*A debut aerial hoop performance*

Wow, things are certainly going full-speed ahead with those New Years resolutions! I have already begun practicing with the street circus troupe at the Roundhouse...and tickets for the show (which we haven't created yet) are on sale?!!

Rehearsals started last Wednesday from 6-9pm. The session was intense, but incredibly fun- and the directors are still just as cool as they were on Sunday. I came straight from work and didn't have a chance to eat anything, so during the time I spent rolling around on mats and learning  high-energy 'hype' dancing (it's all in the name!) all I could think about was food... Next time I'll definitely eat before!

We have intensive rehearsals until show day, and on the week leading up to the show we rehearse full days (I had to book time off work, but this is definitely worth it!). The performance is in the very preliminary phases at the moment; all we know is that it will showcase a fusion of circus, acting and dance which could be based upon themes such as 'Gremlins', 'the colour green' and 'competition'. I'm sure it will come together in the end! At the moment the only concrete aspect of our show is the name, 'Cirque da Funk!'...

There will be more updates coming this way soon!

In the meantime, I have something very exciting to share with you, which is lined-up for the coming month of February. On 10th February 2012, I will star in my first ever aerial hoop performance at none other than 'The Lightbox' in Vauxhall!

Check out the pretty sexy venue!

The night itself is Planet Angel's 'Valentine's Day Ball', which will be packed with performance, dancing and of course, fruit platters all round! If you've not been before then you're in for a treat...it's an incredibly special night (and goes on until dawn...and thereafter!)

Check it out- I'm even on the website!!  

I've been practicing so much, I think my hands may just fall off; but I'm sure it will be well worth it...

...Hoop to see you there!

***

Another circus audition...

Circus is fast becoming an obsession. Hopefully, this isn't bad? At least it’s an exciting and hopefully life-changing obsession. Even though I've been doing intensive circus-related exercise everyday of this last week, instead of feeling lethargic and lacklustre, I have more energy than ever. In fact, I decided to have two days free from training and felt worse off for it! They say exercise is addictive, and I think I’m experiencing just that…

Anyway, let me explain why I’ve been so busy J. So, last Sunday I had another audition. A different venue, a different project. I was so tired this time, I had half a mind not to turn up. I had been practicing aerial hoop so much, my whole body was aching. On Saturday I had taken the new, then unused hoop to the local park and rigged it up in a tree. There was frost on the ground, and by-passers were wrapped up in coats and scarves, but there was me, in leggings, legwarmers and a leotard, swinging from a hoop on Tooting Common. People must have thought I was mad! I did attract some strange looks. Nobody approached me, but a guy stood watching for around 15 minutes and wrote/drew furiously in a notebook. I guess it wasn’t a sight to behold everyday. To be honest, it wasn’t that spectacular a spectacle, as the hoop was only rigged up about a foot off the ground (I couldn't reach up high enough/climb the tree safely to get it up any higher!). But it was fun (even though it did contribute to intense muscular ache the proceeding evening…)

Just hanging isn't all that relaxing!

Anyway, back to the audition! Come Sunday morning, I really wanted to rest my aching muscles and stay in bed until at least midday. But then my motivation somehow kicked in, I begrudgingly left James sleeping away, spent an intense half-hour choreographing an audition piece (containing a variety of props, including a contact ball, clubs and diabolo), packed up and set off for the Roundhouse in Camden town in anticipation. Instead of feeling deterred by rejection at the Olympic Torch Audition the previous week, I felt a fresh sense of hope and excitement. This audition was for a part in a youth street circus company, which would be performing as part a contemporary circus celebration entitled, ‘Circus Fest’, in April, along with acclaimed circus troupes.

It really is round!

This time, the audition would run from 2-5pm, instead of the day-long marathon of endurance at Circus Space, which although was fun, was completely exhausting. Being a compulsive early bird, I turned up at least half an hour early. It was much less busy than the previous audition, and already seemed far more relaxed. I signed in and was given another sticky label bearing my name, to be worn where the judges could see it. I sat down in the waiting area next to a tiny girl, who immediately started talking to me. Eleanor, as she was called, turned out to be a pro at street dance at the tender age of only 11! God, I was starting to feel old. The age range for the audition was between 11-25, so I was fast approaching the upper-band of the age limit. But this didn’t seem to matter, as there was a whole spectrum of ages at the venue. I got chatting to an incredibly nice 23 year old named Jess, and some 16 year olds who were taking their GCSEs... 

