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Los Errantes goes punk clown!

29 Mar 2017

I’m so exited to tell you about a new show that is under construction at this very moment!

It’s a ”punk –clown” show that I’m creating together with Los Errantes and more precisely Antoine Dutrieu & Rebeca FL.

After having toured Djeliya for two years now we felt ready for new challenges.

So what’s this all about:?

“Three clowns meet and decide to go on a journey to reach a magical solution for being attractive to others. They find themselves in funny, absurd situations and with cooperation and little bit of luck, they manage to reach their destination. This turns out to be a very special place where everything they knew is turned up side down and they find themselves in a position where they can reinvent the world according to their own taste. “

The new show is a show directed to a slightly older audience. It can be played for all but is not made for children under the age of 8. It is a 30 minutes long show that can be played in any space.

In the beginning of May we’ll be playing for asylum seekers all around Stockholm with the amazing Clowns without borders Sweden!

2017!

13 Feb 2017

2017 started in Toubab Dialaw in Senegal.

As a matter of fact, on the 1st of January we played Djeliya in the village's central square, while the sun set behind us in the Atlantic ocean. It was magic. The best way to start a new year.

We also played at the Djaram'arts' theatre, and at a school yard in the little village of Ndayane. Here are some photos.

 

Now to a completely different setting: winter in Florence with budgeting & planning for the coming year, and new projects. 

In the end of January we traveled to the west of Denmark with Los Errantes for a showcase, to try to get admission to the Danish school scene.

Great news; we got it! This means that all Danish communes get 50% discount on our show for the next 5 years.

We're in the online catalogue scenen.dk

In April, we're going to Sönderborg in Denmark to play at the huge showcase Aprilfestivalen with around 100 other companies producing shows for children and youth. Networking, networking. ;) More about that later.

In two weeks I'm off to Brussels to give a workshop to 9 - 12 year olds at the Ecole de cirque de Bruxelles.

The workshop mixes partner acrobatics and building pyramids, with danse and improvisation. I'll be  working with the eminent performer & choregrapher Rebeca Fernandez Lopez.

I'm also starting up a new project with physical performer Amanda Rahm and the interesting artist & photographer Lisa Grip

All of this is sooo exiting, and the year has barely started!

Almost ready for Senegal!

18 Dec 2016

It's a beautiful Sunday in south of Sweden, the sun has just set (it's 3.30PM) and the light is bright and dark at the same time. 

Last week we were in Brussels with the Djeliya team to develop our show and it went very well.

We managed to get more acrobatics into it, more singing, a clearer story and more subtle acting. I'm very thankful for the days we had and for Daniel Goldman who helped us imagine, create and to grow. Amazing work. 

Now to our Senegal-tour!

As Senegal’s economics are not able to compensate us financially, we rely on other sources of funding to cover costs such as flights and housing. As well as applying for support from several international cultural institutions, we have decided to also mobilise our entourage and beyond to support us in this fabulous adventure and help us take our story to as many young people and families as possible.

Any little amount you can donate is a direct gift to all those who will see Djeliya, as the performances not only offer a moment of lightness, magic and laughter, but also serve as opening points for impromptu acrobatics lessons, Kora classes, personal exchanges, improvised dancing and other laughs alike. 

The Swedish Embassy in Dakar & The Swedish Arts Council are supporting our tour, but still funding is needed and we're looking for YOU to help us. Be part of this experience and help us put a smile on as many of Senegal’s little ones as possible!

The sisters' project.

21 Nov 2016

Here's a glimpse of the very first steps of research on the theme: a persons physical & mental strength.

 

 

 

Exiting times.

6 Nov 2016

It has been quiet on the blog for a little while, in contrast to life that has been intense on many levels.

After five months of living in Athens, in June we left and went on travelling for two months; starting with a Clowns without borders’ tour in the north of Greece. ;)

 

 I was the tour leader, an artist and a mother. A great challenge but an amazing experience. With the support of my clown colleagues Julietta & Mira, and with Alex & Aélia staying with me in Thessaloniki. Everything went perfectly well and we managed to spread some laughter and joy in the refugee camps by the northern Greek border.

 

Then we travelled to Lund, Sweden, where we met up with Los Errantes and played Djeliya at the festival Sommarlund:

 

And continued to the festival Da Flo where we played the show again. I gave some partner acrobatics' classes.

After the summer touring we spent a month in Sweden on a real family vacation: it was wonderful.

End of August a big change came with the move to Florence, Italy; where Alex got a post-doc position at the European University Institute. September was mostly about getting into our new life in the hills of Tuscany.

