First two days at Dance For All!!

Day two is officially over, and I as usual have way too much to fill you in on.

First of all, I haven't received any response about the link I posted. If you visit, this link:

https://www.me.com/gallery/#100049

are you able to view the photos and videos that I have posted so far?

So, day one was amazing. I was so stunned that I didn't even think to record a thing, so I'll just have to tell you about it.

In the morning we were driven to the school in Athlone to begin our first day of the program. After introductions with the faculty, we were led downstairs to a studio where all 50 of the kids were waiting for us. We introduced ourselves, and then they danced for us. First, a woman playing a drum led the whole group in an african warm up. It was very exciting to see the kids dance with such enthusiasm, and I immediately saw the natural rhythm and hunger for self expression that every single one of the students had. The oldest group also performed a piece that they had been working on for awhile. It was so exciting to see them dance for the first time.

I watched a ballet class and was surprised how quickly the kids could switch from their "fun" movement to a structured ballet mode. I can tell that their teachers have stressed that ballet is a very serious art form that should be respected, and they play that game very well. The thing that I have discovered is that they, especially the older ones, need encouragement to bring that sense of fun, rhythm, and movement into their ballet dancing. Yes, it is hard; but ballet can give the same feeling, or allow for even more possibilities in movement, if you let the styles play off of each other.

I am setting a piece on the middle (yellow) level, ages 9-14 or so. I'm using music that I have always wanted to use; really fun music by John Adams that has a great locomotive feel. So far I have the kids in compact formations that weave like a caterpillar. I think they are having fun but sometimes I can't quite tell how they feel about it.

Today I had my first session of the Choreography Workshop. I met with the Red, highest level, and we got to work right away. They are a very loud, rambunctious group, but when you get all of their attention, they listen very carefully and set to work applying exactly what you say. I told them that I was there simply to give a few tools, but that they would be making their own piece in our time together.

They chose their own music, deciding on a track from Slumdog Millionaire. I led them through some improv exercises such as writing their name with their nose, their elbow, and their toe, across the floor. Then they split into groups and made up their own phrases of movement (4 sets of 8 counts.) Instead of being timid and struggling to think of steps, each group got to work choreographing pretty complex snippets of movement, with partnering, unison, and lots of contrast. I was amazed at how they threw themselves into the assignment, and they took it very seriously! They came together and presented their group phrases, one by one, and it was very exciting.

Then the real fun began. I explained to them about levels, low, medium and high, and how they could alter the phrase they had come up with. I also explained about spacing, direction, dynamics and tempo, and order of the movements. Each time, the groups would get together, alter their phrase, and come back to present.

The only thing I wish I had done differently would be to continue reviewing the earlier phrases as the groups progressed, instead of presenting, move on, presenting, move on, and so forth. By the time we finished, with five minutes left, the groups were overwhelmed putting all of their phrases together. I wish I had recorded the entire hour and fifteen minutes, and I wish we had reviewed the previous phrases more. Even so, it was a huge success. I posted a few short clips from the session on the link attached to this blog.

I meet the red group again next week, after having similar first sessions with the yellow and green groups. Hopefully when we meet again, the Red groups will remember all of their phrases, and we can structure the whole piece with all of the material. We'll have to work quickly, but I can't wait to see the result!

So, I'm having an amazing time and I absolutely love these kids. Please stay tuned for the next update!

Trying out a video

Please give me feedback if this video works or not. I'm also trying to post a few photos to this album.

https://www.me.com/gallery/#home

Thanks

Cape Town, and visiting the townships

Well, it was probaly the most eventful day ever, and there is more to tell than I probably have time for (or you want to read.)

When we work up, I picked Marty up in his separate room, and we ventured off. We took local taxis, which are caravans that the local people use to travel around town. The fare is very cheap, and the system very efficient, for collecting money and going where you need to go. From what I could tell, most white South Africans don't use this way to travel because it is crowded, moderately smelly, and kind of risky if you don't know what you're doing. (Sounds kind of like New York to me.) Honestly, I would never ride in a local taxi on my own, but it was an amazingexperience and I'm so glad that I had this first look into real South African life.

