After a short break, this seemed like a good time to reflect upon our screening event which was help on July 25th. Unlike the IN-SITE launch, this event was completely organised by myself, Nicola and the dancers. We are very proud of how the evening went.

The event took place at Sun Pier House tearooms. The tearooms provided the perfect atmosphere for the screening event. Tables were set up with information about the project and the other IN-SITE artists; guests were encouraged to look through pictures, information and Nicola’s giant sketch book. The bar was open and we had the help of the wonderful team at Sun Pier House.

The evening started out on Sun Pier with a performance from the dancers of Daisy Farris Dance Collective. This short piece introduced the evening, using the dresses to represent a river cutting through the middle of the choreography. The audience was then lead upstairs to the tearooms where they were encouraged to grab a drink and look at the displays. The film was screened shortly after. It was wonderful to be able to show the film in a location that played a key part in the making of the work (some of the film was event shot from Sun Pier House tearooms!). After the screening, a short Q&A took place, chaired by Laura Knight. This was a great opportunity to talk about the work further and give the audience an insight into our creative process and the research behind the work. (Look our for a video of the Q&A coming soon!).

Finally, the evening ended with the dancers performing short installation pieces at various locations around the tearooms. All these were based on elements of Bluebell’s life;

• It was said that Bluebell used to go into the local Post Office in Chatham and spend a long time arranging and rearranging small objects that belonged to her. Once she was happy with their formation, she would walk out of the Post Office and leave her display. Based on this Sarah and Laura performed an improvised installation based on the idea of arranging and rearranging various objects.
• Bluebell’s relationships and acquaintances are not completely clear, but local people have told us that she was in love with the doctor and would leave presents of oranges and bananas on his car. Hannah and Glynn performed a improvised duet based on this story. The movement looks at the concept of dancing with someone but never seeing them properly or seeing past them.
• Finally, it is well known in the local community that Bluebell’s appearance was theatrical and flamboyant. In response to this Nicola has created a white dress with illustrations of Bluebell’s life on the fabric. The dress has many layers and details and is created in a theatrical style. Holly wore this dress and performed snippets of her solo from the film as part of her installation performance in the tearooms.

You can see highlights of all the performances in the video below.

Overall the evening was a success. Nicola and I both felt that it was a great representation of the project. With a project that has so many elements and is rich with ideas and research, we have found it difficult to articulate the most important sections. This screening event felt like a confident step in the right direction and as we move forward we hope to find new ways to get the work to a range of different people. The most exciting thing about the project, is each time we talk about it to people or show the film, we have someone approach us afterwards with their own story about Bluebell. It is heart warming to know that this was a real person, with real experiences and who had a significant impact on her surrounding community. Each time a new story is revealed it adds to the potential and excitement of the work.

Catch our next event on August the 22nd where the film will be shown on the big screen opposite Chatham bus station every hour from 2-5. Myself and the dancers will also be performing on Sun Pier and Nicola will be creating art work throughout the day. We hope to see some familiar faces there!