Skills sets, rehearsals and art and.......

Skills sets are an interesting subject, as someone who now works outside their skill sets when it comes to writing - as those of you who suffer my grammer and punctuation will know. I left a Psychology degree to work with Wolfgang, I left a post grad in Dance Therapy, as i was more interested in performance, and then i spent 20 ( happy ) years, self employed teaching in different venues. Working in non verbal communication and non verbal art forms, my preferred arts to work in are dance and visual arts.....but the work couldn't grow easily apart from Shallal which was always my favourite. In Shallal everyone wanted to be there, came committed and enjoying it without beaurocracy or institutions.
Also skills sets are interesting to me as it forms part of my hands on work:
what are peoples skills? that they know, that they often don't know, that you can help give confidence to, help develop.
So since not having a manager Shallal has been an interesting challenge for myself and some others as we learn the world of: written expression, persuasion, justification, forfiling criteria through funding applications.
You can have people who brook both skills sets but not all of us do! and not all of us can fund bid writers ....Big thank you to all who have and do help us...
Whether the side of you that can work alongside others is the right one to go in fighting for the next pot of money to keep going?

I have stamina and I have belief in the work which is proved to me when i talk deeply to those i have the honour to work with, but whether i can weather the insecurity is another question, not only insecurity and lack of or reduced income, but constantly putting oneself out there for others to evaluate through the written word..so much goes through the heart as well as the head, performance is all about experience, participation, atmosphere those things that even film can't capture...a live art.
An interesting question/discussion today on whether to film rehearsals, sessions:
will that help or hinder the moment, the creation, the performers?
Whose eye says what work goes out there? mine at the moment, in collaboration with the performers, that is what i provide and that is part of our relationship of trust and communication.

So pep talk time and here we go again, I am in for the long haul, i care about the voice of those i work with, they give so much and not only i feel that, many people watch us and say the same, and many of us have nowhere else to go ?!.....................
Sadly funding or lack of it, can make us measure value by other people, really good work when funded etc
however i love the challenge of it as proved by Remapping St Ives and 2iis - which gave us so much experience and real research and development opportunity.


And so from this slight droop i can say...

What amazing work yesterday, the co have really got the skills set/ style that Shallal 2 have been exploring and which we started looking at over 5 years ago!
and Glen's drumming working in sympathy along with Demelza's and  looking to increase the players, as more people can drum ...
Oh how exciting and oh if only one could follow the inspiration much like a painter and then say here is the body of work, come and see it!
We split the group in half 10 in each and watched each other, open improvisation with and without music.
And i think for possibly the first clear time the performers could see what i see:
 the whole working, the focus shifting never lost, the complicated and beautiful subtle spatial arrangements, the contrasts of texture, flow, character, timing, the sense of it, the beauty, balance and fun of it.

Structure, Freedom and Intent.
Answering the question of how to work large groups in freedom.

So glad i had a wonderful hands on work day as then news of 2 unsuccessful applications to come home to,
all the hours spent ....
is there a better way?

Interesting meeting with Paul Gittins and Richard this week, Paul's beautiful shadow screens. We hope to work together in the future.
 www.modernshadows.com

Old friend Sue Bleakley at the Newlyn Gallery,.
 www.newlynartgallery.co.uk/?Current+Exhibitions
Artists from the company went to see the interesting work being done at the gallery
and we hope interested artists from the group will visit every exhibition now we have enough support.

This gate is still one of those works i remember and can bring a smile!
Visit Sue's website at   www.susanbleakley.org.uk/painting


Toby and Colin started sorting art work and Toby filmed some of it.

Lots of work coming in for the Small Picture Show - Thanks to everyone supporting this. We are looking forward to it.