Podcast episode with Dr Sandy Belle Rosales Cadena
This autumn has seen a diverse range of new adventures come my way. Mostly, I've been in training in Berlin on a physical theatre course, but more about that in another post. This post is about a podcast- previous collaborator Dr Sandy Belle Rosales Cadena (Belle) got in touch. Belle is a doctor of psychology and her research is around female body image and she has had an interest in performance for a long time. We met back in 2018 when we collaborated on a project with The National Fairground and Circus Archive to create a performance to celebrate the 250th anniversay of circus in the UK. Mirrors & Ribbons was performed in Sheffield Cathedral as part of Festival of the Mind and is a circus theatre peformance about female body image in circus. You can read more about it on the Circus Theatre page of my website.
Belle got in touch saying she was creating a pop-up podcast with the University of Sheffield and would I be interested in being one of the speakers. Obviously, I said yes. The podcast is about body image in circus and focused on body image and body confidence, specifically around physicality, strength and functionality. Our episode talks about attitudes towards female bodies in circus, weight, training and how pressures of society can hinder performers achieving their true potential through concerns about size and appearance. I delve into some personal issues in this episode, in the hope that it will help others to conquer unhealthy attitudes and practices towards their bodies. Belle talks about her research into gratitude, body positivity and self compassion as tools to help those who struggle with body image and conventional beauty standards. In episode 2, Belle talks to Farrell Cox a black actor and aerialist about her journey as a circus performer.
https://player.sheffield.ac.uk/events/circus-confidence-body-image-revolution-episode-1
I was at The Circus Village/Yr Pentref Syrcas for 2 projects this spring, a residency with Kitsch n Sync Collective and my own residency with News From Nowhere, a project in development.
This is an idea that I have been working on in different ways for a wee while now. The idea is pretty big compared to my previous work- creating an ensemble narrative circus theatre performance with a bespoke piece of aerial equipment and commuity engagement. As the idea is complex it has been hard to gain support in the form of residencies, many venues simply can't accomodate the equipment. However, the Circus Village had an amazing, can-do team, a whole range of rigs and tents and equipment at their disposal and they were happy to offer us a residency.
The idea is still in its very early stages, the performance is a series of intersecting journey stories that meet in the performance moment, using a unique configuration of aerial equipment to play out that story. This residency focused on the exploration of the equipment, generating ideas and vocabulary under the guidance of Rowan Fae as director. There is still a lot of work to do to bring this idea to fruition, but it felt so good to begin working on it with Daisy Black , Saya Yamaguchi and Maisie Luk. I'd also like to extend my thanks to the whole team at the Circus Village who made it all possible. Watch this space for further developments.
Howl! Performances have been going well with the show bedding in nicely. We have some more dates coming up before summer comes to an end. If you haven't seen it yet then come along.
Mae perfformiadau wedi bod yn mynd yn dda, a dwi'n mwynhau gwneud y sioe. Mae gennym fwy o ddyddiadau yn ddod i fyny cyn i'r haf ddod i ben. Os nad ydach i weld eto, dewch draw.
Eisteddfod Genedlaithol Cymru 10 & 11 Aug/Awst https://eisteddfod.wales/programme
Awen Trust, Bryngarw Country Park 30 Aug/Awst https://www.bryngarwcountrypark.co.uk/whats-on/
Span Arts, Scolton Park 31 Aug/Awst https://span-arts.org.uk/whats-on/
Commissioned by Wales Outdoor Arts Consortium.
I'm super excited to finally announce (long overdue!) that I have been commissioned to make a show in Wales this year.
Howl! is a magical tale of a wild were-wolf woman. A narrative aerial theatre show performed in Welsh.Written by me, Directed by Gwen Thompson. Original musical score by Daniel Rhys Lawrence with Welsh support and costume design by Kate Jones.
Commissioned by Wales Outdoor Arts Consortium.
Rehearsed in my Mum's field.
We have loads of performance dates throughout Wales this summer, posts coming soon!
Rwy'n hynod gyffrous i gyhoeddi o'r diwedd fy mod wedi cael fynghomisiynu i wneud sioe yng Nghymru eleni. Mae Howl! yn stori hudolus am blaidd-ddynes wyllt. Sioe theatr awyrol naratif yn cael ei pherfformio yn Gymraeg. Ysgifennwyd gennyf fi, cyfarwyddwyd gan Gwen Thompson. Sgor gerddoral wreiddiolgan Daniel Rhys Lawrence, gyda chefnogaeth Gymreig a chynllun gwisgoedd gan Kate Jones. Comosiynwyd gan Gonsortiwm Celfyddydau Awyr Agored Cymru. Wedi Ymarfer yng cae fy Mam. Mae gennym ni lwyth a ddyddiadau perfformio dros Cymru yr haf yma.
It was lovely to spend more time performing in Wales this summer, and to be working again with some of the team from Dadeni at the Eisteddfod (see previous post). Greenman is a lovely festival in a beautiful location close to the Brecon Beacons. The festival has a laid-back vibe and is great for families, which isn't to say that it doesn't also feature some really great music and of course, circus, theatre and dance.
The Back of Beyond stage is an outdoor stage that features a rolling programme of performances and an evening show organised by producer Zoe Munn, who is hugely supportive of Welsh talent, and features performances made by recipients of the Four Nations Bursary, which supports new outdoor work. This year I joined fellow Dadeni performer Ellis Grover in a double bill of circus. Ellis performed his chair and bottle balancing act, which really has to be seen to be believed, and I performed "Phoenix Rising" my bird aerial act- a exploration of bird-like movement on a rope to a sound track of birdsong.
It was really fun performing there and joining the other acts, and of course the bonus of perofrming at a festival is that you get to enjoy the rest of the festival! Roll on Greenman 2023.
