PaperDolls 2012: It begins

And so it begins. 

Before I am catapulted head-first into a week of 12-hour day rehearsals for the Land of Giants, I stole an hour to actually write a blog! It's been so long! And boy oh boy, what a start to what will undoubtedly be a defining Summer for PaperDolls aerial performance group, details of which will slowly and steadily be revealed over the next month.

Ferocious looking gals that us Dolls are, we have been frequently plucked for the odd photoshoot here and there to promote this gigantic event. This one was taken in Belfast Circus School (where I've been in incubation since September 2011). They pretty-ified my arm pit by photo-shopping my sweat patch out...

 

To my absolute delight, I was one of three aerialists selected from the Belfast Circus School crew to fly at a great height (up to 70 meters) from a crane over a sea of 20,000 people that will make up the audience for The Land of Giants. This is the harness I've been getting acquainted with, the only thing keeping me safe as I somersault through the air in choreographed abandon! I've labeled her "Emmo". 

And here is where we have been rehearsing the last week. T13 is a huge warehouse which is also a skate and bike park. There's a bunch of hardcore breakdancers, BMX-ers and skateboarders who rally around doing pretty insane stunts - while we, well, rally around doing marginally insane stuff. And the banal - there is much waiting and repeating as we initiate a few 100 volunteers! On occasion, it rains inside! Seriously...

 

Yesterday we went on site for a quick run through of the opening scene. It was also raining outside!

In preparation for the big event, it has been our absolute pleasure to work with Simone and Joseph from Cuerda Producciones, Argentina, for the last three weeks doing lots of aerial harness! Here's a little video of the PaperDolls and friends, coming to terms with the harness. Graceful - as only us Dolls can be :)

In the meantime, our doppelganger clones have been working hard plotting, scheming and creating amazing new productions to bring to Dublin this year! I feel like exploding with excitement just thinking about what we have in store for our beloved city this Summer! Que facial BEAM! 

Mere days after we dangle from cranes, shoot pyro from tethers, build ships and wrangle letters (you know, the Land of Giants show thing!) we return to Dublin to start our own gigantic work - beginning with what promises to be a very productive two week residency in Axis Theatre, Ballymun from the 5th - 22nd July. 

As part of our time in Axis, PaperDolls will be hosting an evening of performance on the 21st July as well as public workshops in aerial and acrobatics on the 22nd July.

See Elaine Dolls upside down on the front cover of Axis' Theatre's Summer programme!

The full Axis Theatre programme can be downloaded here, including details of our performance and workshop weekend happening on the 21st and 22nd of July.

Finally, just so you know, PaperDolls were so pleased to present 'Soul Juncture' at the Irish Aerial Dance Festival in Letterkenny earlier this month. Jym Daly took some absolutely stunning photos, a sample of which can be seen here.

Well... here I go... head first into the most amazing Summer of my life.

PaperDolls go Harajuku Girls: Festival of Fools

 ☮ The last week has been completely mad! Regular training and routine was cast out of a high window as the circus school was taken over by the Festival of Fools, Belfast's annual street performance festival. It was AMAZING! Not only did PaperDolls get the chance and challenge of creating a street performance (in less then a week), we also got to socialise, work with and witness high class international street performers of fine repute. I was pretty sure that I would always be an indoor kind of girl, but who would have thunkit! Now I'm a burgeoning street performer. 

 

Karen Doll took the lead with our performance idea, with my love of Harajuku style contributing to the over all look and concept. The piece itself was completely ridiculous and utterly bizarre but fun, visual, full of potential for development and very much in the spirit of comedy which Belfast Circus School is well known for. 

It was pretty terrifying to face an audience of strangers on the street, a large crowd of people who may decide to go against your performative coaxing and commands. The world of indoor theatrical performance is cosy in comparison - the street is a dangerous playground, but one which is ripe with potential for inspiration and learning and elements of circus I love like risk taking challenge and experimentation.

 The act may change, but I do believe the Harajuku Dolls are here to stay... Project!☮

Short and Sweet street show: PaperDolls at the Festival of Fools 2012

When & Where…

Saturday 5 May
Rosemary Street: 1pm
Sunday 6 May
Rosemary Street: 2pm
Monday 7 May
City Hall: 12pm

Over the past 8 months, 20 dedicated students in the art of circus have been locked away in the Belfast Community Circus School quietly honing their craft.  They graduate on 30th June in the Land of Giants Spectacle www.landofgiants.info – the biggest outdoor arts show ever to hit Northern Ireland.
Before then, they have been allowed out onto the streets to play. Come along and see the next wave of circus and street talent in a series of short pieces which will turn into the shows of the future.

 PaperDolls are currently developing their first ever street show which is going to ROCK! It's a new exciting challenge for us and will be a new string to our very diverse bow. I love us.

www.paperdollsperformance.com

Belfast: I'm in it.

Less Talk More Action

Frog and Toad's 'Less Talk More Action', the creation of Belfast Circus School's 24 hour cabaret task was set on Wednesday evening, created on Thursday and performed on Friday by randomly selected partners trust together from a lucky dip of names plucked from the school's disused tombola. 

Aaltje and I played with the common vocabulary we had - acrobalance, quickly disregarding the juggling equipment we intended to use. Aaltje is an amazing base, and although I need some work on the flying front, I thoroughly enjoyed scrambling around Aaltje and found the challenge extremely refreshing and inspiring. We took a playful approach by adapting some of the acro-moves we have learned over the last few months, and stumbled upon the frog and toad idea through some of our exploration of movement. Our play and appearances kind of reminded me of the Frog and Toad stories of my childhood (previously posted about here). I'm thinking this frog thing will be further explored in the near future :)

PaperDolls Process: Soul Juncture

A little montage I enjoyed putting together of all our rehearsal videos during the development of our new piece Soul Juncture which we performed at Belfast Circus School as part of 'Fancy, A Cabaret' and Picturing the Soul at the Back Loft in Dublin last month. Fun fun fuh-un!

Three dolls in a hoop...

"Creativity lives in paradox: serious art is born from serious play" 

Julia Cameron 

After months of *hefty* physical training, PaperDolls (myself, Karen and Elaine) have finally  enjoyed some creative time to develop a new piece. Here are some stills taken from rehearsal videos of us exploring our ideas. Playtime is a wonderful tonic for the head and the heart, and the more I play, the more effectively I work. Our new trio hoop act will be debuted at a private cabaret event in Belfast Circus School on the 11th of February and performed as part of 'Picturing the Soul', a multi-disciplinary performance and exhibition, in the Back Loft (Dublin) on the 18th and 19th of February (see previous post). The piece itself is a conscious work in progress which we hope to develop over a longer period of time and through a variety of performance contexts, giving us an opportunity to learn from live situations and repeated presentations - the polar opposite to how PaperDolls have come to produce in our first year of existence with big ideas and short timescales; which of course, has benefits too.

In the spirit of originality and resourcefulness, we have decided to use music by Cixous Ghost, my solo music project, and I am busy working on a new composition especially. I also hope to collaborate with a certain young Irish experimental musician as we develop the content. In the meantime, here's a snippet of the as yet unfinished music:

   Cixous Ghost: sleeping beauty clip by Emily Aoibheann

www.paperdollsperformance.com