INFLIGHT FROM HOME: WAC ARTS- HAMPSTEAD TOWN HALL- 23.07.16

The sun was shining on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. 

My friend and I walked up to the Old Town Hall in Hampstead, iced drink in hand, looking inquisitively at the girls gearing themselves up by the wall.

Gearing up for flight

Already, a wall that would normally be dismissed had come into our periphery; it was part of the set.

I knew this performance would explore the idea of immigration and belonging, but certainly at this stage, I was trying to imagine how this could be ascertained through the aerial art form.

Whilst swirling the last drops of my iced latte, I was called into a white box area taped onto the pavement by two authorities in green boiler suits. After being asked for my personal details in the coldest of manners, I sensed the beginnings of what would be a journey into the experiences of those who had been treated as other, or perhaps as another number waiting for their fate to be decided by people who had never met them before. 

Audience registration complete. Flight begins. 

Three aerial performers rebounding off the surface of the outside wall of the town hall, solidly placing themselves into shapes that represented belonging, sometimes isolation, a quest for freedom and finally ending in a heist style escape as they ran inside, bags in hand. This was executed confidently, and was sign that the training these performers had experienced was already impressive. 

Flight begins

Upon entering audience members were given black or white cards. Aerial performs hung above us as we stepped inside to gain entry, only to be asked to go and find someone with the other colour card to allow us to enter. For a flash moment I felt quite vulnerable, searching for a stranger who would help me out. Perhaps this is how other people have had to remain in a country, by finding someone else to support them.

Entering the town hall

Find someone who has another card to enter

We were guided to the first performance space after giving our fingerprints. This echoed strongly to a migrant experience, going through processes without really knowing why we were doing them. We entered the room and on our chairs were headphones. 

Fingerprint

Headphones on

This immersive feature was a surprise, a nice surprise. My first experience as a headphone-wearing spectator was at LIFT's The Roof at the Doon Street car park by the National Theatre in 2014. I loved it. It made the performance very personal to me, like it was happening in my imagination. Thus, this was the effect it had during the rest of InFlight.

Half the audience at first were led into an experience by the performers who had little areas set up. I was left to wander and observe the table top installations which had art pieces created by people from various countries and told the story of why they were here.

Table top installation

I observed my friend as she was taken off to interact with a performer. She told me afterwards that it was with a Danish girl who was telling them about her life on a farm in the Farroe Islands. They felt the sheepskin rug, and she reminisced with them whilst they drunk warm milk and honey surrounded by candles. 

Experience with a performer from the Farroe Islands

After wondering if I was going to be left out (another emotional reference noted) I was invited to also have an experience. My experience was with a girl who was sharing her Christmas with us. We had mulled wine, shared pictures and caught a couple of minutes of Eastenders before moving on.

We were lead out and around to the next venue in a purgatory style line. Signs such as 'do not deviate' were displayed, simulating a border style queue. With the headphones still playing their personal role, my empathy was in tact, and I only needed a small amount of effort to match up my imagination to be in the shoes of another. 

This was a little taste of what it must be like for those who are seeking freedom, who want to belong somewhere else, who need to escape. The processes are strangely inhuman. I'd never thought this deeply about it before. 

In my ear, I could hear a lady saying she was stuck. Stuck in the system. 

We entered the space where the aerial performers lay on the floor, ready to bloom. Now this really was the highlight, the special moment we had been waiting for. 

After some understanding of the fact that these performers had all been on their own journey to reach the point at which they could produce such displays, some on rope, some using the silk I can truly say that the display was just breathtaking. The live drumming and eerie, ethereal singing added a dreamlike quality to the silhouettes and images.

A standout moment for me was seeing a struggling cocoon-breaking moth like movement from an artist that acted as a 'snap' card to that poignant comment from the lady about being stuck in the system, struggling, and anxious at her situation. 

The lighting was appropriate for the showcase, although some variation may have increased the silhouette image at times which I thought would have been particularly stunning.

In some ways, the performances felt like three separate installations, and I wonder if this was intended or if there could have been something that connected them more to each other?

I must congratulate WAC arts firstly on producing an emotive experience for us that other organisations do on a much bigger budget. Secondly on the demonstration of what invaluable work they do to such a high standard in providing opportunities for people to learn and access high quality arts. This display really was a testament to them. 

Any performance that invokes an emotional reaction from me and demands that I put myself in someone else's shoes is a success.