The what? I hear you ask, The Eisteddfod, something, being Welsh, I thought everyone knew about. Apprently not, many of my friends had never heard of the Eisteddfod, well, it is Wales' largest cultural festival and I learned this year that it is also the largest touring festival in Europe. It is 2 weeks of competitions, presentations and performances in singing, dancing, poetry, theatre, spoken word, music and much much more, alongside the compeitions there are bands, stalls, networking events, workshops and this year, for the first time, a large scale, outdoor contemporary circus show.
The show was dreamed up by the directors of The Eisteddfod, along with circus producer Zoe Munn and made in collaboration with Gorilla Circus. With a cast of 3 Welsh and 3 non Welsh artists the show was set to a specially commissioned poem by Wales' Childrens Poet Laureate, Casi Wyn. Casi performed the first part of the poem live from on top of an upturned car at 10m high, whilst myself and felow artist Kelsy Bell descended on ropes from inside the car to gasps from the crowd.
The show continued with an excellent hair hanging solo by Poppy Plowman, Counterweighted Trapeze and Hoop by Ophelia Atkinson and Daisy Williams, and me on rope. Then came the undisputed highpoint of the show, a high wire walk by Ellis Grover, the crowd holding their breath as he made his way across. The grand finale saw all the performers spinning on a carousel and big jets of flame!
The show was a great success, and as a Welsh performer, a real honour to be a part of something new at our largest cultural festival. Diolch yn Fawr!
It was so lovely to do my first performance in my new locality earlier this year, at the Highland Bagpipe Championships. I also felt like I'd definitley been accepted by Scotland! For you non-Scots there is a longstanding tradition of Bagpipe bands in Scotland and there are gatherings where bands compete. The bands consist of a number of bagpipers and drummers and they create and amazing sound and spectacle.
I was there with Moray Flying Circus to provide some light relief from the competitions by doing walkabout, aerial shows and circus workshops.
The day dawned fair and we had a great time on the walkabout sets with those who had already competed and their supporters in a relaxed and generally buoyant mood. The shows went well, with Ruaraidh starting with a dance trapeze solo, followed by my rope act and then Emma and Rachael doing doubles hoop. Our second show coincided with a break in the competitions so we persuaded a couple of young pipers to play along with our show.
All in all a lovely day!
This year I was drawn to a small festival organised by the Landworkers Alliance- The Land Skills Fair. It is a festival that focuses on land, food and climate justice. It is a medly of workshops, talks, music, performances and networking. Going there to perform combines my work life and my hobbies and passions.
So, along with Daisy Black of Gossamer Thread Circus we created bespoke aerial and spoken word performances on the themes of nature connection, climate, seasons, ecology and folklore. Writing and creating the piece was a very enjoyable creative endeaver, and I was keen to see how it was received by the audience. Daisy used some material from a film project she made during lockdown, adapting a part of it for live performance, as part of a larger project to be realised in 2023.
Both rope performances, they sat together beautifully and our short shows were well received by the very lovely audiences. It was, as ever a challenge to perform outside- we were rained off on Friday, but the weather held for Saturday and Sunday.
One of the things I do sometimes, is deliver text live while doing aerial, which can be a challenge for numerous reasons. On this occaision, because of being outside at a festival with background noise, I used a headset radio microphone, which of course brings its own problems, not least, where put and how to secure the battery pack and how to keep the headset on your head whilst going upside down and moving dynamically! In this case the wind also presented a challenge, as, the higher up you are, the windier it is, and the microphone was picking up the wind noise, which was a little distracting.
Despite this, the shows went well, we had fun and received good feedback on the performances. We are hoping to develop this into a full show to tour next year, and bring in Daisy's existing dream for the larger project- watch this space.
https://www.landskillsfair.com/
https://gossamerthreadcircus.weebly.com/
It's been a while since I updated my news, because it has, as ever, been a busy summer, and I'm not complaining! July saw me heading south into England, firstly to be a rigger for Farrell Cox's new show- Ambivalence. She played two venues- Northern Stage in Newcastle and Derby Theatre. I have worked with Farrell as a performer and rigger quite a bit these last years, mostly through The Gramophones Theatre's shows- Tarzanna and Aidy the Awesome. It felt really good to be supporting Farrell on her journey with this brave aurobiographical show- about living with psychosis and as a black queer woman navigating the world. It combines these narratives with aerial, dance and text, and Farrell delivers a powerful and moving performance.
The rigging was fairly straightforward for me, just a lifting system for a hoop and aerial plastic. I actually Iove getting in the roofs of theatre's and seeing what their grids look like, I often remember the grid more than the rest of the theatre if I rig in there.
Anyway I look forward to seeing how it develops and to her touring the show further afield. You can find out more about Ambivalence on the link below.
https://www.farrellcox.com/menu
This spring I am on tour with a brilliant aerial theatre show called Aidy The Awesome. Aimed at 3-12 year olds it has been dreamt up by the brilliant team at The Gramophones theatre and is an empowering tale of super hero grannies and their grandkids, in families where the super powers are passed down the female line. It is full of fun, stunning visual effects, stunts and comedy.
The show is played on and aroud a bespoke rig, and, on this tour I am in charge of it. It is probably the most comlex aerial rig I have ever been in charge of and its been a good challenge to rise to. We are now part way through the tour, the shows have been really well received and the team are realy getting to grips with the rig. I wasn't sure how happy I would be, being on tour but not being in the show as I often tour as a performer and rigger in the same production. While I wouln't want to always do it like this, I'm quite enjoying not being quite so busy on tour and not having the pressure of having to do a show or three in every place, its fun, and I have the extra time to explore the places we are going.
You can find our remaining tour dates and promo video here: