I am exhausted. Performed and did a Bollywood Dance workshop in Basildon at the Essex Legacy Games event today. Had a fantastic time...but it was boiling hot!
Enjoyed watching the Tai Chi, Majorettes and Mushroom Theatre Company's performances, and it was so much fun participating with the African drumming and dancing! :D I came across a new situation when I did my performance though...as I stood on the edge of the stage, I thought "hmm this stage is quite warm"...and about 10 seconds later as I attempted to perform Liquid Dance, my feet were burning. The stage was scorching! So half way through I had to jump down on to the concrete area, which was as cool as ice in comparison. Phew! Managed to complete the dance and then did a five-minute workshop with a lovely bunch of participants who were eager and very good at dancing Bollywood-style :D My parents came along to the event, and we celebrated with a meal at Frankie and Benny's, followed by a relaxed evening at home. Perfect :)
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Back for day 2!
Unfortunately it was much quieter in the gallery today - well in terms of visitors anyway. I didn't notice as I spent the day in the company of printmaker Dawn Finn - and we were chatting away! What a lovely lady; we talked about everything...from the wonders of India to cooking, decorating, music and of course print and textiles. Dawn's background is in textiles, so she gave me some much welcome advice on how to take my work further. Definitely feeling much more inspired and raring to go now! It's strange how a small conversation can give you so much direction and make you feel more confident about how to go on. Dawn's daughter, Liza Finn is a singer/songwriter. I'm looking forward to going to some of her gigs. Been listening to her single Home...it's got a haunted and captivating feel to it. I can't stop listening! Her voice is so beautiful and pure, and sounds familiar even though it's the first time I have heard her sing. This song in particular reminds me of Suzanne Vega and Fairground Attraction, two of my favourite artists. My favourite song of Liza's at the moment is Just Can't Let You Go. Absolutely love it :) After locking up I headed back to Colchester where I had a lovely evening meal with the other half, catching up and chilling out! A long but lovely day at the House Mill Gallery in Bromley-by-Bow today, for my first day stewarding at Makers at the Mill 2013. There have been quite a few visitors - the boat trips up and down the canal and bringing new people in which is great! And Noel Fielding even dropped by to have a look... :D Spent the day with the talented fine artist Mary Swan. Her oil paintings are fantastic! Some of them are so small, but you just get lost in the atmosphere that she creates; the canvas just envelopes you. I love them! My favourite is Jack II - a haunting scene of a cloaked figure in a deserted street in the dead of night...Jack the Ripper.... We had a laugh and a chat and I ate two lunches...I couldn't seem to stop eating! The canal looked beautiful in the sunlight and I got round to doing a teeny bit of sketching... For more images of the exhibition and the wonderful surrounding area take a look below.
So I had to rustle something up extra-quickly today and thought, what better than pesto pasta? I bought a whole pot of beautiful smelling basil the other day, and couldn't wait to use it.
Oh...my...gosh. It was the best pesto pasta EVER! I could eat it every day :D got the thumbs up from the rents and my partner, so I reckon I can safely say it was a success! I had to share it with the world... I just chucked the ingredients into the blender, so the recipe may not be exact, but hopefully it'll produce a pretty tasty replica! Yummy Scrummy Pesto: 1/2 chopped tomato 1 small onion 1 green chilli 2 garlic cloves 2 tbsp chopped corriander 1/2 tsp sugar 3/4 tsp salt Generous shake ground black pepper 3-4 drops tobasco sauce 2 handfuls fresh basil leaves 1 1/2 tbsp pine nuts Squeeze of lime Olive oil 1 tbsp soy sauce Pesto is a spontaneous thing...I just go with the flow and chuck in whatever I fancy at the time! If you make it, then I hope you enjoy it :D Bopping along to the funky sounds of the Grand Union Orchestra was a great beginning to the short time I spent at the Colchester Carnival. They are fantastic! Drawing influences from all different types of world music, I couldn't spot a single person on Hollytrees Lawn who wasn't swaying or tapping to the beat :D After their rehearsal slot, I was up with my Bollywood Dance workshop and performance. It was lovely to have a pretty big audience (reckon I have the orchestra to thank for that!) and some brave participants, who were more than able to bust some Bollywood moves. We danced to Jai Ho, which I followed with a solo performance of Liquid Dance; fusing classical Bharatanatyam steps with contemporary music. The only downside was that I should have prepared a bit better and used the full 30mins - we were done in about 20! I had a slight problem with the music, I guess if I had been able to use my playlist then I could have been more spontaneous and taught some more moves to different Bollywood/Traditional folk tracks. Ah well - you live and you learn... :S The session went really well though, everybody enjoyed it (I think!) and it was great to have the opportunity to teach, perform and let more people know about my Bollywood Dance Classes... I need to promote promote promote!
It was lovely chatting to old friends and new acquaintances - and after the Grand Union Orchestra's performance, there was a workshop by Susanna Harrington. It was such a lovely surprise to see her and her family. Susanna taught my sister and I Bharatanatyam; she is classically trained and teaches locally. I taught her class the other week - I can't wait to get back into Bharatanatyam learning-mode again now :D Oh and another exciting thing...I was chatting to the organiser of TACMEP's Celebrate! Festival of Diverse Cultures, which is taking place in the Minories garden on Saturday 7th September 2013...and as well as holding a Bollywood Dance Workshop and performance, I am going to do a small improvised session at the evening concert with the Grand Union Orchestra! :D They will play the live music, and I will dance...but the only rehearsal time we will have is in the hour before the concert.....talk about spontaneous...I am really excited about it. I will be a great learning curve and experience for me: I will need to connect with the music and just let the dancing flow. I can't wait! The evening was spent relaxing and catching up with episodes 4 and 5 of The White Queen on BBC i-player. I love it! I am totally addicted to the series, and love google-ing everything at the end, to understand more about the people. I'm becoming quite an expert on that part of history, even if I say so myself... :P I think the way they portray the characters and depict society during that period is really good; I get a real sense of the importance of religion, the role of men and women, superstitions etc...although I remember learning about it at school, this definitely brings it to life. If you haven't already, then WATCH IT! |
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