Then we went to Copenhagen for an acrobatic convention. I also visited Ystad where I gave a speech at the high school about my work as a tour leader with the Clowns without borders; Read the article in Swedish.

 

Now to THE NEWS!

 

First of all we’re going to tour Djeliya in Senegal at the end of the year, and we are very excited.

We’re going to play at the international festival Rythmes et Formes du Monde in Toubab Dialaw and then continue with a tour for disadvantaged children and youth around Dakar with the organisation Pôle Culturel Djaram'arts.

This tour is partly founded by Team Sweden and by ourselves. At this very moment we’re applying for additional funding from, for example, The Swedish arts grants as the organisers in Senegal cannot cover our flight tickets. More about this later.

In December we will do another Djeliya residency, this time at La Roseraie in Brussels. We plan to spruce up the show!

First we’ll work on a couple of cool acrobatic tricks, and with the help of the UK director Daniel Goldman (http://www.tangramtheatre.co.uk/about) we will get the show going once again, this time for Senegal! ;)

I’ll keep you updated about our public end-of-residency-presentation in Brussels on the 11th of December!

 

 

Thank you!

25 Mar 2016

I would love to tell you all about this incredible tour. How it is to travel around Sweden with a soon one-year-old baby as a temporarily single mother playing 19 shows and being the tour manager... 

But for tonight I just want to say thanks to a lot of people.

First of all, thanks to those who booked the shows: Christel Molin, Christina Strömvall, Sara Berndtsson & Mia Rosengren.

Then, thanks to the wonderful babysitters: Cicci, Gretel and Amanda. Without you it would not have worked! 

Thanks to all the nice teachers and students we met, about 1,500 people; and a special thanks to the students at Furulund School in Halmstad who wrote useful comments about the show. Thanks to Johanna who gave us bread and cakes, to the librarian who filmed our performance in Träslövsläge and Ulrika Andersson who did a splendid filming job in Halmstad.

Thanks to Julietta for support on Bosgårdsskolan in Tvååker and to the teachers and students at the same school who invited our children with the babysitter to their classroom when the weather was bad. Thank you to the caretakers who helped us with the technology and those who invited us for coffee and buns and lunch. ;)

Thanks to Pelle our director who came to visit and thanks to his theater school students who came with constructive comments. The show has evolved and become better every day.

A great great thanks to the amazing artists; Rebeca, Antoine & Vincent! 

It has been a rewarding experience putting this tour together.

Yihoo!!!

Djeliya's March tour in Sweden!

4 Feb 2016

2016 is here with a lot of new projects for Circus By Me and Los Errantes. 

First of all I want to tell you about the beautiful Djeliya tour that's coming up in March. This is how it looks:

Mackleanhallen, Skurup /10th March
2 shows
Skönadalsskolan, Löddeköpinge /11th March
2 shows
Vidhögeskolan, Veddige /15th March 
2 shows
Mariedalsskolan, Varberg /16th March
2 shows
Bosgårdsskolan, Tvååker /17th March 
2 shows
Bockstensskolan, Varberg /18th March 
3 shows
Refugee accommodation, Varberg /19th March
2 shows
Furulundsskolan, Halmstad /21 -22nd March
2 shows

 

It's a short and dense tour and we're all looking forward to it! If you would like to attend one of the shows please contact me. 

 

In the beginning of the year I had the honor to work with the artists Britta Wålstedt & Signe Veinholt. I helped them with the start-up of a new children's show; we did creative research involving partner acrobatics under the theme play & playfullness. It was inspiring and I'm very happy we've started this collaboration!

 

Britta & Signe with Cirkus Rabalder; www.cirkusrabalder.se

Home after tour in Sweden.

27 Oct 2015

DJELIYA – what a difficult and amazing project. After the long creation of the show in four different countries, with crowd funding to save the budget and two babies born into the company I would like to give us all a great applause for how far we’ve gone.

Now I realise that we are at the end of the creation and in the beginning of a wonderful journey.

The fifth of October the whole team arrived to Ystad in the south of Sweden, here we rehearsed at Ungdomens hus (The Youth House) and prepared ourselves for a pretty exciting showcase at the cultural house in Hässleholm. Here were most of the south region’s programmers from schools and communes invited to watch the offers of the year.

Many times have I been lying in a hotel bed feeling rather lonely and now for the first time I was in the same position but with a little baby and it was interesting. I also went through the final choreography on the sidewalks of cold Hässleholm while putting her to sleep in the baby sling and doing the promotion of the show with her in my arms. It’s funny how you just deal with these things when you have to, but God I was tired when we came home.

