July1, 2011

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Blog #1

Thank you for taking the time to look at our website.....we are all artists who are passionate about the art of Danse Orientale, in all its forms. The music, the rhythms and the movements captivate us. To dance is to live!!! Our greatest desire as performance artists is to share this love with our audience as we take you on a journey, expressing the emotion, the light and shade of the music as we hear and feel it. We look forward to taking you on this journey with us!

Rehearsals are revving up, costumes are receiving their final touches and our bags are getting packed. On the 11 th of July our adventure to Avignon begins as we board the plane to Paris ! We are looking forward to catching up with our fellow Aussies Pete and Meg Stephens who will be doing the lighting and sound for our 14 shows. We are very lucky to have them! The warm weather will be welcomed too.

20/7/2011 Bonjour from Avignon !

We arrived safely from our 26hr trip all the way from Australia to Avignon without any problems with flights, trains or baggage. All our costumes arrived in perfect condition as well which was our main concern.
We were all very tired but so glad to finally be here and were amazed at how beautiful Avignon is.
We met Shakti and Jorg at the apartment, our new home for 2 ½ weeks. It was so lovely to see them.
Our apartment is amazing, on the fourth floor and with a view of the Palais Des Papes and the Festival Off Village.

We had a few days to look around and get used to things before starting our shows. It was great to see our friends Meg and Pete Stephens who will take care of our lighting and sound.
Meg is also a fantastic photographer so we look forward to her taking some great shots of our show.

We have had all types of weather, pouring rain, wind, sunshine and heat.
The town looks just as beautiful whatever the weather!
The people have been lovely, we have managed to communicate most things as we can speak a little French and most French can speak a little English.

We have hit the cobblestones with our show flyers every day and done some busking in the streets and main squares. Our zills draw plenty of attention and curiosity as we use them while we busk. We have even had the good fortune to dance with a Romanian Brass Band and some African Drummers.

Our shows have been going well, we are nearly a third of the way through and have perfected the art of changing costume in quite a small space. Our audiences have been varied and we have been received well. We were interviewed by the local paper Vaucluse Matin and appeared with article and photograph in todays paper.

The food here is fabulous and we have fallen in love with Nutella and Banana Crepes.
We have not had a bad meal yet!

We have been able to contact home a few times which has been great.
We miss our families and are grateful for the modern age of the internet.

As we prepare for another show, we feel blessed to be able to be here doing what we love.

30/07/2011 Au Revoir Avignon! A la prochaine!

Our last show is finished and we are preparing to head to Paris.

It has been an amazing experience being part of the Avignon Festival Le Off and we have had the opportunity to not only perform to a new and international audience but we have also taken the time to be audience members and see some amazing shows including Kaos by Interface Compagnie, Moqueuses by La Compagnie L'Echappee/Frederic Lescure and Shakti's Classique Nu.

Fourteen shows and a lot of hard work but we have enjoyed every minute of the rollercoaster ride.

We would like to thank Shakti and The Garage International for providing such a professional Theatre for artists and audiences alike and Pete and Meg Stephens for our lighting, sound, photography and fabulous friendship it has been a pleasure.

Divine Elements are looking forward to bringing home all the amazing inspiration we have gathered on our trip to Avignon and using it to create our new dance journey.