Shallal 2
Feedback for Shallal 2 from Mergecology
"Thank you so much for performing in Mergecology last week. it was wonderful to have your dancers there and the performance was gorgeous!"
Suzie
Spindrift dance collective
Shallal Dance Theatre
Lots of exciting possibilities coming up, including Jo and Demelza working with Get Changed Theatre company, in June, helping add dance component to the next stage of their Alice In Wonderland productions.
http://www.getchanged.com/projects.html
It includes the joy of working with experienced musician Philip Robinson. We often used to talk of working together and sharing practice, when he delivered the highly successful MAP ( Music Access Project ) project ( which we hope to relaunch in the future, as we now have lovely Stuart who could shadow him - so we get the skills in Cornwall.)
Doorways Visiting Artist
We hope to have Colin's friend Harry Theaker http://www.juncturedance.com/harry-theaker/
visit us again on the 6th May when we rehearse at Godolphin and look forward to his feedback. We are busy threading together the web of images, characters, history and colour Godolphin has inspired.
He came and helped and gave helpful feedback when we performed Contrasts at Falmouth Art Gallery, a few years ago.
It will be good to have someone else's eye on it and then we have 2 weeks to continue working on it before the performance.
Michael has nearly finished the poster..... and Victoria and i are sitting by our computers and phones tomorrow rather than meeting in person.
Shallal Studios
news in that Hannah Whitlock from Outside In, Pallant House Gallery http://www.outsidein.org.uk/About_2014
might come down to... " meet with artists and help them create an online gallery page on the Outside In website"
Also really excited that we are working with Shallal Studio artist Sam While and his family to enable his first solo show at Helston Museum 4th - 16 July! with a private view involving Shallal 2 - we hope - date tbc.
Many thanks to Tracey at the museum for her enthusiasm and support.
Express Yourself
Occasionally when Debs can't make it i have the pleasure of working again with Express Yourself, last week we collected comments and thoughts for future developments,
"Friendly group, like the way people interpret the music, so original, lovely atmosphere" Laura
"It's not classed as ability or disability, it's do-able.
People allowed to express themselves as they wish when they wish.
Everyones encouraged to join in.
Encouragement given by the group for the group helps people." Leslie
"Love Art and Love Dancing, love coming here feels like a family" Esme
"Fun" Miles
Monday, 18 April 2016
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Kerry standing tall!
Wonderful this week to see Kerry so upright and balanced!!
and to see Linda again after a long time.
We are so glad to have her back working with us and supporting us with Godolphin Doorways!
As soon as i saw Kerry I remembered the last post with them both....http://shallal-arts.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/kerry-and-thursdays-art-and-music.html
many thanks to physio Dominique Royle and her skill! and to Star.....
and to see Linda again after a long time.
We are so glad to have her back working with us and supporting us with Godolphin Doorways!
As soon as i saw Kerry I remembered the last post with them both....http://shallal-arts.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/kerry-and-thursdays-art-and-music.html
many thanks to physio Dominique Royle and her skill! and to Star.....
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| costume, lovely dress found by Zo |
Monday, 11 April 2016
Shallal 2 at Mergecology Thursday 14th April 7pm Keay Theatre St Austell ( and link to article on Wolfgang Stange, Amici )
Shallal 2 will be represented at Mergecology by Spindrift Dance Collective this Thursday 7pm, tickets £4
on the door or from Cornwall College Box office 01726 226454
14th April 2016
Mergecology
Performance of After the Rain by Olivia Lockwood & Freefall piece
Keay Theatre, St Austell
http://www.spindriftdancecollective.com/pedagogy-research--merge.html
http://www.spindriftdancecollective.com/dates--details.html
glad i'm no the only one who sometimes has typos it is this Thursday not Friday as on Poster!
Andrew Feasey, Jo Lumber, Skye Mackay and Miles Stead are the dancers and they will perform Bus Stop, ( from Dance on the Grass ) a new piece - they will meet it tomorrow!- and Lullaby ( from Winter Mixture).
Should be a good evening! Lots of variety and inspiring dancers.....
I have eventually entered the world of smart phones and while waiting for Luke's piano lesson to finish found
this interview with Wolfgang Stange
http://www.inclueded.net/writing/stange.html.
...who i owe nearly everything to in all my work, as he owes it to Hilde Holger etc. His work was my total vision and inspiration and i am deeply grateful. It has developed slightly differently and that is his and Hilde's strength and attraction that you are encouraged/enabled to be yourself, there are so many people who owe their inspiration to him and his work.
The article is long but has some really interesting insights and some i hadn't seen in print before about devising.