Of course it wouldn’t had worked at all if my mother and sister hadn’t been there to babysit the two girls during the warm-up and performance!

The second week after some days off we boarded the north going train towards Gothenburg and Alingsås. We had two most enjoyable shows at the school Lendahlsskolan and acrobatic training at Palladium.

My boyfriend was with us for this tour and it made my life very easy, daughter was often with him and seemed to enjoy her first experience of the touring life. She slept well at B&B’s and hotels, crawled around stages and appreciated both train rides and restaurants.

Here's part of the team reading Djeliya’s first review in the newspaper of Alingsås:


The travel continued to Halmstad, a city by the west coast, where we truly enjoyed the hotel Continental, the theatre and the people we met! We also had the chance to finally make a proper recording of the show.

I must say it was a great experience to be “back in the game” again and at a whole different level. For example; now the days I performed after a real nights sleep seems utterly easy. ;) There’s nothing like new challenges in life!

Of course it didn’t go by without tensions, tiredness or tears. But mostly it wouldn't have worked without a great team and helpers all along, so THANK YOU super team Los Errantes!

Also warm thanks to: Ungdomens Hus in Ystad, babysitters Gretel, Amanda, Cicci & Alex, family Farkas for the film camera, the nice people at Hakens Gård in Abbekås for hosting our musician a couple of days, super organiser Christina, Halmstad theatre with staff, the host at B&B in Alingsås, Lendahlsskolan in Alingsås and to my much amazing man for accepting having a busy, mostly exhausted & all over touring circus artist in his life.

 

Back again!

2 Oct 2015

After the premiere of Djeliya I had a break and became a mother. Sounds easy enough but it's hard work and I'm glad having the experience of being a circus artist in my back.

You need both stamina and creativity, you will endur pain and tiredness and crazy emotions. It's the most exciting travel of your life and yet you're pretty much staying in one place. ;)

Last week our little family was in Brussels for Djeliya rehearsals at Centre Culturel de Wolubilis and a work-in-progress presentation at L'école de cirque de Bruxelles. Now we're ready for our mini tour here in Sweden: 

7 October - Scenkonstdagarna, Hässleholm

15 October - School performances, Alingsås

18 October - Circus day at Halmstads theatre, Halmstad

We will also rehears and develop the show at Ungdomens Hus in Ystad!

The two new-borns.

25 May 2015

2015 is an important year, yet I’m less active than ever here on the blog. Maybe it’s connected.

I have two babies to present to you:

Djeliya, a subtle piece wrapped in live music of an African harp called Kora, tackles the humanity lying within all of us and places its focus on optimism and open-mindedness. Through theatre and partner acrobatics it tells a story about overcoming fears and obstacles through the power of collaboration and friendship: A quirky piece without props, lights nor set to enchant children and adults alike. 

"Because of an evil spell young hero Maïs is forced to escape from her home village and to go on an adventurous quest, where she will discover friendship, courage and cooperation. Backed by the mystical, musical Griot and his knowledge, she enters an enchanted world where bodies are trees to climb, oceans to dive in and mountains to cross. With two joyful companions met en route she will reach a magic fruit she needs in order to save her village."

Aélia, the wonder of wonders. A little beautiful daughter that make me the happiest woman on earth. She was born the 12th of April and was six weeks old yesterday. She weighs 5 kilos by now and smiles to her parents every day. She likes to look at shadows and light and eyes and clear patterns. She's also a great eater and exercises a lot in between, always trying to crawl and stand up. To be in daddy's arms and dancing to Greek music is also a big hit. 

Life is amazing!

After the premiere.

17 Mar 2015

I'm back in the south of Sweden after two and a half intense weeks in Uddevalla. The sun has been shining and I can feel the spring arriving and with the spring comes our little baby. At the same time I'm super touched and happy that our show Djeliya finally is born. What an exiting year! 

Everything went well in Uddevalla thanks to great support from Regionteater Väst and good working motivation from the artists. I was also there to coordinate, the system with the babysitters worked and my boyfriend unselfishly cooked lunches for the whole team every day. The costumier did a super nice job with the yellow salopettes. 

We got the chance to play for a test audience of 8 - 9 year olds at the theatre and then have our premiere at the school Äsperödsskolan for an amazing audience of  6 - 7 year olds. The reactions from the audiences were rewarding and made me believe so much more on our good work. They were awing, owing and laughing. 

We will of course rehears more on the show when we can, throwing in some more dynamic acrobatics and work on the final song, but I am very pleased and look forward to selling it. Djeliya will be sold both in the west and the south region of Sweden, in Belgium and in Chile, for a start. ;)

Life right now is beautiful. As soon as the paper work is done and receipts counted for this massive Djeliya project, next amazing "project" will come; my first child. It's unbelievable. How lucky can I be?

