Being a guest ‘blogger’ must be up there with my proudest achievements – along with passing my driving test 1st time and finally cutting down on biscuits.
Its been a great couple of months in the land of Arts and Audience Development. I had the privilege of working on Criw Cymru 2010 – a really great group of youngsters. As well as sticking my oar into a few other incubator related projects – thanks Simon! I have had a great time here, and my brief legacy will be upheld by some great acts booked on the Glanfa Stage during March and April!
Who knows, in the word of a certain governor – I’ll be back.
On a side note – I will be running the Original Grim Challenge on the 5th of December which is sure to be great fun. I have never been the greatest athlete in the world, so it’s likely that Christmas will be spent recuperating with chocolates and turkey sandwiches. I will be doing it all in aid of the glanfa stage at Wales Millennium Centre, so please feel free to sponsor me.
So there was excess baggage to pay for, a delayed flight and lost luggage to deal with… a wonderful start to a fantastic five days at Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Austria don't you think? Ja? At least the venue was a little familiar, as a friend commented on my Facebook: In diesen Steinen singen Horizonte (diolch Owain).
So why the devil was I there? Well, Sadler's Wells were producing a contemporary dance mixed-bill under the billing Sadler's Wells Presents and I was acting as tour / company manager, ensuring that everyone and everything was at the right place at the right time, essentially looking after the team and sorting out any issues that cropped up {fortunately there were only a few}.
I haven’t acted in this capacity before as the Wales Millennium Centre’s not strictly speaking a producing or touring house. The aspiration has always been there and we have dabbled with small scale stuff previously {although we didn't inhale}. All in all it made us realise that we have the potential to become an eminent and hopefully respected producing house. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to replicate what Sadler’s Wells have achieved over the last few years {they have many productions on tour world wide}, and how awesome would it be to produce and tour our own Welsh productions world over? It's so exciting.
So there was a lot to be learnt, which is one of the reasons that I’m on my secondment to Sadler’s Wells: to get some experience and a greater understanding of large scale touring and to see it from the other side {and it was an eye opener}. There's much to consider, so many details that need to be put in place to pull a programme like this together, and to do it well.
So what of the programme? Truthfully, the performances were phenomenal, particularly the duet Faun {impressively danced by both Daisy and James} which captivated, enthralled and honestly brought tears to my eyes during their second rehearsal run. Daniel Proietto's performance, AfterLight Part 1, is simply beautiful. I can't imagine anyone else ever wanting to perform this piece as it would take a lot for anyone else to do it justice. To finish the programme, Hofesh Shechter's Uprising smacked the audience back into their seats after the interval - what a contrast and equally brilliant.
Having seen the reaction to the programme and been involved in its production I honestly believe it’s a winner and an intelligent (and prudent) way of presenting a mixed bill of contemporary dance - and I’m so on it... as soon as I get back to my desk at the Centre (sorry Steve).
The little time we had spare we spent discovering St. Pölten, which left us with just about as much spare time as St. Pölten is no London or Cardiff or Carmarthen in fact. An Abergevenny almost. The place has a very underground feel; cold, quiet, empty streets are dotted with the occasional restaurant, coffee shop and haberdashery with the constant faint sound of music mingling with the cold breeze... and hidden in the warmth behind {almost} secret doors are the bars and the inhabitants {still smoking inside which was very peculiar}.
We ate well... Thai, Greek, Indian and amazing pizza slices from what was pretty much an Austrian Greggs. Oh yes, we also had schnitzel burgers from the greasiest fast food outlet that left us stinking of fatty-lard-laden-food from midday to midnight. Dirty schnitzel.
It really was a great experience. I laughed hell of a lot, the whole team involved were wonderful and it was indeed a pleasure to have had the opportunity. So I feel a bit danced out so at the moment, which is why this weekend I’m coming back home to visit another favourite theatre, the Millennium Stadium. Seriously, I don’t know why I go, especially when the odds are so very amply stacked against us; watching Wales play it’s the most frustrating, tense and nerve-trapping experience… But I loves it I do!
Wel mae’n ddydd Gwener bois and what a busy few weeks it’s been. I’m all danced out and I’ve had visitors galore {a massive diolch to Jamie, Rob, Aimee, Ema and Mr Mengo for popping over to say hello}.
I bumped into Darius James this morning (Artistic Director, Independent Ballet Wales) as they’re performing in the Lilian Baylis Studio tonight and tomorrow evening. They’re a wonderful company who produce some really innovative Welsh work; their current piece is based on the Llyn y Fan Fachlegend which you can see in the Weston Studio on the 20th November. It’s fantastic to see a Welsh company performing at Sadler’s Wells; it fills me with a smiley sense of pride. Hyfryd.
I’ve managed to see some interesting performances recently, one by Tanztheater Wuppertal(Pina Bausch’s Company) and another this week by Ballet Rambert, both of which left me feeling slightly disappointed {I think I ‘bigged them up’ too much beforehand}. There were parts of both productions that excited and stimulated my senses but I really haven’t had that ‘wow’ feeling since Alvin Ailey. Which is one of the reasons I’m gutted that I won’t be able to see Random Dance’s new production Far next week {although luckily Simon, one of our Associate Producers, had already booked his tickets, so at least someone can comment on it}. It looks the business, or is that me ‘bigging it up’ too much again? Here's a taster.
The reason I’m going to miss it is because I’ll be working as Tour Manager for Sadler’s Wells Presents in St. Pölten, Austria. The production looks awesome; there are some truly brilliant performances here, just take a look. I would love to programme something similar at the Centre at some point; an exciting and eclectic mix of predominantly UK based companies and artists. What do you think?
And as for me, well I’ve settled into the London life surprisingly easily {touching many wooden things}, although I’m not getting out and about as much I hoped. I had dreams of spending time meandering around museums and galleries, walking wearing hat, scarf and mittens along the South Bank taking in the sights while sipping a cinnamon Starbucks… In reality I’ve made it Westfield and bought socks from H&M. Looser.
You like this one… My other ‘alf and I enjoyed a very funny meal at The Ivyrecently {I know, who the heel do I think I am eh?}. We were out celebrating and discovered this nearby bar that served £3 cocktails. Now for that price I wasn’t expecting much but a few drinks later we realised the generosity of the bar staff. Wowsers! We had to order 2 baskets of bread just to help soak it up, if you know what I mean. Needless to say the rest of the night became a bit of a farce. There was so much balsamic vinegar splashed across the table cloth it looked like a chess board, although we cannily placed our glasses, napkins and cutlery to disguise the mess we’d made; it looked like we were playing battleships. I realised that my day to day agile use of a knife and fork was far less dexterous than usual as my fumbling Jack the Ripper hands slashed through a knob of butter only to see it fly across the dining room. OMG beetroot red. You can take the boy out of Swansea… So so embarrassed but giggles galore {Stick to Pizza Express Gareth}.
By the way, if you’re looking for somewhere mega-mega nice to eat in London, try The Palmerston in Dulwich. Ema and I went last week and I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve had such an amazing meal, like ever.
Ok, well that's enough for now. I hope you're all well.
