Loving London Life
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A lot happened this weekend. Thursday’s I get done with classes early so some of us go into Covent Garden where there’s a natural foods market (so dangerous for my wallet but so worth it!), also a trip to the Bloch store was in order and I of course wanted to buy everything…too bad the exchange rate is terrible here. Went to the Sadler’s Wells Theatre on Friday and Akram Khan was performing his incredible evening-length solo “DESH”. Every night was sold out but my friend and I were able to get 12 pound tickets for barstools on the side of the balcony, but it was so worth it. I recommend anyone to look into this company, it was incredible how Khan was able to perform a solo for the entire hour and a half performance and the sets and music were beautiful. Saturday was spent with an impromptu trip to Brick Lane which has an amazing atmosphere and I can’t wait to explore more of. Sunday obviously consisted of sleeping in and going to the weekly Greenwich Farmers Market (Ethiopian food and eclairs!!). I can’t believe it’s only been 3 weeks since classes started.
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Went to the Tate Modern this weekend! It’s a modern art museum located in Central London in a gorgeous area right on the bank of the River Thames. Got to see Tino Sehgal’s instillation piece in the Tanks as part of a 15 week line up of performances and events, as well as an open rehearsal of Boris Charmatz’s “Flip Book” based on the book Fifty Years which charts Merce Cunningham’s choreography. Both were amazing and I really want to go back to explore the museum more, I could definitely spend all day there!
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First official day at Laban
Today marks the first day of my study abroad term! Started off with a release-based contemporary class at 8:45am, three hours of soundscores for dance, a fantastic ballet class, and an english writing exam. I’m definitely going to be sore tomorrow but I’m so happy to be dancing every day again.
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First London Dance Show!
On Wednesday I finally got the chance to attend my first dance performance in London and it was so amazing! Performed in the Bonnie Bird Theatre inside the Laban building, choreographer Arthur Pita’s work, God’s Garden, quickly grabbed my attention. The cast was incredible and there was also live music and singing in addition to the dance theatre style. I thought it was so interesting how the choreographer was able to blend the storyline seamlessly into the dancing, and such attentive care was placed on even the smallest details. This performance was dramatic, humorous, and quite intense at times and I was very impressed. I can’t wait to see more performances in London and explore the European dance scene!
http://londondance.com/whats-on/open-heart-productions-arthur-pita-gods-garden/
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Classes begin…
…not officially, but we’ve finally had our placement classes this week. We took our first ballet class on Monday, first contemporary class on Tuesday, and then the second of both classes today, Wednesday. All classes went well, I had Graham and release-based technique for contemporary which was amazing. Auditions for the Rep Extracts class tomorrow to see if we get in the piece, then it’s the weekend! I also get to make my timetable (schedule) on Thursday so I’ll get to pick all of my elective classes which of course all sound so incredible.
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Boat party cruising the Thames River was so much fun. Last event of the two weeks of fresher’s events for new students
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I’m located in southeast London in the Greenwich area, about a 20 minute train ride into Central London. We go shopping on Deptford High Street a lot, there’s a lot of produce stands that are super cheap and has cute cafes. Greenwich is where all the pubs are located and the Greenwich Market which has food, jewelry, and clothing stands.
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The Laban building is beautiful, complete with rolling, grassy hills in front. There are 12 dance studios (crazy). There’s also a pilates/physical therapy room, a theatre, a cafe, and a dance library/computer lab. I’m actually a student here, its amazing.
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First 2 Weeks in London
I’ve been in London for about 2 weeks now and I still can’t believe that I’m actually here. Greenwich is the cutest village-esque area, the facilities at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance are absolutely incredible, the people are so friendly, and I get to live and dance here for 3 months! Classes haven’t started yet, we start placements next week, so I’ve been exploring London a bit and dancing when I can, basically just loving my life here.