It was 2pm and time to get started. We were brought through to a round brick space, with moody lighting, where we met the (incredibly cool) judges. I recognised one guy from Pineapple Dance Studios. Sure enough, it was Xavi, a Spanish dude, who’s street dance classes I sometimes go to. The other directors looked suitably 'down with the kids'…I think this was going to be fun! Unlike last week’s audition, we were told exactly what was going to happen, and instructed to take it easy and just relax. Easier said than done!

Xavi started us off with a warm up hip hop routine. He went really fast and I noticed that everyone was picking up the moves instantaneously. Argh! Jump to it Sarah! Everybody certainly had the moves. After the warm up, we had to learn a “choreo”, which I just didn’t get at first at all. Lots of people were getting really stressed out about it and the choreographers were telling everyone to relax.

We were given just one minute to perfect the moves before we showed the routine to the judges, in groups of four. I panicked and couldn’t concentrate on any of it. Stress! FOCUS!! Just as I thought time must surely be up, I kicked into gear. I joined a group of people who were practicing and my panic somehow melted away. I motivated the group to go over the moves with some high energy! This definitely paid off J.

Then it was performance time. I really went for it and although I got a few moves wrong, it didn’t seem to matter that much. Then came phase two. This time, we had to perform the sequence using the emotions of anger, sadness and joy. Wow, this was hard work. It was funny watching everyone else. There was lots of screaming, wooping and crying escaping various mouths as everyone tried their hardest to convey the strongest emotions they could muster.

Next, we had to think of a story and then tell it to somebody else, using only movement. This was funny. I enjoyed the opportunity to be so expressive, and the good thing was that most people guessed what my story was about (about to get married and then discovering my finance was dead…slightly macabre, but easy to demonstrate through movement). Others chose rather more light-hearted topics, such as being told off for not doing enough homework and winning a dance championship, to name a few.

At this point we were roughly halfway through the audition, and I was starting to feel the intensity of it. Again, there was not really much chance to eat or drink anything (luckily it was after lunch this time!), and we pressed on to the next session.

As expected, we then had to do a class in acrobatics. Much the same as my previous audition, we were instructed to forward roll, handstand, full-twist and cartwheel our way down a blue tumble mat in front of the judges…Here was the gymnasts’ turn to shine as they leapt and bounded over the mat. I dedicated as much energy I could in the few moves I could perform with confidence. I just wish I could back flip (definitely another goal for 2012!).

After exerting ourselves in jumping around, it was time to sit down to watch each others' devised pieces. Here, the street dancers came to life and little 11 year old Eleanor took to the stage. She was incredible! Parkour experts turned somersaults off walls, poppers demonstrated incredible body manipulation and two girls performed creative acrobalance. Then it was my turn. I was the only person who had chosen to use circus props. I laid out the clubs, ball and diabolo in front of me and hoped I wouldn’t drop them in the display…

…..phew! It went well! Got a cheer for the diabolo throws and club spinning! Only dropped at the end, but sneakily turned it into a bow to finish. It felt nice to have a chance to show something of my own creation and receive applause!

The audition was almost drawing to an end. Before finishing, Xavi called over all the people who could perform aerial circus skills. There was a group of around six people; all who could perform ropes, silks, trapeze, hoop and flying trapeze. There was me with my single aerial skill! Oh well, it was worth a try. There was a guy from Circo Colombia, who showed us a video of him balancing on his head, on a trapeze, juggling clubs. Incredible... How would I stand a chance against this sort of competition??

It was finally home time. I have to say that audition was definitely more relaxed than the one I wrote about last week- and I certainly felt more hopeful about my performance, even if the standard of competition was once again mightily fierce. We were to be told if we’d got the part the next day. All I could do was wait….

….The next day came. I was nervously and incessantly checking my phone. Nothing. Midday had passed. Then it got to 3pm. I started to assume they weren’t going to call, although thought it a little unreasonable not to let me know either way. Oh well, there would have been intensive rehearsals to go to and I would've had to have booked a week off work for the performances. Never mind, next time I guess!

However at 4.30, my phone rang, displaying an unknown number. I picked it up with haste. It was Josie from the Roundhouse! She started by thanking me for my time, so, assuming she was going to let me down gently, I jumped at the chance to tell her I’d had a really good time at the audition. Then she said, ‘Well that bodes well, Sarah, because we’d like to offer you the part!

I am speechless and elated. For the half an hour that remained at work I floated round in a happy daze, forgetting I had to do any work at all. Rehearsals start Wednesday. Performances are on 5^th and 6^th April 2012. You can even book tickets now! ARGHHH!!!!! J

***

More to follow!

***

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I ran away with a Madagascan circus!

My previous audition...

Olympic Torch Relay- an audition..

