Cultural Events 2007
Accounts of a few of the many visits and events this year —
Review of Rumpelstiltskin(performed by the Seniors and some others)
Sean was the miller — he had an apron on and carried a bag of flour. Rowena was his daughter, and George was the ‘Little Man’.
The miller’s daughter has to spin straw into gold all by herself for 3 nights using a spinning wheel. Then she can marry the king and become queen. (It was real straw from the barn, but not real gold!) But she can’t do it, so the ‘Little Man’ does it on condition that she gives him something.
On the first night she gives him her ring, and on the second night she gives him her necklace – but that’s it. On the third night she cries because she has nothing left to give him. The ‘Little Man’ makes her promise him that when she becomes queen, she will give him her first baby.
The miller’s daughter marries the king (David H), becomes queen and has a baby (played by Paul).
(Paul was very funny as the baby – he was in the green vegetable-delivery trolley and had a rattle, a dummy and a baby’s hat. George, who is very tall, was the ‘Little Man’.)
Then the ‘Little Man’ comes to take the baby, but the queen pleads with him to keep it. He agrees, as long as she can guess his name. The queen sends the servants (David L and Paula) out to ask people their names. Someone has heard the ‘Little Man’ singing his name – Rumpelstiltskin – in the forest. So the servants go back and tell the queen his name, she ‘guesses’ it right, the queen keeps the baby and the ‘Little Man’ has a paddy!
This review was written by the College Group, who thought it was amazing and so funny.
(July 2007)
A Review of ‘The Harbouring Silence’ — a performance by the Botton Eurythmy Ensemble
When I was asked to write a review of the performance to go in the Eurythmy Association newsletter I was a little daunted by the task. I was then asked to write this review. So I decide to ask a few people in the community what they thought about the performance, and hope this review suits all.
So here are the views of students with special needs who have eurythmy lessons every week (some having done so for 3–4 years), young co-workers who had a brief introduction to eurythmy in their Introductory Course, older co-workers and local Anthroposophical friends who’ve seen lots of eurythmy, some friends and visitors who knew very little about it and, of course, me — a fellow eurythmist!
After the performance some of the eurythmists asked me if the poetry by Denise Levertov and the music by Gubaidulina had been too much for some of our students (several students had left in the interval), and should they have done the second lighter part first. I was convinced the students had enjoyed it and had just left because they were tired, but I decided to ask people of their experiences.
A co-worker told me that at the end of the first half one student, who loves eurythmy and has been doing it and performing at festivals for years, said ‘that was fantastic, I did that’. Now we didn’t know if she meant ‘I’ve done that in my lessons & performances’ or she experienced doing it with the eurythmists in that moment. But it is all the same really isn’t it? She clearly felt a deep connection with what she had seen and heard, which I think was true of everyone. I saw one boy who refuses to come to eurythmy lessons (and is always rude about it) rivetted to the spot, staring intensely at what was happening.
From conversations with the students what they loved about the first half was seeing gestures they recognised (hence the ‘I did that’). This was especially true in the Levertov where the sounds, especially the vowels, were so clear and pure. They also recognised the Zodiac gestures which one class had done for our Maundy Thursday celebration. In the Gubaidulina there were many sevenths — I’m teaching one class at the moment who just love doing sevenths and were so excited to see them done by the experts. To me this is always the wonderful thing about the interval, when the students say to me ‘they did’ (and show me gestures we have done in lessons). It’s as if it suddenly dawns on them that eurythmy is not just another lesson on their timetable!
However, I do think this immediate connection with the gestures doesn’t come about so easily with fairy tales or humoresques — the audience may enjoy the stories and find them funny, but I’m not so sure those with a limited experience of eurythmy recognise them as eurythmy. Also I have long been convinced that poetry born out of true spiritual striving speaks to us in a way which far transcends the mere meaning of individual words or phrases. So, please, the ‘serious’ parts first always, so the sleepyheads don’t miss them!
Other things which people commented on were the original and beautiful costumes (especially for the Levertov), the lighting, how fit eurythmists have to be, and how wonderful to see equal number of men and women! People really appreciated Matthew Dexter’s explanations before each piece. The only real criticism was that several people couldn’t understand his very authentic accent in the Irish Tale!
As the person organising the performance from our end, I appreciated the professionalism of the group, the programmes (simple but with photos of people), receiving an invoice several days beforehand, and the ‘thank you’ both the general e-mailed one and Rita’s hand-written card.
As a lone eurythmist living & working in a small Camphill Community I am always so grateful when have a visit from a eurythmy group, as it’s so important for our students to see that TAO, rod exercises, contraction & expansion, passing balls, etc, are part of something huge, beautiful and meaningful.
The day after the performance the students went home for half-term. Today I have taught my first lesson since we returned, to a group of young people whom society classes as having severe and complex disabilities. This was one of the most fantastic lessons ever — just as well since an OfSTED inspector was sitting there! It was not so much their technical ability, which is rather limited, but their sheer joy and enthusiasm not just for eurythmy but for being alive! That, I am sure, is what a eurythmy performance with real spiritual content by an experienced and professional group gives all of us, and some of my friends are able to express it very clearly. (Even the inspector was impressed!)
Lynda
Headingley Test Match 2007
Lynda took me to the second day of the Test Match.
