The comfort of discomfort

Artistic Director, Philip Channells asks some of the dancers to respond to their first week of 'The Lure and Blur of The Real'.

What would you say is the highlight of being part of Adriano's masterclass?

Matt
The highlight of this week has been delving into the deep personal "who really is 'me'?" questions we have been exploring this week. I have done a lot of soul searching over the last few years and asked myself a lot of deep and meaningful questions that I feel have given me material to draw on during this week. Also it's really great to to be reminded (through the process of asking and answering these questions) what it is I live for and what I do with life and why. When I think about "why is it I'm alive?" and "what motivates me?" I am encouraged by the answers I find and it boosts my spirits.

Joshua
I'll have to admit that I've worked with Adriano for only two days, but that's probably where my highlight comes from: in a small period of time, Adriano's already pushed me to publicly question whether my answers to identity are the real answers. In answering "Are you comfortable with being yourself?" in front of the other artists in the workshop, I couldn't help but realize that I still don't know who I am. The moments in which I struggle to find an answer to seemingly simple questions are what I enjoy the most; this point becomes the start of what will be an intense and powerful period of self-discovery.

Tara
The highlight of Adriano's masterclass is I like doing different bits of movement and expressing the real me in dance and learning new moves.

Nigel
Highlight... the dancing as yourself. When dancing as yourself there are things that you can see yourself doing that you didn't know you did or you didn't think about creative wise!

Jianna
The warms ups are quite good with Adriano coz he likes it. I also like to do some dancing with Adriano and a bit of acting. I like to come and join the masterclass with Adriano coz I like him, he's funny and Paul is funny. I like working with them - it's fun. Instead of doing talking a lot I like to do some exploring dancing with them. We couldn't go to the zoo coz they didn't let us in, so we went to the Botanical Gardens to ask questions, and the people answered them. I liked walking around in the gardens, it was really nice day to go.

Felicity
A highlight of being a part of Adriano’s masterclass has been exploring my reality and the realities of others in the group. We are sharing raw emotion in a first confronting but safe environment. It is nothing like I have ever done before. I feel the way we are communicating and experimenting through speech, movement and song is slipping away from our daily lives and is occupied by other more isolated ways. This exploration brings comfort. It is so interesting to observe the layers of identity of myself and others slowly peel back to show the person within.

Jo S
The highlight has been watching so many people get up and reveal and honesty and humility. It's rare that we are asked to be so pure.

Zoe
The highlight was being involved in a new experience, it was fairly different to anything i have been involved in before.

What did you find most challenging?

Matt
Ironically, my highlight of the week was also the most challenging part. We often avoid asking ourselves really deep meaningful questions out of the fear of not liking what we will find. Although I am what I consider to be very in-tune with myself, I am still just as nervous as anybody else to poke my emotional insides with a stick and see what jiggles. It's uncomfortable and everyone in the workshop has been very brave in exposing ourselves to each other.

Joshua
I believe that we all have a difficult time with being honest. While I can simply say that "I am confident" in front of a group of people, there's a considerable part of me that that wakes up, raises an eyebrow, and almost says, "You sure about that?" The most challenging part of this workshop is honesty, and allowing yourself to face what the real answer - if there is only one - is, where it comes from, and why it is so. I think it's in these moments of hesitation and second-guessing that allow us to look inside and figure to whom we're lying: ourselves, each other, or something greater.

Tara
The most challenging is learning to express myself to other people like learning dance moves. I am not very flexible, I want to be. I think I have learnt to love doing it... it doesn't matter whether you're good or not, just try your best. I really love challenging what I can and can't do. I love being challenged, I love pushing my boundaries - I like that. And sometimes I need to be pushed coz I can learn better that way.

Nigel
The most challenging...the singing while dancing. People usually keep movement to a minimum because of how hard multitasking is. But putting a full dance piece on top of a song was hard to understand and really challenged me to keep on my toes.

Jianna
Nothing really challenges me, I like working them coz they're both funny.

Felicity
The masterclass is a challenge, and it is liberating. It has been difficult to ask some questions about myself. To share them with others has been hard. I know it is a challenge worth meeting despite how daunting it may feel to begin with.

Jo S
Not sure how to answer this one. I feel challenged but I feel more inspired and curious about how to sustain purity and how to use it. I have lots of questions for myself and for Adriano and am really excited to have the opportunity to feel like a learner again.

Zoe
Most challenging was opening up to new people without fear of judgment and being confident enough to venture into the unknown.

Is there anything that you think you'll take away with you from this experience?

Matt
I am very philosophical and psychologically analytic (of myself) and I feel that this week I have had an experience that I don't usually get by sharing with the other attendees what lies underneath the masks we put on to be socially accepted. I often analyse what's going on in my own head space, but it's not often I share what's in there with others, or have others sharing their feelings with me. It's suprising how much we hide the emotions that come with our experiences, even though we are all experiencing the same emotions, insecurities, anxieties about how we look and feel and even how we feel about how we look and feel. Under the masks we show each other we all look the same. We all look like scared children.

Joshua
Something that I've taken away from several neuroscience classes is that the more emotionally involved an event is, the more likely the brain will be able to recall it later. While I'm not saying that Adriano's workshop is traumatizing, I can really see that some exercises are tapping into a very deep and hidden part of ourselves that we don't normally access. While I can't put into words what this workshop is liberating from inside [is that even possible?], I can certainly say that we won't really be taking something new from this workshop, but that we'll remain in contact with a part of ourselves we might have long forgotten.

Tara
I'll never forget what I have learnt - that's what I'll take away. Dance has taught me to not be afraid to dance in front of other people and I am happy to be at the classes rather than at home being on the computer and being bored and I find it an escape from being afraid all the time because I know I can do it and I don't care what people think. I am doing what I love they cant stop me from being who i am .

Nigel
I will be able to use some ideas from the master class with my dance students in the future. Good way to get them relaxed in their own body and explore natural movement!

Jianna
I would like to learn more about the company so I can join them (Ranters). I really like doing this project - its fun.

Felicity
The masterclass has made me think about what reality is for myself and for others. I feel curious to understand more about the world we live in and my place within it. I realise we are very similar beings in a lot of ways.

Jo S
The purity and the simplicity of revealing real people. I will take away the knowledge that whatever we do is interesting because we are all so different. Also Adriano said, " you're the only one who can judge your emotional state, or that you are the only one who can decide if you invested or not". I like that...often as a performer you can feel like you work for someone else.
It's been very interesting and strengthening.

Zoe
I have become more self confident and willing to experiment more with new ideas.