To find out more about the brilliant work that WAC arts do and to support them you can visit them here:

http://www.wacarts.co.uk

WAC ARTS PRESENTS INFLIGHT-23.07.16 2pm, 5pm, 8pm-Hampstead

If there was ever an art form that could excel at boundary pushing I would put a large amount of my trust in Aerial arts. Not to be taken for granted (it pains me to say I have only seen live aerial art in a late night spot) Aerial artists are highly skilled, they require in-depth training, patience, and of course those wishing to do it need the correct facilities and a few special people to help take this dream into reality. 

Step into the Jendubbz Office...Wac Arts, a highly important organisation known for nurturing diverse talent.

Wac Arts reside in North London and have seen successful past alumni such as Courtney Pine, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ms Dynamite and Sophie Okonedo, who all originally paid £1 a lesson to be taught by industry experts. Wac Arts are renowned for supporting young people through performing arts and media. They believe The Arts should be available to all and advocate this ethos by focusing on innovation, inclusion and driving for excellence.

InFlight From Home will be performed at three separate times 

during the afternoon and evening. A promenade piece, audiences 

are guided through intimate interactions and larger, image-based, 

physical scenarios throughout the atmospheric Grade 2 listed 

building.

InFlight is a professional development project for people already involved in physical sports or art forms who would like to expand their skill base with aerial work. Wac Arts celebrates inclusivity and
diversity, working in engaging and innovative ways to provide performing arts training for all young people. The students were recruited to the Inflight programme as they aspired to train in aerials but lacked opportunities due to their personal circumstances.

Running part-time between April 2015 and July 2016, the project has provided students with intensive training in trapeze, cocoon, silks and rope as well as harness techniques such as abseil and bungee harness. Students are also given an opportunity to take part in the InFlight final performance at the end of the programme. The course is funded by Wac Arts and the Arts Council and delivered in partnership with professional aerial theatre companies: Scarabeus and Upswing.

I got to ask Steve Medlin, the Head of drama at Wac Arts some

questions about the process of InFlight and the Wac Arts organisation:

What has your experience been like so far as the Head of Drama at Wac Arts? 

A highly challenging but constantly rewarding role. For many of our part time courses classes are offered at multi levels which means that in some cases a student can be with us for a number of years. Being able to watch their progression, often from early first steps on stage to fully rounded performers is a wonderful thing. The full time professional diploma often throws up a vast array of individual obstacles, from English as a second language to high levels of dyslexia. However, the end goal has to remain that they graduate as highly skilled performers ready to work in the industry, so each person will often have a different set of requirements that need addressing. We have managed it so far and I genuinely believe that helping to overcome these obstacles instead of seeing them as reasons to not engage in the first place means that the end result is an artist with real character and drive.  

 How was the idea for InFlight conceived? 

Wac Arts is known for its high levels of diversity and offering pathways to training for those that traditionally struggle to access the arts. These are two areas that the professional world of Aerial is struggling with, a lack of diversity and typically an art form that you have to be financially supported through. So it seemed a natural issue to explore although it has been a lengthy journey. We have large dance studios but they required feasibility studies and a lengthy fundraising process to equip them for Aerial work. Relationships with Scarabeus and Upswing (Aerial companies) were developed and then a partnership formed to make an application to the Arts council. Our first tier of funding looked at training and then dissemination of the developing skills base, which included some teacher training and an exploration of working with disabilities, plus additional delivery across our part time courses and summer schools. Tier two that we are currently coming to the end of continued with the training and looked at placing our young  artists into a performance scenario which we are hosting here on the 23^rd July. We advertised for an Artistic director and felt the pitch made by Leo Kay was the outstanding concept, it resonated with both the work we do here and the current social and political environment.

 How have the performers found the process of working on InFlight? 

For the most part its all very new to them, they are applying a recently developed and blossoming skills base to a highly collaborative process. Whilst we are working safely, we are not playing safe but pushing the boundaries of how much they can achieve both with this new skills base and the conceptual material itself. We have a big old building and we are going to be taking the audience around it in as innovate a way as we can possibly achieve, plus flying off the outside and transforming some traditionally non performance spaces into some exciting arenas. I don’t want to talk for the performers but they certainly seem excited and up for the challenge.


What has it been like working with Artistic Director Leo Kay?

Ha, its been great. Feels like we have come full circle as myself and Leo were actual Wac students ourselves back in the 1980’s. We both originally went into the world of physical theatre and eventually lost touch over the years, so it is lovely to be back working together.

How did you work with the performers to embed their experiences and stories into the piece? 

