Colchester Carnival

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!