     Here are some ipad snaps from 2 of the 7 short performances.

"The rain it raineth"

"Among the missing"

                 A powerful piece to end on which had many of us near tears!

Well done to Finn, second time performing with us and only been with us just two months! Thank you to everyone as always and especially to George, whose talents allow us to fully explore this way of improvising.
We will be back at Penlee House on 19th December 4pm, this time with recorded music as George is flying to America. We are looking at reworking some old favourites ie: Mothers and daughters, 2 Sunsets, and Derek Jarmans poem set to music "I sit here immobile" and to the coming weeks of intense rehearsals to create new work!

New App inspires Shallal Dance Theatre performance at Penlee House this Friday 21st November 11am - 11.30am

New App inspires Shallal Dance Theatre performance at Penlee House this Friday 21st.


The last few months has seen the testing of a new heritage app developed by West

Cornwall media social enterprise, awen productions CIC, with different groups of people.

Walkabout West Cornwall app, now in its final stages of testing, explores approx. 5,000

years of social history locating the fine art and other artifacts of Penlee House Gallery

and Museum within the local landscape. Shallal Dance Theatre company have been

one of the groups who have thoroughly enjoyed immersing themselves in new app

technology as it brought the surrounding  environment and objects to life. They have

visited the collection at Penlee House where director Louise Connell gave them a special

view of ‘Among the Missing’, a powerful and  evocative painting by Walter Langley,

which forms the springboard  for a new dance piece. The app also inspired Shallal to

get out and about to Newlyn Bridge, near where they rehearse, to see where Harold

Harvey painted his version of the bridge in 1906. ‘The Breadwinners’, the iconic  ‘The

Rain it Raineth’, The Mermaid’s Chair at Zennor, and a photograph of the Breaches buoy

also inform and provide the catalyst for this new series of work by Shallal which will be

performed at Penlee on Friday 21st between 11am and 11.30am.

Joe Willis, Creative Director of Shallal says, “We are delighted to be involved in this

project and look forward to sharing the work with a wider audience. I was surprised by

the interest and passion everyone in the company brought to the work from the myriad

of images and information to choose from on the marvellous app. We have really enjoyed

discovering and on the way everyone has learnt more about the art, culture and the

environment of our home/area."

Joining Shallal is local musician George Bradley-Peers, whose wonderful and evocative

improvisations form the backbone to the work, all spontaneously improvised to the event,

the short performances contain a range of humour, style and emotion.

Barbara Santi, director of awen productions, “As well as this innovative way of testing

our app we have been to Mounts Bay School where students from the Arts Award group

have been making short films about local history as a response to using Walkabout West

Cornwall app as an educational resource.” The short films will also be on display at

Penlee on the 21st.


Walkabout West Cornwall app will be available to the public for free in the new year. For

more information go to www.awen.org.uk.


awen productions CIC is a community interest company based in Cornwall. It is a

production company with a strong social agenda. Barbara Santi is a founder director.

great last night for Shallal Studio residency

The 31st October isn't the easiest night to get an audience but we were thrilled at the turn out for our Back Lane West celebration and sharing.
There are images and more information on:
www.shallalstudios.com/blog

and we are so pleased to say the excitement and joy of it all is mutual and they want us back!!

So watch out October 2015, artists keep your diaries clear and lots of excited planning about to happen. This last residency ran on "a wing and a prayer" as they say and enthusiasm, no-one was paid but with more supportive funding so much more could happen. I showed Demelza the garden down the lane where performances could sit in curious corners. Last night the town clock face was lit pink and the gardens were lit with blue and green lighting!

Stuart brought along work he and Eddie had done, it got great response and there are so many possibilities especially for installations and research with it, What is it? you ask and i can't explain, I need to ask Stuart to write it up for me, but it involves, film, green screens, back projection and interaction with dancers and backdrop and possibly music!! A possible Unlimited proposal i think.