This is more a question for Leo that myself. I have a project leader role on this production and after spending the last year watching the participants develop we at Wac and the other partners felt it was important that the students have a taste of responding to the demands of an outside director. I do know though that right from the start Leo was clear that he wanted to draw on both researched work and the personal experiences of the performers. Collaboration and devising as it should be. The themes explore the difficulty’s involved in the forced movement of  large groups of people and their experiences. It seems quite specific until you explore our common understanding of fear, displacement, confusion and as a human experience to feel that you are being lessened and marginalised.

WAC arts endeavours to allow people from various ages and backgrounds to access the arts which I believe is so important. What do you think the future of performing arts looks like? 

Wow, big question. If it’s the ideal in my mind then an industry that represents the wide array of people that populate our existence, genuine diversity on stage and screen. One in which an audience are happy to suspend their disbelief just that little bit more so that we can really play with race, gender, age and physical ability to the point that the only thing that really matters is whether the actor can successfully deliver the characterisation required. Not sure if this will be a reality as it’s a discussion that seems to have been around for many decades. What certainly is true is that the demands of the industry is ever changing and currently  Aerial work, Puppetry, Motion capture and a wide variety of world dance and movement techniques are required skills in productions throughout the west end and national stages as well as the screen. These skills among many others are not seen as the cornerstones of a traditional arts training but are growing in their use and if embedded in the student can often go on to make them highly employable.

Finally, why should people come to see InFlight? 

The themes are current, the work is innovative and the performers are emerging into and  pushing their personal boundaries of an exciting art form. Certainly three ingredients that would make me want to see a piece of theatre.

Thank you to Steve Medlin and Abstrakt publicity.

If you want to come and explore one of North London's performing arts gems (I'll be there and I can't wait!) You can get your tickets at the link below. Come and support Wac Arts. Without these institutions there would be fewer people whose dreams have been allowed to soar.

http://inflight.eventbrite.co.uk

www.wacarts.co.uk

   

BREAKIN' CONVENTION SADLER'S WELLS 29.04.16-02.05.16

FLAWLESS Photo:  Paul Hampartsoumian

So 13 is meant to be unlucky in our culture, but not so in Italia, where the phrase fare tredici means 'hit the jackpot'. I personally felt very wealthy after seeing what Breakin' Convention managed to curate in their 13th year, as I was immersed once again in a currency that lifts me up and leaves me flying until Christmas. 

Breakin' Convention has grown to be THE biggest hip-hop event of the year in the dance, theatre and performance world. Workshops, cyphers, graffiti art and battles all help piece the puzzle together over the course of the weekend. The pleasure in seeing London's finest dance house transformed into a hip-hop habitat lights me up and I delight in bringing new people along with me each night to see their reactions. 

At risk of sounding like a fan-girl, I used my guests who were new to the experience as litmus test opinions against my own thoughts. 

After my catch up with Flawless who headlined Saturday night (see below) and our 'sweet shop' exchange, I have been inspired to present in this post, a sweet shop of conclusions. 

Before that, I present the performance device of 2016 from my good friend Wikipedia:

Vignette: In a novel, theatrical script, screenplay, sketch stories, and poetry, a vignette is a short impressionistic scene that focuses on one moment or character and gives a trenchant impression about that character, an idea, setting, and/or object.

Vignettes appeared everywhere this year and functioned as an important way of helping to tell the story where dancers will usually get 10-15 minutes to convey a message. It seems to me that hip-hop dance is being pulled up by bold themes and narratives more than ever, and the intention to move away from just pulling off slick routines was made very clear. 

Let's begin the taste experience- a selection box of my favourites:

Boy Blue Entertainment (UK)
The one that is guaranteed to be good

BOY BLUE ENT Photo: Belinda Lawley

Candy equivalent- The Fried Egg

The fried egg (to me anyway) is a treat I always look forward to. 

If I've had a bad day, I know a few of these babies will deliver the sweet version of a close friend and flavour that you know will be of the standard your tastebuds desire. Consistently good, delightfully chewy, you're aware you could devour a whole bag. Much like the picture above, Boy Blue opened Sunday night with perfect formation, strength and togetherness. The spotlights snapped onto individual dancers who expressed themselves through a mixture of styles, with krumping being a strong feature. Highlights in this piece were the cascading patterns created when the dancers hit the floor, and the feeling they managed to convey through what I would describe as surges of energy. Kenrick 'H20' Sandy can sit firmly on the throne as a King of choreo. I remain a loyal worshipper along with the rest.