The New Year is all about resolutions. And I made one this year that I definitely intend on keeping. However I’m not going to give up chocolate, alcohol or start ironing my clothes. No, no. 2012 is going to be the year I join a circus!

So, over the Christmas holidays, among the piles of mince pies and copious glasses of sherry I compiled a ‘Performance CV’, applied for a foundation degree at Circomedia in Bristol and fired off videos and letters to any circus-related job adverts I could find…

And it seems like all those applications are starting to pay off. A couple of days ago I got an email from Circus Space, calling me to an audition for the Olympic Torch Relay. What a nice surprise! I sent them a little practice video and my new CV and they emailed back to invite me to an audition. J

For Christmas I got an aerial hoop (nice! Thanks Santa, a.k.a. Fire Toys) and as I hadn’t had a chance to rig it, I was a little apprehensive about testing out for the first time at the audition. I’m certainly not a trained rigger by any stretch and my hoop skills are certainly not yet fully fledged!

Where's the rigging??

I wasn’t sure exactly what the audition would entail, as the email simply said I should arrive at Circus Space at 10am on Saturday 7^th January with any equipment/props I needed and await further instruction.

With this being all the information I had, I set to work trying to choreograph a routine. As I didn’t have time to train with a hoop, I tried to practice in my head and with the unrigged hoop. I’m not sure this simulation worked, but it was the best solution I could come up with at the time.

The evening before the audition I kept my housemates up until 2am practicing (sorry about that!). My chosen song was Teardrop by Massive Attack and they must have been sick of hearing it (especially in the early hours of the morning)….

I arose at 7am the next day to get ready, slung my hoop over my shoulder and headed out at 9am- making loud clanging sounds as I bashed it into corners and doors on my way out...oh dear, good start!

I got a few strange looks from fellow passengers on my way to Old Street station, where I noticed a few performer-looking types. I overheard one of them say ‘Look, she’s got a hoop!’ which made me smile. I must have looked slightly strange, I wonder if people knew what it was for? I met one guy who thought it was an inner tube! How big must the bike have been?! Another person thought it was a TV aerial (I guess they got half of it right!).

Maybe not...

I got to Circus Space 10 minutes early and was met by at least 30 people waiting outside. Never before had I seen such an array of arty looking people or quirky looking props! There were several unicyclists, stilt walkers, parkour groups and various spherical hoop-looking objects. I couldn’t help but smile, a day surrounded by circus people was surely going to be nothing but fun!

Then, the metal door was rolled up and we all bundled inside. So many people to get through those doors! I gave in my name, was given a number and was then directed to another women to be photographed holding my mumber and my name. I looked at my number. 141! Oh god, I was going to be here all day…

We filed into a small atrium, where people immediately began practicing. Hoops, balls and handstands were pulled out of bags and I soon got talking to a group of acrobats from Australia. The atmosphere was really relaxed and everyone was in very good humour.

Arghhh!

We were welcomed by the director of the show (named Sue) and told about what we were going to do. What she said wasn't really what I had been imagining. I envisaged that we would warm ourselves up and then perform our choreographed entries to the judge, one by one. However, this is not what the casting director had in store. Turns out I needn't have practiced to 2am after all...

First  of all we were taken to a room filled with mirrors, where we were greeted by a zany woman, who showed us a contemporary dance routine we had to follow. This proved slightly difficult; there were loads of people crammed into a tiny space and the woman strung a sequence of moves together so fast that we barely saw them! Argh! Little did we know, we were being judged on our ability to learn and perform movements in a coherent, fluid style. Oh dear! Why did she go so fast? Everyone seemed a little flustered. We had 3 minutes to go through the dance in small groups and nobody could remember which move came next! Genius. I befriended an incredibly chatty rhythmic gymnast and a juggler, both who seemed surprised at this strange warm up, although invigorated by the free dance lesson.

We then we told to wait around half an hour until our next ‘session’. More handstands appeared and a whole spectrum of other circus tricks where tested out in the small space we had, which was, at this point, peppered with props. Everyone was so friendly and most, like me, had degrees in various subjects and were now doing ‘normal’ jobs, wanting to escape to the circus. I now was even more resolved than ever to join a circus!

Time for the 2^nd session! Argh! Now we found out we had to do a class in acrobatics. This should be fun…I hadn't done gymnastics for ages. We all lined up on a long, blue tumble mat. Firstly we had to demonstrate forward rolls, then backward rolls, then cartwheels to a seated young guy in a red-checked shirt, who didn’t seem too impressed. Then came backflips, free cartwheels and standing back tucks. About half of the room bypassed the tumble mat at this stage, including myself. But there were some people there who were absolutely astounding.

I'm sure this occurred at one stage..

