Snaps from the conference

Star, Trevor, Joseph, Colin, Kerry, George, Katie, and Zoe.

note barefoot, can't think or work with shoes on! and no powerpoint, but hey at least it didn't crash and we only had 3-5 mins chat to fill not 30!

Stay up late campaign
www.stayuplate.org

George, Joseph and Colin in the corridor

I want to more write more but also want to get the pics up before main co tomorrow, so it might have to wait.
It was great to see so many articulate and interesting artists, established, breaking ground, gaining recognition, supported and appreciated.
Thank you to everyone we listened to and to the workshops we went to, and well done Lesley- Anne and the commitee commited to "non fluffy" work as one of them said in their introduction.

Anjali www.anjali.co.uk
Plymouth Music Zone
Dean BOOM BOOM BOOM from Heart and Soul - really good music videowww.heartnsoul.co.uk/
Diverse City www.diverscity.org.uk
Stay up late www.stayuplate.org
Blue Camel Club and Creative Minds

sadly we had to leave before seeing Wheelfever presentation and Kyle Coleman sing.

some comments:

"I really enjoyed the performance, it was lovely to see everyone being so generous with their movements and ideas"


" Lovely presentation, really nice to see a cohesive group improvisation" 

"Thank you for illuminating our practise with your clarity and generous illustration of your scores and examples of dances - you are all so gorgeous!!"

"Beautiful and generous"

We plan to progress new relationships and mutual support and learning through our residency in July, many hope to visit,  and by email to those far away.

Research and Development again tomorrow, finishing oil paintings for exhibition in April and 3 birthdays this week so there might be some cake!

And lastly thank you and well done to all the performers!

Differently Abled - Driving Change Conference,Theatre Royal Plymouth

We are looking forward to today
-/http://www.theatreroyal.com/take-part/adults-and-communities/funky-llama/differently-abled-driving-change-/
just printed off my map to find the exciting looking new build where we will be,
http://www.theatreroyal.com/your-visit/theatre-royal-plymouth-venues/production-and-learning-centre-2/
anywhere near an estuary is good!

We have been working our improvisations with the whole group for a lot of the time so it was good near the end on Friday to just select the few who are going and see what they do and yes it works so we shall see what our audience today make of it.

The trusty crew who are travelling 2 hrs each way for a 10 mins performance max are , Zoe, Colin, Joseph, Katie, Star, Trevor and Kerry with George - musician and myself talking and driving!

We are looking forward to meeting old friends, making new ones and having an interesting day
as with many of us in Cornwall - we are crossing the Tamar! foriegn parts!!!

I hope to take the ipad so might get at least one group photo.
And thank you to Lesley-Ann for inviting us!

Clare Milne Trust, Differently Abled Conference, new trustee Alexandra Zierle and residency updates!

A big thank you to The Clare Milne Trust for funding our new exciting Always New research, this is a springboard to the work which we will build upon and expand in our AMATA residency. We are thrilled to have their support to start work and to investigate pop ups and all that is behind them.
You can see us at Differently Abled conference Plymouth 17 March and we plan to be at Falmouth Art Gallery towards the end of March with snippets of work.

As things develop I had a meeting with musician/artist Jamie Mills, Oli Raymond Barker and George Bradley Peer this week to look at further developments. The conversation went into photography and so i was lost but also excited! so much we can do with cross art forms informing each other....and musical boxes! i love watching and learning from peoples creative mind sets and outlooks and approaches. I will learn a lot i think and some of the dancers will have a great opportunity or much more, we shall see where it all leads us!

