On Monday afternoon we made our way to the park where Flavia told us to go a walk on our own in both Rivera and Livramento for half an hour and to make eye contact with as many people as possible. Afterwards we were each to write about our experiences for half an hour. I enjoyed getting the chance to wander around on my own and explore both sides of the border. In my time exploring I witnessed a boy around 14 being arrested by 3 police officers, a street performer getting ready to begin a performance and some business men and women making their way to a meeting in very expensive looking suits...on scooters. After we explored each side of the border on our own we were put into pairs and one was to be blindfolded and led around a part of the city for half an hour and then swap. This was very interesting as every sense suddenly became heightened. I was most worried about crossing the roads when I was leading as I'm still not great with the direction of the traffic! We all enjoyed this task and took different things from it.
On Tuesday after we had a workshop session in the morning where we worked with images and outfits, we were split into groups and sent off to explore the borderline. My group travelled south and found some amazing views and potential site specific spaces. Our group travelled up this huge dirt track and when we got to the top we could see the borderlines dotted along this huge ridge. On one side Rivera which actually looked like a town as opposed to the first impressions we got from the brand new casino and duty free shops. On the other side Livramento which looked like a city with a skyline as tall buildings cut into the clear blue sky. As we travelled further up the hill we walked along the ridge getting to see both sides of the city, it was green for miles and miles!
We actually found the first and last border posts of this particular section, and behind one of them a man who was napping under the sun, not to sure if he'd had a few drinks as well. But he was polite enough asking us where we were from. As we carried on we seen the poverty of Rivera which I hadn't experienced yet although of course I knew it would be present somewhere. There were loads of little shacks and even a shop where we stopped to get a cold drink. We revisited this site on Wednesday and put together some images we had been working with into a site specific location and the other group did the same. They took us to a location they found on the North of the
borderline and did a very short piece to show us an idea that they had. I hope that we will revisit these places next week and perhaps develop our ideas into the final showcase performance on Saturday.
On Wednesday afternoon we headed back to the rehearsal space to meet the dancers of Os Fronteiros who are based in Rio Grande Do Sol. We spent the afternoon learning some of their dances which was great fun! I learnt the male part for one of the dances which was similar to tap dancing so it was safe to say I loved it! They small group that came to work with us showed us a few different dances that they had won awards for at various competitions and festivals. In the evening the whole company came along to our Ceilidh where we taught them loads of scottish dances. They were all very energetic and seemed to enjoy learning some new steps! It was nice to get to dance with people who were eager and able to pick things up pretty quickly.
I really enjoyed meeting all the dance group and even though many of us didn't speak the same language we managed to enjoy the cultural exchange! They invited us to a fundraiser they were having on Friday night which was great fun. It was live music and a meal. It was nice to see the dancers again and get some photos with them. Many of them turned up to our barter we had yesterday as well which was nice of them. It was good to get them involved with some theatre games and meet new people from different backgrounds.
On Thursday we worked with Tanise from P Com P again, and actually got to go out into the streets to do some performance as it didn't rain! It was great to see the publics reaction to our 'Balloon Orchestra'. Which is exactly what your thinking, as a group we had balloons, a conductor, a bass section, a string section, and a plucking section. We actually made the money back for the balloons! Of course this was just a scratch for us to gauge the reactions of people and determine what locations work well for performances. It was great fun to actually get out and do some performances. On Friday we worked with Michelle Korz again and he also took us out to do some performance work with objects we had collected since we'd been here. Again, it was a good experience to see the publics reaction to street performance as it's something that really does not happen here at all. It gave me a lot to think about in regards to where I would like to perform and how I'd like the audience to be involved if at all. The barter yesterday was much more successful than last weeks. More people were there which was great as it meant all the games we wanted to do worked better! Everyone enjoyed the day and it was great to share different things including poems and songs!
So, another week down, and one and a bit to go! This week will be hard work but I can't wait to share our ideas for the showcase and get down to working together. I think the end result will be a mix of group performances and solo pieces which I am looking forward to working on! One of the highlights of this week was definitely getting to wear a gaucho hat and dance the male part on Thursday night! Great fun, and met loads of new people!
L
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