My Return to Poland 2009
This year marked the second raqs tribal summer edition in utska Poland hosted by Yolanda. I first taught there last year to dancers for the most part total beginners so we focused mainly on ats to get a solid foundation down for the first part of the week then moved on to fusion choreo for the second half of the course. Everyone seemed happy with the material covered and excited to go home and work on it all. Yolanda asked back again this year sharing the bill with Ariellah this time to increase the length of the event to two weeks of yoga, ats and tribal fusion fun. In May the workshop places went on sale on line at midnight and sold out in twelve seconds! It was the first time Ariellah and I worked together which was very special for me as she was one of my first teachers. It was also the first time I had seen her dance live since 2007 I think. She blew me away with her stage presence and musicality.
It was very special for me as I was able to see alot of the same girls as last year and see how far they had come in only one year. They have obviously worked so hard, the shows were so inspiring, full of great technique, innovative ideas, honesty and joy.
I can't wait to see what they come up with next year!!!
It's incredible to see what lengths these girls go to just getting to the event, transport is very difficult in poland, slow trains, dodgy roads, huge distances and few airports mean a huge commitment in time and money. Their finances are limited, most cannot travel around Europe or head to the US to workshops so have to teach themselves for the rest of the year.
To see how far they have come in the past 12 months is so inspiring to me, I am very lucky to get to share that with them and look forward to taking THEIR workshops in the future.
Na zdrowie.