Looking forward to tomorrow Shallal 2 and Friday Shallal Dance Theatre, deep in rehearsals now i eventually have a sort of running order! ( artists block - often creative always scary!) costume now, performers please bring in any ideas...
on the door or from Cornwall College Box office 01726 226454
14th April 2016
Mergecology
Performance of After the Rain by Olivia Lockwood & Freefall piece
Keay Theatre, St Austell
http://www.spindriftdancecollective.com/pedagogy-research--merge.html
http://www.spindriftdancecollective.com/dates--details.html
Andrew Feasey, Jo Lumber, Skye Mackay and Miles Stead are the dancers and they will perform Bus Stop, ( from Dance on the Grass ) a new piece - they will meet it tomorrow!- and Lullaby ( from Winter Mixture).
Should be a good evening! Lots of variety and inspiring dancers.....
I have eventually entered the world of smart phones and while waiting for Luke's piano lesson to finish found
this interview with Wolfgang Stange
http://www.inclueded.net/writing/stange.html.
...who i owe nearly everything to in all my work, as he owes it to Hilde Holger etc. His work was my total vision and inspiration and i am deeply grateful. It has developed slightly differently and that is his and Hilde's strength and attraction that you are encouraged/enabled to be yourself, there are so many people who owe their inspiration to him and his work.
The article is long but has some really interesting insights and some i hadn't seen in print before about devising.
Looking forward to tomorrow Shallal 2 and Friday Shallal Dance Theatre, deep in rehearsals now i eventually have a sort of running order! ( artists block - often creative always scary!) costume now, performers please bring in any ideas...
Sunday, 3 April 2016
Inside Out.....
I'm tidying up to go away and someone just asked me what inspired me, so the usual ones, and then i thought about that whole time of changing what i did, and remember living with Mike and Muzz ( Marie) and going to see performance work with Mike that influenced me.
Not easy to forget a 40 min ( or felt like it) piece with just a mime artist, a spoon and a chair.
I am easily amused and entertained by life and Suzi, Mike's sister, came to stay 5 years ago and showed me what they do now, as last i heard they moved back to Muzz's home country New Zealand and Mike had been in a film shown at Cannes Film Festival.....
I was on their website and read this:
Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework within which the problems were created.
Albert Einstein
Not easy to forget a 40 min ( or felt like it) piece with just a mime artist, a spoon and a chair.
I am easily amused and entertained by life and Suzi, Mike's sister, came to stay 5 years ago and showed me what they do now, as last i heard they moved back to Muzz's home country New Zealand and Mike had been in a film shown at Cannes Film Festival.....
I was on their website and read this:
Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework within which the problems were created.
Albert Einstein
which i think is very appropriate when remembering the way people with additional needs were / can be treated...
Their website is
about them on
I have no photos from that time, early 80's, but many wonderful zany images of them in my memories and it would take more than this small blog entry to do them credit. We lived in 2 colourful houses of characters and artists in North East London. They were performing their first show while my brother and his now wife had just met and were learning to scuba dive, it's interesting to see where people get to, end up doing when they follow their passions, joy and gifts.
Monday, 21 March 2016
Shallal dance theatre outreach to Wadebridge and Liskeard followed by a busy Friday
 |
| Colin, Zoe and Anna |
Our trio of performers visited Blantyre Centre at St Austell with a pop up performance in the morning and workshop in the afternoon.
Then onto Homes Farms Trust, Wadebridge the following week. Really lovely to reconnect with people there, we did the workshop straight after the pop up performance which seemed to work better. A complete joy was to meet Mary Derrington again, Mary was one of our founder members, whose duet with George Jacklin at the Barbican Theatre when we first started out remains a highlight in my memory.
Well done to Express Yourself for another successful show and sharing, Nick Fripp was able to go and "had a great time and found the performance moving and entertaining."
Shallal 2 continues to do good work and most of us where there last week after a term of illness, fatigue and absences, nice to all be together.
I heard from Kerry Lawrence this week "How's Shallal..... I think of you all often, joining in those two days workshop and my day in St Ives was the highlight of my summer."
Creativity with freedom in a shared caring structure is not the norm in our society and i tend to forget that.
Our trips to the North and East of Cornwall and feedback and conversations with those we met have rekindled the idea of starting an inclusive community group in that area and Lois Taylor and I had a really good chat about it this morning.
This afternoon Belinda http://belindawhiting.co.uk/home.html and I chatted around our Godolphin book idea which has also been initially 'sticky' as again was conceived partly from old ideas and now has started to have its own life and parameters and become unstuck - hurray!
Steve Tanner http://stevetanner.co.uk/ is available to photograph the show and Zoe http://zoeyoung.net/ will film it.