We ended up in Camps Bay, which is on the other side of Table Mountain from where we are staying in Rondebosch. It was a beautiful morning, and people were holding a competition to see who could withstand the freezing Atlantic water for the longest amount of time. Marts pointed out that great whites lurk in the water, and that white penguins live on the rocks nearby, and I was very excited to be there! We had coffee and headed back on our way. (I'm so frustrated that my videos aren't loading onto the me.com site, but stay tuned because I have so much to show you.)

I was so amazed at how outgoing the people are in South Africa. Everybody, no matter their race or financial situation, was friendly, helpful, and outgoing. One woman led us from one taxi to another, through an old train station, and made sure we were on the right route. Nobody in the states would ever show that kind of care for a stranger!

I met the group at 1 pm, and we took a van to pick up Hope, a guide and teacher at the Dance For All school, who took us into the townships and let us into the lives of the children who we will be teaching. Hope showed us her home, in a tiny shack that fit only a bed and a TV, and introduced us to her family. The entire group was thrilled to be in the township, and everyone was very nice. I got the sense that the people were very proud of their home. I know that there is no way to know for sure, but I imagine that they would probably feel wary of intruders, so I wouldn't be surprised if they put up a front to us and our cameras. It was hard to know if everybody was truly happy that we were there, or if they wanted us to leave as soon as possible.

We saw each of the townships where we would be teaching: Khayelitsha, Nyanga, and Athlone. We went to an observatory in Khayelitsha that allowed us to see the sprawl of shacks in all directions, as far as the eye can see. It was amazing to see these things, especially as a way of bonding with all of the other teachers in the program.

I got a lot of amazing video today, which I was hoping to share with you, but I'll need to organize another plan for posting. For now I'll try to post a few photos of the trip so far.

We have arrived!!!!

Well, we made it, a day late, but we're here.

Our flight to Amsterdam was a bit late so we missed the connecting flight to Cape Town. We spent the day in Amsterdam walking around looking at the people and the buildings, and eating fries.

Later that night we flew to London, and just barely made it on the flight from London to Cape Town. We were racing through Heathrow airport, taking trams and running with our bags, and were actually stunned that we actually made it on.

We arrived in Cape Town this morning, exhausted but relieved. Marty talked the cab driver from 180 rand to 130, and he drove us to our hotel. The other clip is from the cab, showing my first view of a township as we speed along. We met Claire and Kristine, the LEAP organizers of the program, at the hotel. Marty took me to the store to buy a pepper-steak pie and a cream soda, and when we got back to the hotel, we could sleep at last!

For dinner I met the LEAP group at a restaurant down the street, and was introduced to the people I don't know. We ate a nice dinner, got cell phones to stay in touch with each other, and discussed the plan for the week. Hopefully I can get some interviews and photos of everybody over the next day or so.

Leaving Today!

Well, it's officially crunch time. By 2 pm today, June 23, Marty and I will be on the plane, stopping in Amsterdam, and then arriving in Cape Town by Friday night. I'm so excited I can barely stand it, but slowly plugging away at the list before it can happen:

laundry,

pack as little as possible,

camera and equipment

journal,

music for Choreographic Workshop and ballet put onto CD's with backups and more backups.

...it's winter there so I hope I'll be warm enough...

I managed to get all the donations from Discount Dance, Susanne, and various dancers from LA Ballet, into one bag that is really heavy but not ridiculously big. I had a thought that customs might not like the packages of tights and shoes and so forth, so I hope I don't run into trouble. Any advice on that one would be much appreciated!

Well, thanks for following my blog! Assuming the internet is ok, I'll try to post regularly.

Oh, for future reference, links to videos or pictures will take you to my me.com gallery. I will label the videos with the date I post them, so when you get to the gallery page, choose the video with the corresponding date, or feel free to browse around.

See you on the flip side!!!

trying to post video

https://www.me.com/gallery/#100023/100_0007

This is a test for viewing video that I post while in South Africa.

Please copy and paste the link, go to the gallery, and view my latest movie!

Once this is all up and running, you will be able to see all my updates from Cape Town.

Second Try

This is a second try on posting for the new blog

Lucy In South Africa

My name is Lucy Van Cleef and I am going to South Africa soon. This is the first post in my blog. I will be adding more to it soon.