Day 1:

23 pairs of eyes looking out at us.

Curious. Surprised. Confused. Bewildered.

Making up our own movement? Stillness? Presence? This is not about learning steps?

Our residency in Heilbronn/Germany had started. Over the next seven days, Vicky, Luke and I worked daily from 9.30am to 3.30pm with the 23 students, aged between thirteen and eighteen years from bothLindenparkSchoolandFritzUlrichSchool. After rehearsing at the school in the mornings, we would walk over to the Komödienhaus, where the foyer became our space to play and explore, to try out the new and surpass the old. It became a creative space. It became our very own space.

Keywords during those seven days:

Tombstones. Beaming sun. Dandelion.

Building a house.

Commitment. Trust.

Langsam. Schnell. Schneller.

Translation please.

Focus. Fiddlegigglemonster.

A light shining from the inside.

Commanding the space.

Hands out of the pockets. Deep breath.

Keepy-uppy.

Clarity. Quality. Intention.

Big. Big. Big.

Take your time.

Gut. Supergut.

Day 7:

23 pairs of eyes looking out at the audience.

Excited. Concentrated. In the moment.

Each student transformed.

 

They had worked hard. They had pushed boundaries. They had surprised themselves. They had made a piece. A piece shaped by each individual, created together as a group.

Thank you Heilbronn for this special journey together. See you again und auf Wiedersehen.

Our next two stops will be with Turning 20 as we go to Dundee Rep. Theatre and Jersey Arts Centre. We hope to see you there!