Victoria is coming in to watch rehearsals and support costume, and John Keys dropped by on Friday to catch up and set a date to come in again, so the team is moving.
11th March
And thank you again to Pep and Colin, the company explored really helpful ideas and dynamics.
The ACE consultation I went to was interesting and food for thought, as always I learn a lot from the other people around the table and their perspective and experience, our table included people working in libraries, higher education, an NPO ( National Portfolio Organisation ) and freelance artists funded and unfunded.
 |
| Jonathan, Zoe and Colin |
 |
| we really enjoyed our time at Gorfemma, Liskeard and chatting with Rosemary afterwards, (the processional sculpture in the background is called Geraldine - as is our tailors dummy! ) |
Our last trip was to Liskeard to Gorfemma and then Morley Tamlyn Centre with the same format ( by then i had improved my introductions and explanations which enabled a more fluid event.)
It was lovely to reconnect with Thomas at Gorfemma. Thomas came to visit us some years ago on work experience and is now in Far Flung a new professional inclusive dance theatre company in Plymouth
Rehearsals
Then into Friday with the much needed 'rough run through' my creative process with this new show has been 'sticky', partly as we were: working from the previous show, trying to merge in our new methods developed with George, integrating new performers and new research material, however it feels like it is flowing now and we just need to give some pieces more time and attention.
We were looking for a humourous piece mainly for the 'lads'. We looked at recreating Crows however last week we became quite over excited about horse racing! so watch out! Eddie made a quick horses head in the afternoon and is our compere! and 'Galloping George' is planning to make an appearance.
 |
| horse racing! |
 |
| as well as recovering from an injury Colin was fighting off a cold and received some relaxation and attention! |
 |
| Kerry's green palette for wood circles |
 |
| Toby's sketches for installation .....working with Paul Carter http://www.zierlecarterliveart.com/#! |
Shallal 2 continues to do good work and most of us where there last week after a term of illness, fatigue and absences, nice to all be together.
I heard from Kerry Lawrence this week "How's Shallal..... I think of you all often, joining in those two days workshop and my day in St Ives was the highlight of my summer."
Creativity with freedom in a shared caring structure is not the norm in our society and i tend to forget that.
Our trips to the North and East of Cornwall and feedback and conversations with those we met have rekindled the idea of starting an inclusive community group in that area and Lois Taylor and I had a really good chat about it this morning.
This afternoon Belinda http://belindawhiting.co.uk/home.html and I chatted around our Godolphin book idea which has also been initially 'sticky' as again was conceived partly from old ideas and now has started to have its own life and parameters and become unstuck - hurray!
Steve Tanner http://stevetanner.co.uk/ is available to photograph the show and Zoe http://zoeyoung.net/ will film it.
Victoria is coming in to watch rehearsals and support costume, and John Keys dropped by on Friday to catch up and set a date to come in again, so the team is moving.
11th March
And thank you again to Pep and Colin, the company explored really helpful ideas and dynamics.
The ACE consultation I went to was interesting and food for thought, as always I learn a lot from the other people around the table and their perspective and experience, our table included people working in libraries, higher education, an NPO ( National Portfolio Organisation ) and freelance artists funded and unfunded.
Thursday, 10 March 2016
Welcome to Victoria, Wadebridge today and more
Welcome to Victoria who has joined us to help co-ordinate our exciting and challenging Cornish Doorways Project. She has many talents one of which is photography! see below...
Off today to Wadebridge Homes Farms Trust Centre with Colin, Zoe and Jonathan, it will be good to see some of the people there again and introduce the performers.
Tomorrow the company will have fun with Colin and visiting artist Pep and i will get to listen, and learn, feedback and brew ideas and see SS Great Britain in Bristol a nice day out (Arts Council Consultation day ) with planning for next show and reporting for PDSW on the train journey!
Express Yourself Show next Wednesday morning i believe, always worth watching, and small but dedicated and talented group in Shallal 2 constantly creating new work!
Off today to Wadebridge Homes Farms Trust Centre with Colin, Zoe and Jonathan, it will be good to see some of the people there again and introduce the performers.
Tomorrow the company will have fun with Colin and visiting artist Pep and i will get to listen, and learn, feedback and brew ideas and see SS Great Britain in Bristol a nice day out (Arts Council Consultation day ) with planning for next show and reporting for PDSW on the train journey!
Express Yourself Show next Wednesday morning i believe, always worth watching, and small but dedicated and talented group in Shallal 2 constantly creating new work!
