Week 7 - Dunraven Beach Trip

During this week’s session we did something different. Rather than staying in the dance studio we were offered an opportunity to visit a beach with the 3^rd year’s Site Specific group. Our whole group turned up and started taking pictures of our trip. Dunraven was a 2 hour bus journey, and we were advised to pack something white and to wear comfortable, warm clothing, because of the very cold sea breeze. Prior to the trip, we were told to read about Body Weather by Min Tanaka.

Once we arrived at Dunraven, we were greeted by the cold sea breeze and made our way to the heritage centre, where all our belongings were to be kept. Once we arrived and settled in we were briefed about the day and were introduced to Alison, our guide. She explained what we were going to do and her involvement with the beach. She was the set designer for a theatre company who were heavily involved with Dunraven. It was really interesting to hear about her job. One story that particularly stood out was when they tried to put a piano on the beach but failed due to weather conditions.

After eating lunch, we were split into groups according to the lecturers who were there (Daniel and Jane). Nurisa, Steph and Rhys followed Jane and Allison to the site where all the ruins were situated, whilst Mark and Roosa went with Dan to the Cliffside. 

  

We first explored the ruins. They were very interesting to look at with a lot of historical background. The most beautiful structure was the one in the above picture. It used to be an old entrance for a home. The place was massive and looked like it belonged to a wealthy family. After a tour of the place were told to create a performance based on any space in the site. Rhys, Stephanie and Nurisa were in one group, and picked a place that used to be another entrance with cobblestone flooring. 

We had with us a white towel, which we used in the performance. We pretended it was something valuable and the performance was based on the idea of getting past guards and trying to bribe them with the treasure (towel). The next sequence involved us trying to get it back and running away. It was a silent piece with a lot of physical movements and running. Overall the feedback was good, people liked the relationship between the towel and actors and how we used it in our piece. 

 

Everyone else's piece were interesting. They used the energy and the surroundings of the place by integrating the breeze or site they picked. 

Meanwhile, in Dan's group with Mark and Roosa, they explored the ideas of Body Weather by Min Tanaka. 

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Once we reached the cliff, we were told to do the famous Buto walk, where one walks slowly towards an opposing side. Once we finished this exercise, we went to another part of the cliff, where we were told to stand almost on the edge in order to feel the wind, energy and nature of the cliff and felt it carry us.

Everyone did it, different sizes of sheets were distributed. The task involved holding up white sheets against the wind to feel resistance whilst walking into it, creating many different shapes and images. They also tried to put each shape with a state of mind, such as struggle and pain. Because some sheets were on varied levels, the shapes created looked different to others and were carried differently. When carrying the sheet the actor must not let the sheet move them. We were told to move on our own and not let the sheet influence our actions too much.

This experience taught us to be one with nature and tells us that the body is like the weather, it constantly changes. When the sessions were finished, groups swapped and did the activity the other group had done first. 
Once we were all done, everyone made their way down to the beach for the last workshop.

For the first part of the beach workshop, we made our way to a massive rock pool. The path leading up to the rock pool was to be used as part of a exercise. Staying in our groups, one group would stay near the rock pool and the other would create three moves en route. The last group would then greet the arriving group with a specific pose.

This exercise was interesting and something we have never done before. It was a good way to use the space we had. The final workshop was based on stories of wives waiting for their husbands to come back from war. All of us spread out along the beach and created a series of poses facing the sea. It was calming and spiritual experience. It was nice to use the atmosphere and story.

The beach trip, although tiring and quite cold, was a nice change. The whole experience taught us that the body is closely linked with nature and the world. Reading about Min Tanaka and Body Weather before the trip gave us a good foundation, and meant the workshops made more sense.