Friday afternoon Alexandra Zierle popped into the main company Art and Production time. We are very pleased to announce that before she left she had been voted in as Shallal's new trustee.
Alexandra and her partner Paul both worked voluntarily within Shallal approximately 10 years ago before going off to international travels. While they were with us they helped Terri edit a beautiful 4 min doc about the main company. We are so pleased and excited to have her " on board".

www.zierlecarterliveart.com

Zierle & Carter - Alexandra Zierle & Paul Carter

Live Artists & Visiting Lecturers

In Between Time Associate Artists


“Their creation of an emotionally intense, site-specific ambush, that ebbed, flowed and ricocheted throughout the museum for the better part of three hours, renewed my faith in the ability of people to sincerely and honestly affect how others view the world and operate within it. They performed with a profound endurance, intelligence, and grace that felt motivated by an inherent generosity in their approach to human interaction. I believe everyone there felt connected; we were breathing in the scenarios they devised, watching, as if experiencing the world, together, for the first time”, Warren Fry, audience member

While chatting with her i was so pleased to share the news of our Porthmeor Studios Residency - many thanks to our other new trustee Henrietta Boex for enabling this. Henrietta is Director of Falmouth Art Gallery.  It will be July, August and September! - we are all indulging our best beach fantasies, the turquoise sea in front, the Tate nearby and the island to the right and town behind you! 
The steering group meet on the 9th and we will start to plan and timetable - anyone interested in being involved please contact me via admin@shallal.org.uk 

More of this as it develops,  we face 4 months of wonderful residencies: Porthmeor Studio July - September and Back Lane West in October and Shallal Dance Theatre have 5 days at The Performance Centre with an AMATA residency 20 - 24 July.

Anna and Annis are about to start working with Falmouth Art Gallery towards  Silver Arts Awards, this will help them both develop their arts experience and portfolios.

My Little sister film and Gold arts Awards and thanks to Lois and...

I'm writing to thank Lois Taylor for generously travelling so far - distances, time and cost in Cornwall - and giving us of her time and talents, everyone participated in a really enjoyable workshop yesterday.
dressing up fun for final dances:

I am also researching Gold Arts Award as Falmouth Art Gallery have generously offered to support Anna and Annis in this if they choose to take it and the reason for this blog is how worlds cross over..
So on first glance Gold Awards are for 16 - 25 yr olds and Anna and Annis are 14 but on further looking i found this link and filmmaker Agi K who is 12 yrs old, she has completed the Gold Award and is also home educated and inspiring:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/mylittlesister8

http://www.artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/case-studies/case-study-film-maker-agi-k

from her website:
http://www.agnieszkaproductions.me.uk/?page_id=552

“I find there’s so many depressing articles, videos and pictures on Down syndrome, and I want to make these films to show the happiness and joy Magdalena brings to our lives❤I don’t have to try, we’re not a ‘special family’ Magdalena’s not an angel, we just all love each other. And this is just our lives. Disability is natural, we just live our ordinary lives, and I want to show the world that pity or sadness has no place here!”

- Agnieszka Kolaczynska on making her “…little sister…” films, age 10

and...

Anna has just shown me this video we really like this young American choreographer Kyle Hanagami

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_9hiHriyDQ

Steve Kelly crowd fund and welcome to Sidney!!

Steve Kelly, (who performed for us at our Poetry event and is Hannah's husband - Hannah worked on Aiming High and is an incredible participant and support in Friends and Dancing over the years) has a crowd fund worth watching and supporting! We wish North and South Theatre well with their new show!!
http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/new-theatre-show-pals a

And then last night our newest member ever came to Shallal 2, one week old Sidney came to grace us with his presence!!
Everything stops for babies! wonderful to see Rosie and Maybell....and to have them back and visiting so soon!

Rosie, Sidney, Eddie and Anna

some odd photos:

Shallal 2 rehearsal photos from Contrast
Skye has had to leave us this term for her studies but still comes to the main company

Josephs' patterns and Zo and Kate drawing on Friday afternoon

sketches from County Hall last year by Toby

Differently Abled - Driving Change conference and Heart and Sold call out

Some of Shallal will be at this conference giving a short presentation in the morning about Always New our new research and development approach to improvisation and performance with musician George Bradley-Peer.