 Photos: Sinclair school Uddevalla

First day in Uddevalla.

24 Feb 2015

We had a cold windy morning here in Uddevalla the first day, with wet snow falling from the sky. But arriving at the theatre we got a very warm welcome from the whole team. Fantastic staff, from the cleaning lady, the receptionist, the technicians and the costume maker to our director Pelle!

We started out with a team meeting. Where are we standing after our two first residencies? And where are we heading? ;) It felt nice to see the team together again and although there was tiredness after the travels with headache and signs of a cold, we were all excited and positive.

For lunch our amazing Alex made pasta salad with parsley, curcuma and an intense lemon taste that made us ready to go again.

The afternoon passed by with us going through Vincent’s professional musical script, the artists researching the three main roles characteristics and our dear baby Maé alternating between charming its babysitter and screaming at him… Coffee, dates and Ibuprofen helped us through the rest of the day.

I’ll let the photos tell the rest!

Me, myself and my current role in the project.

23 Dec 2014

Planner, writer and babysitter.

 

Acrobatic coach.

 

When I can't bare to stand by the side...

 

Song- and music sessions.

 

Contemplating the two weeks of creation. By the Pacific ocean.

From Santiago to Valparaiso.

18 Dec 2014

Wednesday at the aerial centre Aldea del encuentro and another morning at the training space. Antoine and Rebeca are moving around in something I would call a dance warm-up, Catalina is stretching and the company’s own baby mascot Maé is telling a story of humming and bubbling sounds…

We’re a nice team I must say; of course it’s not very easy and fast to create with a 6 months baby, no babysitter, a pregnant woman and Chilean logistics and organisation… But I think that we’re moving forward and we’re all learning a lot, whether it’s acrobatics, singing or professionalism in the work. For me it’s not very easy to try to be IN the creation while sitting on a chair and also trying to make Maé happy. I also don’t have the energy that I wished I would have.

Yesterday we did a little work-in-progress for friends and family here at the theatre. We presented an extract that we’ve been working on a lot here in Chile that we call “The Journey”. It was a rewarding moment and I really enjoyed the performance. It was as if I saw it for the first time, even after have been working on it for a week. I was surprised of the strong presence of the artists that came out in front of the audience. Everything went well and the music with the movements created a magical space that made everyone in the audience completely spell bounded. I got very happy.

Now we’re off to Valparaiso by the coast, to train and perform at “La carpa azul” an interesting circus place with view of the city and the sea. Time passes by too quickly. 

 

Chile. Time that passes. Live that changes.

8 Dec 2014

My last day as thirty.

In some incomprehensible way my life has changed radically. All those things that you think will never happen for yourself has actually happened. I’ve found a home! Not a home with floor and a roof but a home that is safety and something that makes my life worth so much more, something that makes me happy every morning when I wake up.

I’ve found love. A love that took me with storm. A love that makes me dream about “forever”. A love that gives me a context, security, challenge, joy. A love that tastes like chocolate cake, ice cream and fresh strawberries all together…

Think about all those days when I’ve sat backstage under a big top or in a theatre and thought, why am I alone? All those moments when I’ve flown, travelled by trains or dusty tour buses and thought, where am I going? All the training, the creation, the rehearsals, how wonderful has it been but at the same time, where will it take me? Who am I creating for? What does the audience mean, everything? Nothing? What am I really doing and when does the next dimension of my life arrive?

Tonight I’m sitting here writing and feeling something move in my belly. Small kicks on my right side. This is creation, this is life, this is something sprung out of love, this is future and connection and happiness. I can barely understand that you can get exactly what you dream of, but sometimes you do.

What a gift.

I’m in Santiago de Chile now for the second residency for “Djeliya”. Tomorrow the training starts and today we planned and discussed in the shade of the garden. It's all so exiting!

It’s true that ones again I flew alone over the Atlantic sea and here I’m sitting writing in silence, but it doesn’t matter that much anymore, because I know I have a home. My home is my love and the life I am carrying, and where I am in the world is not as important anymore.

Back to “Djeliya”, I didn’t write anything here about the first two weeks of residency in Brussels, but if you’ve got Facebook look up Les Errants and watch some photos of the rehearsals. It was two productive weeks and the collaboration with Pelle was just as good as I expected and even better. Now I will try to update more often on the blog, juggle this between being the project leader, acrobatic trainer, “stand-in-director”, babysitter… And pregnant. ;)

The view from my window.

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