I watched Kevin Pietersen hit his double century — all of the crowd stood up and clapped. England declared on 570 when Pietersen was finally out. England bowled out the West Indies for 146 — Sidebottom got lots of wickets and Cook took a wonderful catch. It was the best day of my life!
I bought a mini cricket bat and a mug for my brother. I’d love to go to a Test Match again if I get the chance.
George
The Elixir of Love
On Friday 9 February, seven of us went to Leeds Grand Theatre to see ‘The Elixir by Love’ by Donizetti performed by Opera North. We had very good seats — in the posh area! We loved the huge chandelier, there are statues on the walls and a sun on the ceiling — it’s gold.
It started with lots of people sitting outside a posh hotel in Italy drinking coffee and they were all singing. It looked really sunny like a summer holiday by the sea.
The waiter in the hotel is not happy because he is in love but the lady called Adina (with long hair) is in love with a sailor — wearing white trousers and a white shirt. The sailor arrived on a scooter; it had three tyres! The sailors rode their grey scooters on to the stage and parked them above the orchestra. The scooters were one of our favourite bits!
A guy came down (on the hydraulics operated by a computer) in a balloon (a very big one — red and yellow). The balloon was great — another of our favourite bits. He said he was a doctor and he’d give people medicine if they gave him money. The waiter asks him for a potion ‘The Elixir of Love’ to make the girls fall in love with him. The doctor gives him red wine which makes him happy and laughing and dizzy and giddy and confused.
In the interval we had ice creams.
At the end they have a pre-wedding party for Adina and the Sailor. They poured the Champagne in a fountain — this was really cool! ... everybody was dancing — some people on the table (“I don’t think we’d be allowed to dance on the table”). Adina was wearing a blue dress and blue shoes, someone else was wearing a pink dress; we liked all the different coloured dresses. The ladies all got lipstick all over their faces — they were all silly because they were drunk. (“We’re ladies we don’t do that!”) The chef — with the hat and the apron — bought out the wedding cake. In the end Adina falls in love with the waiter: we think because he looks handsome and is kind, not because he has suddenly become rich.
The orchestra was really good — we liked the drum.
At the end we all clapped — a round of applause. It was fantastico! (We think this is Italian for fantastic!)
Lynda, Louise, Rosanna, David, Mark, George & Felix
Fusion
How amazing that eating cakes and dancing to international music can help women and their children imprisoned in Peru!
On Sunday 4 February about 20 people — students and co-workers — went to Walton Village Hall to attend a fundraising event for women imprisoned in Peru, where the daughter of a friend had been volunteering.
We listened to Fusion — a Yorkshire-based 4-piece band who play African drums, guitar, marimba, ’cello saxophone and didgeridoo. Their repertoire includes folk, flamenco, Middle Eastern and jazz. They were joined by Satnam who sang traditional Punjabi songs. After the tea and cakes, we cleared the tables away and danced!
Some comments:
“The guy with the didgeridoo was so incredible; he played a mouth organ too — like Bob Dylan!”
“I liked dancing best, the band were so impressive especially the drums”
“I really liked Satnam singing a Syrian song — it was so beautiful and unusual”
“There were 2 people playing the guitar, I liked the dancing”
“Peru is above Chile on the map — she went to help in the prison. A cell is half the size of the stage with 5 women in it and children. They want to raise money to buy books for the women to read — they speak Spanish”.
A Magic Night at the Opera
On Saturday 27 January a group of 4 students and 3 co-workers went to see ‘The Magic Flute’ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by the Opera North and the Grand Theatre in Leeds.
Taking our seats (just in time) the lights went down and the orchestra struck up the first bars of the opening prelude. The atmosphere instantly became magical. All the worries of the traffic, parking and the worries of the day began to fade away as the story unfolded. The sets were minimalist and the costumes contemporary, the arias and narration clear and spellbinding; in one word — wonderful! One hour and ten minutes later, the interval; orange juice and ice cream, opportunities for comment and for the students to share the atmosphere with their newly acquainted neighbours. Then the crescendo which starts the final part of the story regained our attention.
All were transfixed, including David, who was making use of the 50-pence binoculars (not always looking through the right end).
The ending came all too soon; a wonderland of imagination and story telling, a fantastic production, a lovely evening, with appreciative and very pleasant company.
Some quotes from the students:
“It was very interesting as I’d never been to live opera before. I was completely taken up by the story and the music.”
“The whole experience was brilliant and I really enjoyed the orchestra. There was nothing to take our attention away from the stage.”
“I was very impressed by how low some of the priests could go with their voices.”
“The Queen of the Night was my favourite character. I liked the way she flowed across the stage in her underdress and with her long grey hair. Her famous solo really amazed me.”
“I could really identify with the Birdcatcher, I liked his character, wanting to have an easy life, yet feeling there is something more to be achieved through challenges.”
“The big priest with the long broad red scarf was the one I liked best.”
Thanks to all and let’s do it all again sometime (apart from parking in the wrong multi-storey carpark, of course).
From our cultural correspondents
Guitar Concert
On 11 January, Mark Mawby returned to Pennine, this time with his good friend Tony Taffinder. Mark and Tony played a variety of tunes and also sang — some traditional folk music and songs from the British Isles and Europe, original arrangements of some more modern pieces of music and some self-penned material. The concert was very much enjoyed by students, co-workers and guests alike. Afterwards, Mark's CD Waters Rising was on sale.
You can find out more about Mark at www.wildfolk.co.uk.