Charter for Compassion

Shallal was invited by an old friend Tam to join the Charter of Compassion.

http://charterforcompassion.org/

The Cornish part are celebrating at The Eden Project tomorrow. Zoe Wilton from Shallal was invited to sign it but I am unsure if she can get there.

  Introduction to the Charter for Compassion (2+ minutes). 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxO-6SaNMvg)

 Inspiring Charter text that won a TED Prize (2+ minutes):

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wktlwCPDd94)

Candoco workshop audition for Kerry and Star!

"Shallal company members Star and Kerry Jackson have only got themselves a workshop audition with the wonderful Candoco Dance Company on November 15th. It's in London and they're SOOOOO excited! ..."

Photo by Andy Parker, from Echoes Dance co www.echoesdanceco.com

This is from our facebook page, which Star kindly manages for us.

www.facebook.com/ShallalDanceTheatreCompany

We are so thrilled for them and wish them well!

Level 2 BSL for Demelza - newspaper

Demelza sent me this the other day, Congratulations to her for level 2 BSL.

We have just finished our Moving Words Project that Demelza was involved in and there are photos to blog soon from that to.

short films at "GLIMPSE" integrative dance event

Recently i missed a lovely opportunity, and an email reply i wrote went into draft and wasn't sent! oops, i came across it later by chance and so it arrived too late.

So today: 

ROC Creative presents ‘GLIMPSE’, an integrative dance event hosted by SculptMotion Dance Company, on Saturday 1 November 2014 at the Palace Theatre, Paignton, Devon TQ3 3HF 

http://danceindevon.org.uk/event/glimpse/

I had been invited to lead a 2 hr workshop, sadly as i replied late they found others, but i am flattered as Anjali Dance Company  http://www.anjali.co.uk/ are running it now. I have heard about them for a long time, (but being in Cornwall) have never seen or met them.

We looked into taking some work in progress to show but all was too late and there was no supporting funding available anywhere to enable that to happen quickly. We hope to meet and share with them at some other opportunity.

The reason for blogging this is to share that, although we may not be there some of our films will be!

  

"We are hoping to show three clips tomorrow; Doorways, The Crows and Red."

Suzanna Oxenham  

The films were made by Barbara Santi,  Red and Crows involved editing input from some of the dancers. 

Doorways: http://vimeo.com/47402982 

Red: http://vimeo.com/67321025 

The Crows: http://vimeo.com/48207959 

It is so good to know there are integrative dance events happening, and we hope they have a great day.

MIke and Lou Brett's private view this weekend

Next lovely event!

For one weekend only!

We would love to invite you to come and see our new paintings and prints at Back Lane West gallery in Redruth next weekend 25th and 26th October.

The private view is from 12noon to 4pm on Saturday 25th (beginning of half term) - if you come all the way to Redruth we will treat you to home made cake and posh tea in tea pots.

Back Lane West is easy to get to by train and easy to park (parking Station Hill).

9 Back Lane West TR15 2BT.

http://backlanewest.org/index.php?/home/news-/

Hope to see you there.

Mike and Lou
07792059854

http://www.loubrett.com/

Not only a chance to socialise with lovely art but also to meet Lou who has done and continues to do such a lot to support Shallal Studios, and the main company through her bid writing skills etc

Melanie is busy working in the studios until the w/e and sent me this after her first day!

 

Pop Up "Poetry Party" today

Today!

Pop Up "Poetry Party"

at Falmouth Art Gallery

featuring Fools: Colin and Daniela

 Actor, Steven Kelly

with singer song writer Skye Mackay and more!

All free with refreshments!

Hope to see you there

for some reason the title on the Art gallery poster took Moving Words too literally!

Photos from Friday! Newlyn pop up and Wardrobe ideas

 Pop Up at Newlyn Art Gallery, thank you to Simon Jacques and Annie Metcalfe, we had a good time and Trevor was on form!

Colin and Finn, Finn's third week and he was going to watch but then was inspired by rhythm!

These are just taken on the ipad and in true non photographer mode many of the best parts i was enjoying so much i forgot to photograph!

