Spring Gather and the Big Flock 2018

Having missed the Joon Dance Spring Gather workshops last year because of my damaged back (right QL), I wanted to join in this year's, despite my worries about walking/dancing on uneven surfaces. With lots going on in early April (visiting teacher workshops in Lampeter, relaunching my belly dance classes) I managed to mix up days and dates and ended up missing the first day's workshops. I only realised because I caught some comments on Facebook after day 1, and hurriedly made arrangements to participate in day 2.
On day 1, I missed a guest teacher who led sessions in Solva woods and on the beach. The weather wasn't too bad and everyone seemed to have had a good time, using the environment to inspire movements and phrases.
On day 2, it was overcast, cold and breezy with rain forecast. We gathered at Solva community hall, then walked to a nearby play area with swings and other bits of kit. It was refreshing not to see a sign stating that the equipment was for children's use only. Why shouldn't adults have some fun too? The assumption always seems to be that it will encourage rowdy youths to gather, threatening younger children and breaking the equipment. We were an inter-generational group, all ages, and not all that rowdy either. We had a fun couple of hours exploring the equipment and generating movement ideas, then showing each other, before the wind picked up and icy rain started to slap at our faces. By the time we got back to the hall, it was coming down hard.
Luckily Zosia had booked the hall and we could spend the afternoon creating short pieces inspired by the three environments. Even though I'd missed day 1, the others in my group brought me up to speed and I had great fun being a tree, being a rock on the seashore. (What was that strange hand gesture? It was a limpet or periwinkle travelling over the rock/my body to graze on the algae.) Repeating some of the playground moves without the equipment, remembering how it felt to be hanging and twisting around a chain was interesting in a somatic way; recalling the feel of the cold metal, the way my body moved. All good fun, even when we couldn't hear each other for the clatter of rain and hail on the roof!

Big Flock was a public event open to anyone on Newgale beach, Pembrokeshire on April 2018 organised by Holy Hiatus in collaboration with Joon Dance. People were invited to be part of a human murmuration and asked to wear mainly greys and blues. We were also warned to wrap up well, and considering the cold wind and hail the previous day, that seemed like a good idea. However, the day turned out bright and sunny and I ended up taking my fleece jacket off and wearing it tied around my waist!

The original music used for the film was composed by Andy Wheddon and you should be able to see Ruth Jones' film of the Big Flock 2018 on Vimeo here.