Home residency & Hallowed Walls reflection

Time went fast! But yes, our research period has ended. It was hectic time, but the same time really inspiring to see what we can do with it all. And the feedback we have got from the last sharing was amazing! Thank for everyone who made it! Of course there were a lot of hiccups that happen, but good that they did happen! It all showed us where we needed to go.

So what did happen in last months?

I was working on my Own Artistic Development Research and then Research for the new online live performance. During my own R&D I was interviewing many amazing artist from UK, Hon Kong, Finland, Norway. Huge thanks to all amazing artist, who shared their time and journey with me. I have always been really interested about peoples stories, how they found their art form, practice and how their journey has went so far. Also feels like there is not enough talks where artists can share their journey and talk about their work more in deeper level too. I felt privilege to ask more about each of their work and life as well. It was inspiring! So often we are looking so much forward and planing things for the future and forget to stop and see what the history was, your own as well the field you are in.

Thinking of where we have came from has a huge impact on what we do and how we see things, as well of thinking the art forms history side too. I have studied dance history too, but have to say just listening to these amazing artist I started to go back a lot in my own past too and got a different interest for the art history too. From hearing how they have ended up to where they are now, to be honest that was really the first time I started to look much deeper to my own steps too, how I am in this point too. And it all gave me so much more clarity again where to move on and reminding myself again why I do what I do. I feel we should have these kinds of talks more with others to get inspired in our our jounes too. Or perhaps it is just me who is truly inspired from other people's stories.

The first part of the Home residency was really interesting and gave a lot to think about, same time started to research for the new work idea. With Thabo we put together a survey to hear people's experiences from the life in pandemic, goal was to get 25 answers. WE GOT 102!!! Huge thanks to everyone who did it! You gave us really a HUGE PUSH forward! Answers we got all around the world: Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Hong Kong, Canada, USA, South Africa and Norway. Gathering together that data was overwhelming, but at the same time we noticed people from everywhere was talking similar topics. And with these similar topic and themes we started to move forward.

Each Saturday for a month sharing our experiment from that week with audience was stressful at the times, but also really fruitful part of the process. We wanted to see can we create an environment for people, which would feel little bit like being in the theatre. Engaging with audience and feeling that you are stepping into this new world. Trying this out with the audience, was really important from the start. If this was not engaging, how we can make it better? Also each time what they saw gave as a new ideas for next weeks tasks we played with. Truly different process I have ever taken as an artist, it was inspired from the way I work as a teacher or even as an choreographer with other dancers. Having that vision in my head at first and then working with the group of people around me to create it, taking new impulses from them and listening their feedback. So I wondered how this might work with creating the performance from this aspect as well. Having the audience involved more in the process from the start.

I think this new process for both of us was challenging on time to time as well. You just need to be really open on anything that might come from it. And I mean, like when you work one something, you have found all ready some answers already. But when you are still in the process there is just so many questions, but no idea some point what will happen. So felt before some sharing Saturdays that I am not ready to share this for them yet, because I don't know what this is all about yet. But I think the key element was the wonderful people we had with us! In a way, I see it was for me and Thabo something new and stepping out from our little comfort zone.

We both have learned a lot in the process and the outcome has been ever better than we hoped for. I think we have created something different and found the answer : Can this work? Yes it can work! We can engage with audience through online platform. At least we found the way that worked for us and our tricks. Now just really hoping to get the support for the performance stage of the project as well!

Here is some feedback from our last sharing:

What was your experience from Hallowed Walls Sharing: "Saw unusual movement - heard some beautiful words and some varied sound/music"

"Saw two people bridging the gap of distance and time apart. Felt like I was being invited into a mini community. Heard a distorted voice, fragments of speech cut up by wifi and mismatching pixels."

Covidista johtuvasta kuplassa ei kuitenkaan tullut ahdistavaa. Koin turvallisuutta. Keskinäinen läheisyytenne havaittavissa vaikka ette olleetkaan fyysisesti samassa tilassa. / The bubble caused by Covid was not too distressing. I experienced security. You can sense the connections and nearness feeling between you both even though you are not physically together.

"I saw and heard about the struggle against a virus affecting health and well being. Thabo’s spoken word was very powerful describing the desperation and isolation but also of a conquest and the desperate need to offer comfort Pirita’s blanket of skin trapped the virus but the writhing mass looked like it was ready to explode. Then even in the midst of all the awfulness two people in different countries formed a connection and offered solace to each other creating a bit of normality."

"I saw two people working to create and share their art even during a worldwide pandemic. I felt happy to be able to watch this collaboration from my own home during lockdown. I heard words I could relate to ' feeling trapped in the belly' the belly of another lockdown."

"Saw you in your own space, felt familiar and the birdsong/xylophone combination was very assuring."

"Unfortunately, my sound wasn’t of good quality again, so I really appreciated the written word (both chat box and on paper). I saw connections between Pirita and Thabo (across thousands of miles, something I wouldn’t even have considered a year ago!), mirroring of movements, which for me reflected the similar experiences we’ve had. So, although we’ve each had our own individual experience of the pandemic, not all are common to all, but what has been common is the sense of this whole thing being unnatural, unforeseen, unprepared for."

"I saw two talented people making a virtue out of the limitations of the virus restrictions." Would you like to see this as a "final" performance?

100.0% Yes responses 0.0%No responses

We want to thank each one of you who have been in this journey with us and have given their support!

Hoping that soon we can give you more news for the performance days! ;)

(Little backstage video after the last sharing.)