LIFE IN LOCKDOWN: MONDAY.
Life in Lockdown is a blog series initiated by Greenwich Dance which features community and professional artists close to the organisation sharing how they are staying creative during these isolating times.
John Darvell – Director, Choreographer, Educationalist and Community Dance Practitioner
MONDAY.
It’s Monday. A fresh week and I’m full of the get-go! It’s time for me to put on my jack-of-all-trades hat and flex those newly developed skills thanks to Covid-19, as I go full video production house mastery today.
Yes, I’m no stranger to the use of technology. It’s been at the core of my creative practice with NOCTURN for the last decade, in particular, how it’s impacting on us as a society. But this situation, and the intensity of it, is a very different beast.
Over the weekend at Katie Green’s ‘Imagination Museum Consortium’ event on Zoom I was asked to share an object that summed up my experience of the health crisis, so, say hello to Wilson (and yes, spot the film reference).
On Monday’s and throughout the week I get to spend a lot of time with him in my makeshift and hastily pulled together dance studio aka the garage. This little video rig has become the lifeline of my work. It’s been the portal for which I’ve been able to connect and co-create work with my community participants and schools, while my professional work is on hold.
It’s a love-hate relationship. And, at times, Wilson has even driven me to tears, shining a light on my insecurities around my abilities as a dancer, a teacher and an artist. In the beginning, it felt so odd throwing all my creative energy to a silent unforgiving Wilson. Then over time, my attitude changed. Wilson, like a great active listening coach, made me reflect on the most important aspects of my teaching. What has blossomed is my skill to create experiences that can be transferred to an audience who live, not in my physical space, but outside in the world of the internet.
I think Wilson is going to be my best buddy for many years to come.
RESOURCES.