 Came away very over excited at the thought of doing a lot of these in a variety of venues, I was then frequently reminded to wait till Spring and warm weather! But i am inspired by them, the amazing freedom and creativity they give the performers and the relationship between music and dance/theatre.
 Thank you so much to George whose instinctive music and creativity make this possible and it was the first day of his new work mode!

I then struggled with how these fit into our work and realised we have 3 strands at present:
Commissions - thank you to all who invite us to work with them

Brief - projects, an extended Doorways is still percolating in the background waiting to emerg

 Freedom - spontaneous work

So onto the afternoon:
between Wardrobe workshops we digest what we have learnt and this time i asked everyone to think of colours, designs they would like and a wealth of great ideas came forth, some below!

I am awaiting Anna and Annis to create a Wardrobe blog where we can record and share the project, but they are immersed in GCSE's this term and we don't have internet at rehearsals but hopefully we can soon share that with you.

Birthdays

My printer broken at present so just blogging Kerry and Glen's birthday cards.
The style of card is from a Shallal tradition, before we could access images as easily, so that performers had a record of some of their work in the past year.
Cards usually come with cake - which we can't share so easily, but you can share some if you get to  St Peter's Hall today 12.15 - 1pm,
 after our Always New excursion pop up at Newlyn Art Gallery today approx 11am..this should keep us on our toes!
in at the deep end! so far this term we have been researching and less dancing, so it will be fun!

October Events

Lots on this term, starting with:

Don't miss this Friday 10 October:

Shallal Dance Theatre can be seen in Newlyn Art Gallery

 as part of Newlyn Art Festival to perform some of Always New in pop up form, 

well worth seeing, their new style with improvising musician George Peers is entertaining and amusing, approximate timing 11am.

Shallal Studios Residency continues at Back Lane West, Redruth all month, more information on www.shallalstudios.com/projects.html

do come and drop into Shallal Studio Artists days.....

I'm off there to day with all the Shallal Studio artists and friends, Jo Lumber enjoyed her time there yesterday a seed bed of ideas...

Some photos from Anna and Annis on http://www.shallalstudios.com/blog 

Very excited about :

Moving Words celebratory Pop Up "Poetry Party" is hosted by Falmouth Art Gallery on Saturday 18th October 2 - 4 pm

Pop Up "Poetry Party"

A drop in event with spontaneous pop ups, celebrating Shallals' Moving Words Project. 

Interactive and Fun, featuring Words, Fools, Performers, Poems and Songs.

The Moving Words Project, explores written, spoken and signed language.

Hope you can join us!

We can share with you that lovely Steve Kelly, Colin Curbishley and Skye Mackay will be entertaining us along with others! 

More News!

Shallal 2 will be at Falmouth Art Gallery on 18th December event starts 5.30pm with refreshments,performance at 6pm - come and be entertained and do some late night shopping in Falmouth!

Our fundraising Annual Sponsored Dance Friday 21 November at St Peter's Hall, Newlyn 10am - 1pm, All Welcome

followed by our AGM 2pm - 4pm

(we are looking for new trustees, if you are interested please contact admin@shallal.org.uk )

Shallal Dance Theatre: performances coming up at Penlee House Gallery and Museum later this term, really interesting visit last week, thank you to Zoe and Louise.

A lovely photo from Andy's collection well worth a look on https://www.flickr.com/photos/fezparker/sets

Skye, Trevor and George from Always New at  Shared Vision

Barbara came into the main company and showed us the Walkabout West Cornwall app, it's free and really interesting. Loads of ideas and inspiration from it.
www.walkaboutapp.co.uk/content/walkabout-west-cornwall

George came and is celebrating his new life role as he soon leaves his old job based at The Leskudjack Centre where we were for the day, and explores art, music and home.

Colin has many photos from the day as we explored ideas in the morning and then enjoyed Silk screen workshop with Melanie.

And another photo from Shared Vision, as Shallal 2 are pleased to be working with Falmouth Art Gallery on their Cultural Triangle Project this term, culminating in a performance at an evening event on 18th December 5.30pm for 6pm, free and seasonal refreshments!