The guys in parkour groups turned backflip over backflip and ended with a twisting somersault. The girls in the acrobalance trio performed incredible feats of hand to hand, which took our breath away and earned rounds of applause. The ease and grace with which they performed these gravity defying stunts was magical. I was starting to feel a little jealous! Why did I stop gymnastics when I was so young?

Now I was starting to feel the stress of the day. We hadn’t had a chance to eat and I had only drank a small bottle of water….Oh well, no time to stop- we were swiftly ushered on to session number 3…

This time, the people who had come together as an act had to gather together. All the remaining people had to choose a group to join. Once everybody had chosen their preferred group, we were told that we had no more than 20 minutes to devise a performance piece. What?! We were given a few prop-inspired ideas relating to the Olympics, for example; prance around with a ribbon pretending to be “The spirit of the flame.”

I chose the Australian acrobatic trio and so did a variety of other dancers. Quick! Make a performance! Argh! We scraped together something incredibly off-the-cuff and ridiculous about the “competitive spirit” of the games, where we all ended up killing each other, and then it was time to sit down again and watch everybody else …

…Wow what innovative performances! One group presented the Olympic games ‘live’ with various entrants from different countries, using all the props they could find (like the blue tumble mat to represent a swimming pool. Amazing!), another group pretended they were Greek Gods who were climbing a Chinese pole to Mount Olympus. Another contortionist did a very good job of pretending to be the Olympic torch; carried around by his legs (which were around his head) by other people in his group.  This was gripping stuff!

Icecream anyone?

Then we were up. I totally forgot everything I was doing, was shaking with nerves and convinced I didn’t look dancey/flexible enough. We all ended up in a massive improvised heap at the end…did we pull it off? I’ll never know…

So then we were told to vacate the room while the directors conferred and thought about what to do next. I did a bit of casual passing with Juggler boy (I think his name was Kev? Or Ben? I forget!) and contortionist man, who had a very interesting moustache…

I also met a Russian girl who had brought her own handstand pedestal complete with silver holographic table (which must have been so difficult to carry around!) who was doing crazy stunts upside down with a ball. Another girl was wandering around doing hat tricks and split leaps and then started climbing a rope! Random. But incredibly cool.

Then we were called back and told about the next stage of the process. There had been much discussion and it was finally decided that the fairest thing to do would be to read out numbers of people who didn’t quite cut the mustard and keep back the rest for more physical feasts of endurance which would last until approximately 5.30pm.

I watched as people crossed their fingers and I saw the disappointed looks on faces as each number was called. As my own number was announced, I felt somewhat relieved. For me the day had been a tiny taste of what life would be like if I were to become a full-time circus professional. I didn't get the part it as it wasn't right for me yet. Plus, I wasn’t an acrobat and this was really what the directors were looking for. Also I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to go home to sit on a sofa and not perform cartwheels!

For me the experience had been about meeting new, incredibly interesting people and learning that there are so many diverse talents in the world. Having all these talents in one room made it look like it was easy and somewhat banal. I have to remind myself that this definitely isn't the case... J

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A little hoop practice...

James' Pantomine Audition

The time I ran away with a Madagascan circus... (part 3)

It was time to move on again. All aboard the minibus! We piled on once more for an uncomfortably squashed 16 hour journey. This time we were off to Antsirabe, to an orphanage called ‘Les Terreaux d’Espoir’. We would be working with the children there for one week, whilst staying in a local convent. I’m not sure how the nuns felt about a circus troupe taking over their living quarters, but they were certainly very hospitable and provided us with biscuits, squash and washing facilities for our clothes (well, a well and bars of soap). The shower even had hot water and we had beds (!?). Time for a well earned relax after roughing it somewhat in Tana.

And so we stayed for a week and taught the children in the orphanage (who were already amazing at juggling.. Some were even expert club passers!) and in the meantime helped them to choreograph acts for a show. We played music for them and also had a day filled with arts and crafts, when we made poi out of tennis balls and entwined ribbons and fire equipment from some old clubs we found in the suitcase of circus props. When night fell we tested our creations, and the children’s faces lit up as they whirled and danced with their firey new toys.

In the town of Antsirabe we discovered the art of capoeira (a Brazilian martial art, which combines music, dance, gymnastics and combat) and befriended a group of capoeira performers, with whom we created a joint show with combat and fire. We performed our spectacle by the railway station, where the residents of the town came to watch us. It was a bit of a risky affair, especially when one of the capoeiraists was hit in the nose with a firey hand…we were all worried for a few moments, but, being incredibly hardcore, he got up and carried on with the show!