Differently Abled - Driving Change Tuesday March 17th from 10am – 5pm This one day conference Differently Abled* - Driving Change is an opportunity for service providers, practitioners, artists and anyone interested in inclusive arts in the South West to come together to share best quality practice.  Presentations, open forum discussions and practical workshops will be led by some of the UK’s most innovative arts organisations led by and promoting *differently abled artists. The day will be held at Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Production & Learning centre, at TR2 in Cattedown, Plymouth and hosted by the Funky Llama inclusive steering group, Driving Force. Key note speakers include: ·         Alice Chutter - Diverse City. Diverse city create exceptional shows that profile the abilities of diverse groups. They currently deliver ‘Remix Gold’, an integrated youth performance company for young people with and without disabilities. Diverse City have also produced ‘Extraordinary Bodies’ in partnership with Cirque Bijou.   ·         Dean Rodney – from Heart n Soul’s The Fish Police and Olympic commission the Dean Rodney Singers. Heart n Soul’s way of working has grown over twenty-five years of working with people with learning disabilities to make outstanding art and change happen. ·         Paul Richards- International Stay Up Late Campaign. Stay Up Late is a registered charity committed to promoting the rights of people with learning disabilities to live the lifestyle of their choosing. Gig Buddies is a project that pairs up people with and without learning disabilities in to be friends and to go to events together.  ·         Carousel. Carousel established Creative Minds, Blue Camel Club, Oska Bright Film Festival and Shut Up and Listen Radio and work in partnership to deliver a national initiative to open the conversation about critiquing learning disability arts. Their award winning arts provision has been recognised nationally and internationally for its high quality and unique approach. Presentations and practical workshops from: ·         Anjali Dance. Anjali Dance Company celebrates the unique creative abilities and artistic potential of people with learning disabilities and demonstrates exciting new possibilities in dance. ·         Plymouth Music Zone. PMZ's work focuses on using music as a powerful tool to develop skills and the health and emotional wellbeing of participants. A detailed schedule of the day will be available on our website in the New Year. Price is £15 to cover lunch and refreshments. Booking essential:Oliver.bond@theatreroyal.com Funky Llama celebrates the creative talents of adults with different abilities. It involves large scale performing arts and social events as well as increasing the amount of arts opportunities available throughout the region. *Differently Abled is our steering groups preferred description for adults with learning difficulties.

Also call out for Heart and Sold passed on by Jeanette and Rory. "Heart and Sold are selecting work for an exhibition in New York. Here is the link ..." http://www.heartandsold.org.uk/news beautiful website well worth a look!

Methods

Shallal 2 last night and some people off ill, but still some exciting work created in anticipation of potential summer performances and stretching our methods for spontaneous choreography.
They are an unusual group but really fertile ground for developing new structures, methods and expanding old ones. Last night we were watching each other, 2 groups of 4 following a simple instruction and Leigh leaned over to me and gave the thumbs up to the work he was watching. The reflective, appreciative response and learning from each other and full collaboration.
The next section, made up on the spot as usual and true to workshop as a creative practice, Jo Lumber commented on, it was "soothing to watch", it is like breath or a gentle conversation..all things we hope to explore in more depth in our residency.
How to take these wonderful workshop experiences and weave them into a performance structure, whilst maintaining their freedom. I am looking forward to having the time for reflection and conversation as we learn from each other whilst exploring it.
Good news in recently for some future work which we will blog about as soon as it's"official."
So looking forward to the time for creative practice, winter is a good time for the  "burying" into ideas to see them fruit later in the year.

I have mentioned it before, my brother's blog, and now I am again as this last blog brings hope and the good example of caring for ecosystems of which people are an important part.
https://markdeeble.wordpress.com/2015/02/01/hope-for-elephants-one-womans-passion/
and although I am biased I think he writes beautifully.
I spent formative years in my late teens hanging around with my brother, and then Vicky as well, on boats in the Fal estuary. I am ever grateful that he gave me a trip to the Serengeti when they first worked there. Seeing elephant prints in the soft brown dust like tree trunk stamps, and then a herd weaving between rocks and trees and later stopping to watch 3 elephants within the beautiful Ngorongro Crater having a dust bath were some of my strongest memories.