New term

A planning week with all the normal and the new:
A new project fully funded and fun, a new research and performance invitation to complete this term, a  new pilot project on shoestring and enthusiasm, an application to resubmit, and awaiting news of another application........the whole range.

Ongoing sessions;
fully funded and growing, partly funded and growing, finishing funding then waiting, no funding and growing on shoestring survival.
Visits and visitors.

Thank you to all....

So, looking forward to an interesting term in the Main co: The Wardrobe Project, afternoons with exciting guest artists alongside morning rehearsals for a project we get briefed on our first day back, working with Barbara Santi and Louise O'Connel at Penlee House and hoping we can use our new format from Always New in some of it. New wave drum adding more to music explorations - so 'food' on all fronts.
A visit to Kneehigh's new show with pre-performance workshop this Friday at Heligan Gardens, and visit from Michael White and Kirsty Cotton of Hall for Cornwall this term.

Shallal Studios residency, is nearly all booked in, interested artists, some travel and volunteer support, and Jo Lumber as writer in residence kindly provided by Falmouth Art Gallery.

Express Yourself combining Friends and Dancing moves on with Colin and Debs this term, Open House continues to grow in Redruth, I'm looking forward to the final 6 sessions of Aiming High at Nancealverne School with new support artist Hannah Kelly, and dear Shallal 2 is looking forward to the new term with Eddie returning and a performance offer in already but no underpinning funding.

Then the other voice,
tidying my desk and found the write up for Always New, I am always hoping that one day one might just get a patron someone who says, " Here we are, we believe in you and here is the money go away and come back with something".......oh bliss! my husband reckons i'll die with that hope but there's always hope!

So our invisible patron "life resiliance" came this year and as we were waiting on funding, we went ahead with three 'cheap' performances Mazey Day, and then Always New at Godolphin Courtyard and The Performance Centre in Shared Vision.
I am so pleased and excited we have worked a long time on this new methodology ( Always New) in rehearsals sometimes it felt we were nearly there and sometimes it had slipped just out of reach again and we had to go searching for it. In Godolphin Courtyard and in The Performance Centre it took off, took flight and was exciting and promising and .......
so it came from my wanting to push our improvisation further, we always play with it once the company reached a certain experience and maturity, but then people often leave and move on and we have to regroup and it goes on the back burner again. George working with us, young dancers, Shallal 2's new model, and people with chronic health conditions have all added to the mix of it happening now.
It allows whoever is there to be involved so we aren't so reliant on certain people being there, this gives freedom and less pressure to those who are sometimes too ill to dance, or are too busy to come to smaller shows, and enables the performance to still to happen.
Artistically it allows exciting choreography and dynamics, gives the artistic process back to the artist/performer far more and remains fresh and relevant. I will ask the performers for more feedback and reflection when we meet again 19th September.

Always New
Shallal have been exploring new methods for group improvisations and working with talented musician George Peers.
The dancers respond in the moment to the music provided and so each piece is "Always New."
This gives the performers greater freedom to follow the instructions: pause/stillness, work alone or with others. Structure, Freedom and Intent.
These simple rules give form and content each time you look at them, and allow each "Always New" piece to hold and develop it's own authentic response and story. This method allows our stories, movement, dances to unravel creating a combination of sound, music, images, movement, acting and dance in something 'Always New."

Our patron Robert Fripp sent us his latest news links the other day and I was pleased to find this on it:
http://www.orchestraofcraftyguitarists.com/words/craft/Seven-Assumptions-For-Work-In-The-Circle.html
Common themes of working with awareness, intent and goodwill.
Shallal artists and performers please read!