Daughters of the Dragon (UK)
The one that is visually pleasing

DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON Photo: Belinda Lawley

Candy equivalent: The rainbow lolly

Sharifa Tonkmoor and Maren Ellerman brought us their piece 'Kaleidoscope' which did exactly what it set out to do. The lighting and choreography were colourful, the relationship between the symmetrical movers seemed sister-like, sweet and they hit every beat intended. It was clean, and these girls could get this piece advert ready (does Gap need a new campaign?) 



Soweto Skeleton Movers (South Africa)
Keeping it real-Sweets from the Streets

Photo:  Paul Hampartsoumian

Candy equivalent: Pineapple Cubes

Hip-hop comes from the streets after all, so what better way to celebrate the convention than with a style that originated on the streets of Soweto. This charming and cheeky crew unleashed their new vocabulary on the audience, which provided humour, relief and sometimes a sense of traditional street clowning. 'Pantsula' is a style that developed from the movement of commuters jumping on and off trains in 1950's Soweto, which then merged with tap to create a new genre. Jonzi-D explained how he had seen the group performing in South Africa and had to bring them over. This performance brought some old school charm, and there was a real sense of gratitude from the audience in that we had experienced a sharing of their craft. This was less of a choreography showcase and more of a culture experience.


Bandidas (France)
 Big on Texture- develop the flavour

BANDIDAS Photo:  Paul Hampartsoumian

Candy equivalent- Jelly Buttons/Spogs

Much like spogs, the start of the experience looked exciting, full of expectation and wonder, but on biting down I didn't get what I expected. I'm big on supporting female dancers and performers, and I admire the boldness that this collective demonstrated in choosing to dance to dubstep music. I personally enjoy dubstep in certain serving sizes, and they chose a very large production serving to sync with. I did feel however that there were challenges with this piece, in that the music was too big for the dance. On the huge stage, I felt that it was tricky to fill, and may have come across better in a smaller setting, but the music itself was far too bolshy to deserve the visuals that these ladies were creating.  

Enfant Prodiges (France)
The new favourite

Enfant Prodiges

Candy equivalent: Reeses miniature peanut butter cups

There wasn't much I didn't love about this dance crew. They gave everything you could possibly want from a performance at Breakin' Convention and it's easy to see why. The group is made up of the finest hip-hop dancers in France who have all battled their way to victory in various competitions individually whilst working with major brands. They've mastered the craft of performing and audience pleasing, and showcased every style from top-rock, house, newstyle to krumping and breaking. They had the formations (though not as slick as Unity UK or Boy Blue) and the humour of Soweto for a winning combination. The stamp of approval for music choice goes to this crew too who danced to the beats of DJ Mofak.

SWNSNG by Ivan Blackstock
Dark, relevant, more to unravel

SWNSNG Photo: Belinda Lawley

Candy equivalent: Liqourice wheel

Ivan Blackstock brought us an extract Traplord of the Flyz from his new work and brand SWNSNG. Blackstock is hugely respected and looks set to be a thought leader in this area of hip-hop culture. We were presented with rhymes, aggressive lighting, and scenes which displayed uncomfortable shorts and abstract images. Described as reflecting on black masculinity in a crisis, violence and negative stereotyping of black men in contemporary British society, there is a huge story waiting to be told here, and I didn't quite get enough to feel like I was in the hands of this piece just yet, but there is no doubt that as it unravels, there will be a voice provided to a message that needs to be heard. Look out for this one.


  The Ruggeds (Netherlands)
The exciting one

THE RUGGEDS Photo: Belinda Lawley

Candy equivalent- Flying saucer

Having already swooned about this collective last year, they brought more of their excellence as headliners of the final night of Breakin' Convention. My main joy came from watching my guests face as all her perceptions of what a b-boy crew might be were expanded. It was great to see them bring back a little of the Swiss ball routine, but props go to them this year for my favourite entrance/opening (fast, instant, hyper and stylish)

Special Mentions:

House Of Absolute Exclusive Interview from Breakin' Convention

See my Q & A with Julia Cheng here 

HOUSE OF ABSOLUTE Photo:  Paul Hampartsoumian

I always admire the work of Kloe Dean and Myself UK. Check out the interview with some of the dancers filmed at the Lilian Baylis studio before the performance at Breakin' Convention.

MYSELF UK Photo:  Paul Hampartsoumian

Spoken Movement

Kwame Asofo-Adjei from SPOKEN MOVEMENT

We also caught up with Kwame Asafo-Adjei choreographer of Spoken Movement. He works on challenging perceptions through dance.

Until next time...