Creative Week and New School Year Letter to students – BCDA 2018/19

Welcome to BCDA 2018/19 !

Here you have a lot of information related to Creative Week and 2018/19 School Year program. There are many changes. New students, new challenges, and I am sure the "old students" have changed a lot too. The Foundation and the school has financial difficulties due to the social/political/cultural environment's mostly enemical attitude towards civil world, culture, solidarity, indepence, creativity, education in general. We should definitely learn, react and profit from this situation: we can understand better the task of innovative, socially responsible art, these difficulties should result creativ solutions from our part. Learn hardworking to avoid becoming loosers, find our role in the society, find ways of survival of alternative culture, protect our individual and common values.

Please read carefully and take time to think first and talk after about these topics in the Forum times in Pilisszentkereszt / Creative Garden and later in the school.

0.
ARRIVE the 21st Tuesday between 9.00 – 11.30 otherwise you loose basic information.
Find contact details here:
Find program in BCDA CALENDAR
Fill the special meal and other declarations query you must have got in e-mail before Friday noon.

1.
We'll work mostly in two GROUPS:
A&B = all newcomers + all II. year students
C = all III. year students including Attila
Individual study program will be followed by Gwen created together: she – as part of group C – will concentrate on technical development and thesis writing, and will not participate in public performances of the school.

We are 27 at the moment and 3 or less last minute applicants may arrive still. Once I will have the final list, I will share it.

New Ballet program will be described and groups composed on Thursday.

2.
Check the CREATIVE WEEK PROGRAM schedule in the school calendar. Write if you have difficulties to see it. Try different views to understand better.

From Wednesday we start everyday with advanced Tai Chi, continue with Chi Kong for everybody and finish with Tai Chi for beginners and re-beginners. The Tai Chi learning will be finished with assessmnet of achievements and watching each other's development the end of the week.

Breakfast will be prepared and served by groups of 3 of members of the advanced Tai Chi group.

After a really short toilet break get used to have your in depth individual warm up (different than drink a coffee and smoke a cigarette while talking with your mates, chat, play, etc, on your mobile) 

Every morning while one group has a  teacher led class (Contemporary, Contact, Ballet) the others have time for outdoor individual rehearsals and/or practicing.

Lunch will be prepared and served by a chef to be selected after your arrival mostly from the members of the Ballet Group 2 and helped by her/his selection of 2-3 helpers (sloshy, scullion, betty). Arrival day lunch will be a picnic: put what you bring to the middle in the summer kitchen and everybody will take what she/he likes.

In the afternoons you have outdoor or tent individual or group rehearsals. If you need – reserve studio time in the tent in 20 or 40 minute portions.

STAY ALONE – is one of the most challenging 45 minutes of the daily program: your special time for reflecting, digesting, ordering information, experiences. Bring your dance book and use it. Dance Book is one of the few obligatory things here: as a default an empty, hard cover, handwritten notebook for consecutive notes on your dance development.) Avoid all online and personal interactions in this period: stay 45 minutes with yourself.

Before dinner there is another class for group C and outdoor rehearsal possibiities simultaneously.

Dinner will be prepared and served by invited cooks and participant students helped by their choice of helpers.

As you see we'll work almost all day with little breaks only. You will have three classes and about four hours rehearsal time a day. There is a lot of individual time for rehearsals, practicing, writing. Use these times alone efficiently, concentrated as much as you can, and definitely do not disturb others with "socializing", that you have time for during meals, breaks and in the evening. I know this is very unusual for some of you and difficult for all of us. But that is why we are here. You can always escape going out from Creative Garden or into your room and leave Creative Garden for Creative People. Once you see you have no energy and inspiration to use your time for dancing, practicing, creating, thinking, writing, … ask yourself why you are here and draw the consecuences.

