A week in Edinburgh October 4 - 11

From London we to Edinburgh with the GOLDS to spend a week in residency with the mature age group Prime from Dance Base Scotland.

We had a perfect apartment in Old Town close to the Royal Mile and The Grassmarket where we were dancing. Well, perfect until during the weekend when we discovered we were also near a night club that went until three in the morning.

Never mind, the view was fantastic.

View of a building on the royal mile from the apartment.

 

Our first day was spent exploring the sites - the Scott Memorial, or Gothic Rocket as it is known.

On the Royal Mile we visited the highly over priced Mary King's Close.

The obligatory piper.

Next day we met up with our new Prime friends at Edinburgh Dance Base on the Grassmarket.

View of Edinburgh Castle from the Grassmarket. The weather continues to be nice. So lucky!

What a wonderful experience it was to meet up with such a warm and welcoming group. We hit it off together right from the start. There are only twelve in Prime and they are an auditioned semi-professional company. Dance Base also has two other mature age groups who do not perform, Gold and Platinum.

We learnt one of Prime's dances, Rollin' in the Deep, an Adele song, which was great fun. We taught them the Click Song and were very impressed with how quickly they picked it up.

Elisabetta and Liz were there to guide us all.

We worked together with Prime for four days doing various dancing activities, including a bit of creative chaos.

At lunch time some of us liked to eat at the Kick Ass Cafe. Here's Jean kicking a bit of ass.

Rosie from Prime, Elisabetta, David and Jean inside Kick Ass.

By Friday we were ready to do a little collective concert together to an audience in the studio. The audience was made up of other dances from Dance Bace and some family. First up, Click Song.

Followed by the dance choreographed together.

We finished up Rollin' in the Deep together.

Prime's artistic director Morag and our Liz gave a little talk.

Also Elisabetta.

That evening we performed in a concert with Prime and with the Scottish Ballet Elders' Company, an auditioned group of 14 from Glasgow. We danced Air Kiss and Pop Art. (Quite dark for photos on stage.)

The Scottish Ballet Elders' Company's dance, Words Unspoken, was inspired by a Dylan Thomas quote.

Prime performing their marvellous dance Tarn.

Taking a bow with Prime.

Then, a group photo, a last drink and a fond farewell to our lovely new Scottish friends and the wonderful Elisabetta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last day in London

We had time before our evening flight to Edinburgh to walk to Camden and along the Regent's Canal.

 

Some of the shops in Camden High street are very imaginatively decorated.

 

 

Here are some more.

 

 

Madhatter's Tea Party anyone?

 

 

Had to add a snap of a London bus.

 

 

In front of Camden Lock.

 

 

The crazy Camden Markets. You can buy anything here.

 

The Regent's Canal.

 

 

It was a glorious day for strolling along the canal.

 

 

Under one of the bridges.

 

 

One of the fancy houses along the canal.

  

Back at our hotel in Swiss Cottage, before we left, we were amazed by the 80 year old all singing all dancing entertainer.

 

London with Felicity, Ali, Sam and Hugh.

We had a day off dancing, so we met again with Felicity, Ali, Sam and Hugh for lunch at the Tate modern. Later we wandered around and about.

The family on the Milllennium Bridge.

 

 

The Globe Theatre.

St Paul's Cathedral.

Hugh and Sam have fun on the steps.

 

 

Sam has a bit of a rest.

 

 

Hugh too.

 

 

Then it's off again. 

Now it's Bill's time for a break.

 

Is Hugh really asleep?

 

The Palace of Justice.

London September 30, October 1, 2, 3

We drove down to London from Norwich to continue the GOLD tour.

 

First stop, a whole day at Trinity Laban Faculty of Dance near Greenwich to help celebrate the International Day of Older People. Yes, here are those famous people again.

We were given a tour of the whole place. It is one of Europe's leading centres for training professional contemporary dance artists. Their facilities include a 300 seat theatre, studio theatre and outdoor theatre, 13 purpose built dance studios and the largest dance library and archive in Europe. They also provide classes for the community, including the mature age groups we met.

Sharing a creative class with All Singing All Dancing group.

Then they joined in an interesting creative class with Elisabetta and the GOLDs.

 

 

After a Dance for Health class we presented Air Kiss and Pop Art to the other groups. Once again we were really well received. Here we are striking up our poses for Pop Art.

Of course we had to have a photo on the mound in their grounds.

 

 

After a long and fabulous day at Laban we had a quick rest, then it was off to a quirky dance performance by Lea Anderson that evening at The Place.

 

Next day, waiting at Moorgate tube station, on our way to Sadler's Wells.

At Sadler's Wells we were very fortunate to be given a back stage tour. On the stage the techies were setting up for the evening performance.

 

Looking down Sadler's actual well. In 1683 Dick Sadler built a Music House and discovered a medieval well in the grounds. Believing the water had miraculous medicinal powers, people flocked to the well to enjoy musical entertainment, to stroll the gardens and take the water. The building we toured, opened in 1998, is the fifth Sadler's Wells Theatre to have been built on the site.

The auditorium.

 

 

Meeting up again with Hannah Ley. She also came to see us in Brighton. Hannah was a well known performer in Canberra and her husband Duncan is also well known as an actor, play write and producer. They have recently moved to England, so a loss to the arts community in Canberra.

 

 

At Sadler's Wells we were lucky enough to share a fantastic ballet workshop with the Sadler's Wells Company of Elders, who have been going since 1989. Raffaele Morra from the New York all male ballet dancing company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo took the workshop. To our delight, Raffaele later taught us the Dying Swan routine from Swan Lake. His company tours all the time and he was in Canberra a couple of years ago.

 

 

Outside the English National Ballet building, near Albert Hall. We were there for rehearsals of Romeo and Juliette. A great privilege, but no photos allowed. Bill came too.

 

 

Meanwhile Bill spent a couple of days wandering around London. A steam engine at the science museum.

 

 

The London Transport Museum.

 

One evening we went to Matilda the Musical. It was fantastic.

 

 

Afterwards at Piccadilly Circus.