Creative and Community Work in Colombia

In Colombia now for a few weeks, we were straight into performancs on our second day - Performing Origines in local schools around the area. The response from the children is amazing, and really inspiring to keep doing this work.

We then travelled to Bogota (5hrs bus ride from Villa De Leyva) where we performed in Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo - a newly established theatre in Bogota. The response from the public here was also overwhelming. The play that Beatriz (Cantara) has created has a very powerful message of love, happiness and abundance - regardless of where we all come from.

Well recived by the public and working with incredibly talented artsits - performers, dancers, musicians, dramaturgs, technicians.

(I even had someone ask me if I am a ballerina - haha - I should have told him yes - all of those 6 weeks of intensive Ballet training that i've done! haha)

Now we're here back in Villa de Leyva - we've been working with the ensemble in a number of local schools helping with workshops (tallers) and of course doing our clowning thing - Jonas was drowning in children today -and I think I painted the faces of around 50 children in an hour. Good fun, and is always appreciated in these places, which is so rewarding!

Tomorrow we're off to a place called Soggomosso (Sorry, for those Colombians's reading this - that's probably spelt wrong) We will stay with some of the theatre crew where we will learn how to make masks from scratch out of plaster casting, gesso and leather - a very technical process that requires a few days of work and patience.

After this we're heading to Brazil to start preparing MARACCAS work in Brazil in Schools and around the community - and also to prepare for our trip South to Florianopolis for the Theatre Festival. Really looking forward to this - and Florianopolis is famous for its white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue waters and islands. What a fantastic and magical adventure so far.

Something I've realised more profoundly whilst being away this time is that no one is perfect- but we all have something to give and offer. And we can all have profoud capabilities when we just put our mind and bodies to it, and work hard. Always hard work here - but always extremely rewardng.

A place of ancient magic here, literally.

Lil