It was around
mid-September when I was flying back from my holidays and as soon as I landed,
I received an email from the company. I was invited to be part of the cast for
a ‘last minute’ project titled Sharing
The Light. The project was due to start in a week and the only things I had
clear in my mind was that it would have been a large-scale outdoor production
in collaboration with another company from Germany with a huge puppet. That
meant new project, new performing scenario, new collaborations and colleagues:
it sounded very exciting.
Physically, it was
very tiring. We were dancing a traditional folk south Asian dance style
combined with elements of contemporary dance and everything was very fast and
jumped. Moreover, due to the nature of the show, a large-scale outdoor
performance, our dance needed to be very powerful and most of the time we were
dancing in unison. This required a lot of concentration and maintaining a high
level of energy throughout the piece. We also had to keep reminding ourselves
that in the actual performance we would have dance with shoes, outside on a
normal floor, without any help from the usual dance floor that we all love when
we jump and hop.
It was challenging to
figure out in my mind the structure of the whole show because we didn’t have a
clear idea of what would have happened on the day, due to the wheatear
forecast, the multiple collaborations with the Dundu company, the musicians,
the community cast and the crowd. We almost met all of these people just on the
day of the performance and it was hard to imagine the final result during the
rehearsals process.
Ritual Lift Selfie
Costume Fitting
The days of the shows were very full and overwhelming. We met all the
people collaborating with us on stage and behind the scenes, we checked the
performing space and we had to memorize different performance scenarios depending
on how the weather was at the last minute. For security and practical reasons,
we decided to use the in-ear connection during the performance. That means we
could be in constant connection with Sonia, who could give us instructions as
well as guiding us throughout the performance. That was something very new to
me which, on one hand, was rescuing me and on the other hand was worrying me
because I never used it before and I wasn’t sure whether it would have
deconcentrated me from the performance. The first day, we performed indoor, and
as soon as Sonia gave me her first instruction through the in-ear, I went
totally wrong immediately after applying what she just had asked me to do. I
knew it was going to happen!! The adrenaline probably played an important role
during that first moments, but after that everything went well and having the
voice of Sonia was like having a secure mom’s voice that guides you.
The second day was epic. We performed outdoor, the costumes and the
puppet shined as stars, the crowd was so excited and sending us so much energy
that I didn’t even feel tired for one second.
It was really emotional to see how dance and music, art in general, have
the potential to gather hundreds of people together and bring happiness and
hope. It was a real celebration with a lot of joy and light. As a group,
despite all the adrenaline, tension and crowed situation, we always found
moments of laughing and joking, which made the experience even more enjoyable
and relaxing.
It was very touching to see how each member of the company was giving 120% of themselves to help the group and to make sure that we all could have the best show ever both during the creative process and the performance days. I firmly believe that is what makes the difference between someone that just does their job and someone that really loves what they do. And this is the power of this amazing and inspiring Sonia Sabri Company family.
Photo by Ciara Clayton
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