Saturday, 27 February 2016
lots going on
This would have been at the end of this blog but too important, do pass it on and sign it. Thank you to Laura Wild for passing it on to us.
https://www.change.org/p/help-my-son-get-the-autism-care-he-needs?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=525320&alert_id=LupYEFrzhV_826z%2F%2BuHbZIclI64jkXa2EIoSrOSm%2BT%2FiLYqtRm90wHw8ncrHc4GEOq9YSMEoDTw
Having worked with people who lived within all the units of Budock Hospital when i started, i have a deep gratitude and respect for those whose support and care for people who are vulnerable, ( family, staff, friends etc ) it makes all the difference to the quality of life for them and for us all, as we don't want to live in a society where people aren't properly cared for or supported.
"My brother is my life"
Also interesting, insightful, important, from Kneehigh's Mike Shepherd and including Anna Marie Murphy
http://thankyoujungle.com/
and Holifield's Open Day March 4th
http://www.holifieldfarmproject.co.uk/wp2/
We're about to enter a busy phase with visits to new places in North and East Cornwall through Feast funding for Doorways. Inspired by last years research and residencies a small group are going to "pop up" and perform a short piece in different centres, not quite Always New, we won't have our musician, but Landscapes we will have the landscape of the music but unrehearsed for many pieces and so truly spontaneous and adapting to the space and people. New members Anna and Jonathan are joining us one day each, along with Zoe and Colin are our established members and Joseph also on one day.
We hope Colin's ankle is well on the mend for then!
Six hours of meetings in one day is my record so far! business, project management and trustees - all going well. Welcome to Rob Pickering helping us look for funds to keep smaller groups going and long term funding. Welcome to Victoria our new Doorways project 'co-ordinator' ( not quite sure what title she has yet) much needed, many thanks to all helping us along the way.
Yesterday Dominic Power came to add a perspective and experience to out writers corner, there was an enthusiastic huddle in that area. Rob and Victoria visited and Pep is helping us and bringing his trumpet next week. With no George we tried to concentrate on recorded pieces and i am about to look at the jigsaw of work we are creating. It seems only a few of the old original works will be used as we have moved on with new performers and new styles, and the nature of the work is it is built on the artists strengths and interests.
Exciting meetings this week with Jules ( theatre ) and Philip ( music ) and Patrick and Jane ( Back Lane West). Having concentrated on spontaneity in my work planning isn't my strength, but i am always learning?! It can sit with dreaming and scheming...
https://www.change.org/p/help-my-son-get-the-autism-care-he-needs?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=525320&alert_id=LupYEFrzhV_826z%2F%2BuHbZIclI64jkXa2EIoSrOSm%2BT%2FiLYqtRm90wHw8ncrHc4GEOq9YSMEoDTw
Having worked with people who lived within all the units of Budock Hospital when i started, i have a deep gratitude and respect for those whose support and care for people who are vulnerable, ( family, staff, friends etc ) it makes all the difference to the quality of life for them and for us all, as we don't want to live in a society where people aren't properly cared for or supported.
"My brother is my life"
Also interesting, insightful, important, from Kneehigh's Mike Shepherd and including Anna Marie Murphy
http://thankyoujungle.com/
and Holifield's Open Day March 4th
http://www.holifieldfarmproject.co.uk/wp2/
We're about to enter a busy phase with visits to new places in North and East Cornwall through Feast funding for Doorways. Inspired by last years research and residencies a small group are going to "pop up" and perform a short piece in different centres, not quite Always New, we won't have our musician, but Landscapes we will have the landscape of the music but unrehearsed for many pieces and so truly spontaneous and adapting to the space and people. New members Anna and Jonathan are joining us one day each, along with Zoe and Colin are our established members and Joseph also on one day.
We hope Colin's ankle is well on the mend for then!
Six hours of meetings in one day is my record so far! business, project management and trustees - all going well. Welcome to Rob Pickering helping us look for funds to keep smaller groups going and long term funding. Welcome to Victoria our new Doorways project 'co-ordinator' ( not quite sure what title she has yet) much needed, many thanks to all helping us along the way.
Yesterday Dominic Power came to add a perspective and experience to out writers corner, there was an enthusiastic huddle in that area. Rob and Victoria visited and Pep is helping us and bringing his trumpet next week. With no George we tried to concentrate on recorded pieces and i am about to look at the jigsaw of work we are creating. It seems only a few of the old original works will be used as we have moved on with new performers and new styles, and the nature of the work is it is built on the artists strengths and interests.
Exciting meetings this week with Jules ( theatre ) and Philip ( music ) and Patrick and Jane ( Back Lane West). Having concentrated on spontaneity in my work planning isn't my strength, but i am always learning?! It can sit with dreaming and scheming...
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