... oh and a dance debut! I have been off-radar for a number of weeks, hence the atrocious lack of posts. Not content with teaching commitments, course-work marking and workshop development, I had also signed up to the 'Big Dance 2012' project, to be part of a short piece called 'Prologue', (inspired by the 'Play without Words') with Matthew Bournes' New Adventures company in collaboration with Sadler's Wells.
So, a group of dance graduates and dance-curious individuals of varying experience and ages, spent 6 weeks in rehearsals and ta-daaaa our big debut was last week (12 & 13 July) at the Lilian Bayliss Theatre. Adrenaline spikes and partial stage-fright notwithstanding, it all went well and all the hard work paid off - I did not fall flat on my face and was not wildly out of time - neither was anyone else. An experience that was challenging, fun and nerve-wracking all at once!
So, now that I am no longer treading the boards I had best get back to some work of the aromatic kind - and such fun I have been plotting. I am running a workshop on 28th July for all you Perfumistas out there who wish to discover more about the ephemeral art and practical science of Natural Perfumery. A fun, interactive and hands-on, one-day introduction to purely natural, fragrant botanicals (no animal ingredients) and how to create a unique, inspirational scent. Lots of smelling and sampling will be encouraged.
You can find out more about the workshop and how to book here. Or feel free to ask a question via the comment box ;-)
We shall be studying at the beautiful Regents Park College, whose park grounds offer ample opportunity to 'stop and smell the roses' and return inspired and refreshed. I visited last month and took waaay too many pictures of their scented roses - and spent the best part of an hour burying my face in all the scented blooms. Here is one example, alas I didn't get the name of it, but the colour reminds me of a glorious sunset.
Now to tackle my backlog of blog-posts and even more fun ... ordering some fabulous, fragrant goodies.