3. There are two main CREATIVE TASKS at Creative Week
3.1. portrait game – tha afternoon of your arrival
3.2. preparing to show something on one of the 6 Show Times

3.1 Portrait game has three parts:
– making interviews
– building portraits and 
– presenting portraits  

One dancer from each group create groups of 3. It means each group will be composed of 3 members from different groups (I., II., III.) of the school. (as much as it will be possible)
Everybody will be interviewed by the two other members of her/his group in depth about her/his life in 20 minutes.
After a little break a 2 minutes scene will be created for everybody: One of the interview makers will direct the interviewed person + the other interview maker. The scene will be a subjective portrait based on her/his main inspiration upon the 20 minute interview. Extract and present your main experiece. Text, dialog, space, gesture, movement, object – anything can be the component of the scene you created together for two performers directed by one of you about one of you.
I hope the task is clear already, however I will explain it again before we start it.      

3.2 Show Time

Write (carv, paint, etc) your name and the title and crew (if different) of your show on an object (stone, piece of something, etc.)
There will be 6 boxes, 1 for each Show Time (see the calendar)
Every box (Show Time) will have one person to take care about.
​Everybody should give one object to the caretaker of one of the boxes
You can put maximum 5 five objects in a box.

Members of group A will present a solo of minimum 2, maximum 3 minutes.
Your choice of the space, the time, of your performance, the tools you use, the way you communicate with your audience will be all important elements of your solo performance. 
You can consult with Tamás or Iván or just start to work on your piece.

Members of group B will create a scene (solo) of minimum 2, maximum 3 minutes for someone else. It means they will not perform in their own show.
Just present your project: title and dancer's name to your box caretaker. Of you can ask for consultation if you need.
You may ask for support to show your initiative described for group C members as well.

Members of group C will present materials (movement materials, and/or movement combinations for 1 or 2 or 3 dancers, may be including themselves, as the key component of some of their projects for nex year,
such as
– 24th September performance in the aula of the Technical University at the opening cocktail party organized by Hungarian Rectors' Conference for 2-300 participants of an international event
– October or November Charity Auction and/or other Goli Theatre performances
– 20th December Trafó Performance ( no student choreographies for professional dancers, as no strong enough, acceptable projects arrived in or after time) 
Program planned to be composed of
– Eléonore Valére's piece to be created in the second week of the October Break
– Student work (for instance Jacsó Anna's chair project, …
– Ex students' work (for instance Vágner Orsi solo?)
– MU week
– June Trafó performance dancescapes
– site specific actions

Go for clean simplicity and high intensity!

We can see a maximum of 6*5=30 pieces in the Creative Week.
We must see the solos of groups A and B. If there will be more productions, you can continue rehearsing during the administrative week in the school and present it early in the first week or so.

4. 
There will be no extra clean up, cooking, fixing crew or person. We ourselves have to solve everything, we will be A SELF SUPPORTING COMMUNITY.

We will make little groups, each with a responsible leader for daily tasks related to 
breakfast
lunch
dinner
clean up in
– the tent
– tent's toilet
– summer kitchen
– kitchen
– new house (4)
– old house (7-8)
– wooden house (2-4)
– guest house 1 (5-7)
– guest house 2 (5-7)
– fixing bugs

The composition of the groups with their alternating leaders will be written in the calendar too. Please make an outline to your calendar to oversee your own duties easily. Nobody will remind you, but everybody will suffer your failure.

5.
COEXISTENCE GUIDELINES
– smoke outside the garden and the forest
– gather all garbage to garbage bins, change plastic bags before they get full
– help to maintain other's calmness and privacy
– after or before every dinner let's have a little forum to treat and solve daily problems of common interest
– send a text message to Iván if yougo somewhere else than your actual program venues   

6.
If You need other DRINKS than water from the spring, there will be water boilers to make hot water for your own coffee or tea, bring your thermos may be. Prefer to use boilers in the guest house to spare energy in the Garden. Do not drink the water from the tap, that comes from tanks of rain water. Tank water may smell as stored there since long time however safe for non drinking purposes. 

7.
Do not forget to BRING
– dress and shoes for very warm and very cold and very rainy weather as well
– dress and shoes for indoor and outdoor classes, rehearsals, practicing, performing
– dance book

8.
You see many PROGRAMS fixed already in the calendar: classes, workshops and performances. Let's speak about all details in the Creative Garden soon.

9.
ACCOMMODATION will be in 4 + 7 + 4 bed houses in the garden and two 5-8 bed guest houses 200 meters from the garden. You may but do not have to bring any bed sheets. Bring your towel.

Iván