Meanwhile, the children at the orphanage were getting ready for their show. I was mentoring two boys, Sammy and Jasina, who were showcasing a diabolo act. They were getting really nervous, but we found some awesome costumes from the market (sunglasses, hats and scarves) and Julian (out resident musician) strummed the theme tune to pulp fiction on his guitar, which they adored.

The children performed in the local church and all the villagers came to watch. At the end of the show, I realised there was something missing in the applauding audience. Although the show went really well and the villagers loved it, I couldn’t help but feel a great sadness that these children’s parents weren’t there to see them. To make matters worse we had to leave straight after the show and the childrens’ tears were almost too much to bear. We waited until we were safely in our minibus until we let our own tears fall.

The totally awesome diabolists...

We went back to Tana to the circus school  and were greeted with a warm welcome. This time I got ill, which wasn’t fun in the midst of performances and workshops and perhaps exacerbated by uncomfortable and dirty living conditions. We created an entirely new show with a magical storyline and in the meantime there was a little time to kickback (sometimes literally, into a backwards walkover) with a Madagascan beer and a few nems (spring rolls) and beignets (a bit like bhajis). We relaxed, prepared for our new show and did general housekeeping (i.e washing clothes in the shower and creating a DIY drumkit). We met a local instrument maker, who constructed us beautiful Madagascan instruments. We had daily Djembe drumming sessions which lasted for so long that the neighbours complained…

One of my favourite performances was a show we did in a local nightclub. Sandrine (a Madagascan dancer) and I had choreographed a fire dance to Beyonce’s Single Ladies song, which we performed on stage in front of the revellers. The others showed off their skills in fire poi and clubs and we all stood on podiums juggling with glow equipment. We stayed up until 6am after dancing with fire all night not feeling in the least bit tired.

"Single Ladies" fire dance

Madagascan breakfast was a mixture of rice, vegetables and watery milk. I politely declined the offer of this dish at this particular time of day, but could have murdered a burger and chips (which, as we all know is a traditional British necessity after an all-nighter!)

Give me un McDo any day!

We prepared for the penultimate leg of our journey, which was to the city of Manakara. Here, the landscape was completely different to the drier, rocky mountains of central Madagascar. It was hotter, far more humid and vegetation grew all around. The beach was just around the corner and we basked in its turbulent waters. Life couldn’t be better, but I was ever so conscious of the days slipping away. I willed time to stand still so I didn’t have to go back to reality, which faced me back at home in Britain.

Here we visited L’Alliance Francaise, where we set up new workshops for the local children. Here we also performed our latest creation; a show with a variety of colourful characters and different physical techniques including sword combat and acrobatic dancing. Contact balls featured heavily in this performance, which we used to represent the struggle of a young boy as he transcends the difficulties of adolescence into adulthood. It was great fun, and the costumes we rustled up were a little ridiculous!

Our penultimate performance was on a small island, only reachable via canal boat. We climbed aboard the water taxi and travelled along a fresh water river, observing the herds of zebu and wooden huts at its banks until the river widened into a salt water estuary and a most beautifully petit and tranquil island came into view. The island had but one small guesthouse, with almost palatial living quarters, all built out of rustic cabin-style timber, which rooflessly gazed up into the starlit sky. It was magical. Apart from the lack of toilet facilities…

We dined on local fish and rice but at once felt terribly guilty for eating it, as we realised the island was inhabited by starving children. In the morning we cut up our toast and gave it to them, but unfortunately the bread was not enough for so many hungry mouths. We played games and did magic shows for the children and in the evening we defied the waters of the ocean with a fire performance in its waves.

The villagers loved the show, but the pictures of those hungry children dressed in near rags still flicker across my mind to this day. Unfortunately we could only offer them our circus tricks in the way of nourishment. I’d like to go back there one day with enough food for every one of them and a permanent circus school for them to enjoy everyday.

And so we travelled back to Tana in the minibus for one last time, for one last performance. We stayed at the circus school once more and decided to do a fire performance unlike any other we had done before. This time the mayor had not approved our presence in the street, so we decided to go ahead and do a ‘spectacle sauvage’ (a.k.a a 'wild show').  It was a terrifying prospect and we thought we might be arrested by patrolling officials, but in fact every body watched quite placidly and there was not a policeman to be seen. It was possibly our most unplanned performance of the trip, but it was definitely one of the most memorable.

And then, sadly, it was time to say goodbye to the country of the lemur and the baobab, and to our magical circus experience. I will never forget this incredible country and the joy circus brought to the lives of many Madagascan children. One day I hope to return there with another circus story to tell, and perhaps a real big top of my own. 

Misaotra! Veloma!

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Part 1 of my Madagascan adventure
Part 2 of my Madagascan adventure