Monthly Archives: March 2011

The Phoenix

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One of my childhood dreams was to transform into a cartoon and live in a paper world of fantasy.

After seeing me spin fire, my Italian friend, Valentina Murphy,  made my dream come true with these lovely illustrations.

I just love it when people inspire each other through different means of creative expression.

Not only did Valentina turned me into a cartoon, she turned me into a Phoenix, a mythical sacred firebird, which was believed to reproduce itself from its own ashes and thus has always been a symbol of rebirth, immortality, and renewal. Classical myths have always been one of my ongoing interests and sources of inspiration, so seeing her work left a very big smile on my face.

More lovely illustrations are on Valentina’s blog.

Uncomfort Zone

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What is dance? What is beauty?

‘Uncomfort Zone’ explored the key aspects of Mehmet Sander‘s renowned ‘Manifesto on Dance’: dance is a premise to refuse comfort, emotion and music, in favour of collision, maximum velocity and gravity as enhancements of – rather than inhibitions to – performance.

I took part in a five-day workshop where Sander, performer and choreographer of high-impact dance, challenged the participants physically, mentally, and intellectually. He pushed us to overcome some of our most natural fears as human beings – falling, colliding and trusting people – and led us into a whole new way of perceiving dance, purity and beauty.

The workshop was followed by 2 live public performances in the Great Hall, People’s Palace at Queen Mary, University of London.

Photos were taken by Bobby Whittaker and you can find more on my Flickr.