Have a good term and now back to my desk and the first day of the school/college term in our house!
I have just realised that we have the whole range in our family this term, primary school, home ed ( starting gcse's, some by correspondence course), diploma - equivalent to A'levels, working gap year and leaving home to start a degree!  fun !!!

new website

Hi, whilst waiting for a designer we were inspired by Lou Brett to make our own new website - till funding, interns or volunteers arrive!! - and so it is now up and running, still things to add and tweek but more user and designer friendly - we hope. Many thanks to Jem for our last website which served us really well till recently. "Your website, shallal.org.uk, was born at 11:04am PDT on Thursday, August 14, 2014. It weighs a healthy 18 pages and 47 elements." It's built on Weebly which we highly recommend. So ....constructive feedback welcome. Holidays now happening, Thank you to Kneehigh Rambles for the offer of tickets to their new show. Off to book in Melanie Young and Sean Donohoe for workshops next term. They are our exciting visiting artists on The Wardrobe Project. photo by Zoe

link to paraorchestra

Kneehigh have kindly offered us tickets again to their latest show, thank you, and while looking around their information, I followed links from Charles Hazelwood who had been highly spoken of by Anna a year or so ago. I also heard recently a little of how he rehearsed which was exciting and confirming to the way we approach the creative process so here is http://www.paraorchestra.com/people.php?type=musicians a really interesting link and i like the quote which is similar to what we hope/aim to do with our new open improvisation style.

Shallal 2 Shared Vision .....some photos

Well done and thank you to Anne, Peter, Miles, Skye Jo and Anna and of course Colin for Playfest and to Matthew and team for coping with my, "shall we / shan't we" attitude to the dance floor shall we leave it, take it up, take it  half up!!)

Last night i also had the pleasure of watching echoes dance co at The Performance Centre and seeing old friend Olga (who performed for 12yrs in Shallal - time flies). Their second half piece was a lovely mixture of structure and improvisation with many facets and moods.

David who was there reminded about photos of Shallal 2 so in preparation for my holiday i hope to post some now. These are by Simon Roff.......

Leigh

Jo, Paul and Anna

There are still some nice rehearsal photos by Annis ( Happy Birthday to Annis - we owe her some cake and a card!) i will ask someone else to choose more.....

Playfest Shallal 2 outreach debut

Tomorrow sees us at Playfest

 https://www.facebook.com/KernowLive1?ref_type=bookmark

Shallal 2's outreach debut, 6 dancers joined by guest artist! Colin from the main company, I can't really do outreach (or much in performance work) without Colin and you can enjoy a workshop with him after the short show. A chance to see Shallal 2's work from Shared Vision in an entirely different venue. 

Timings at present are Performance 3.15pm and Workshop 4pm.

Although some of the performers are in both companies Shallal 2's work has a different style and feel which was commented on after the last show.

All photos from Shallal 2's Shared Vision except this one. Peter was very keen to try the main co and so he joined us for one of George's improvisations, seen here he is with Skye and Colin - who is dropping in or bouncing out!!

Anna in mid air, thank you to Freefall, http://www.freefalldance.co.uk/#home Anna, Skye and now Annis enjoy Emily and Grace's classes and it gives them more technique to combine with and develop their work

Birdgirl this piece was originally developed for Mind the Gap in memory of Eileen and it is lovely to see it revived differently, it is now nearly 7 years since Eileen died.

photos by Andy Parker and Simon Roff.

crowd funder for making time new photographic constructions

Our home, used for Shallal summer picnics, normally has nine to eleven people living in it. We are fortunate to have interesting and lovely people often live with us as lodgers or tenants, Oli and Zeph lived in our blue hut for quite a while and this is Oli's crowd fund request. His photography sometimes reminds me of the powerful stillness and abstraction of Rothko and so if you feel like supporting contemporary art/photography, please consider this. 

".........a group of us have just launched a crowd funding project on Kickstarter  and we need your support.

We are putting on a photographic exhibition at the Penwith Gallery in St. Ives this Autumn and are seeking funding to print a unique, limited edition catalogue to go with the show.

Follow the link below to our Kickstarter page and watch the video, as you will see you do actually get something in return for your hard earned cash!

Please pledge if you can as every bit helps....We are almost a third of the way there!"

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/406403428/making-time-new-photographic-constructions