And this was it, the important first meeting, determining whether or not the project was going to work. The most important aspect was that the participants turned up; otherwise nothing could happen. And in truth, it did take a little while to assemble; only time will tell whether this was due to initial confusion or is part of a general cultural attitude to time, punctuality etc. But after a short while, Alazar was able to inform me that it seemed we more or less had the numbers expected. More rather than less actually; we started with thirteen, and a couple more drifted in.
I had expected to be working on the rooftop terrace itself – a good space, but in full sun. But Alazar took me first into one classroom, and then to a larger one, when I made it clear that I would need enough space to get them on their feet. And so we started.
Where they have come from remains something of a mystery to me, as well as how they are recruited, let alone what they are doing for the rest of the time. They are a little older than most groups I have worked with, 19 or so, about 6 of them girls… or young women, I suppose. I think they are mostly students and ex-students of Biniyam; I daresay I will find out more about them as time goes on.
As to what we did, in this first session. Well, those of you who know anything about what I have done in the past will not be surprised to know that I stuck to a pretty well-worn formula, all the more so since (not for the first time) I was teaching a group the vast majority of whom had very little idea what I was saying. Biniyam has been tied up with personal or family issues ever since I got here, while Alazar, as something senior in the Film Academy, already had plenty on his plate to be getting on with. So after a brief introduction, he left me to it.
I started with yawns, stretches, and some land-based swimming, in order to get people warmed up, followed by a game. Which one? Well, guess. Of course! I do not think I have ever taught a group who have not been introduced to Zip zap boing, and these were no exception. A tad tricky, without words to explain it, but actually they caught on remarkably fast in the circumstances.
Then on to mime; again, virtually inevitable. We learnt the ball, the drink, the magic object (and if none of this makes any sense to you, I’m sorry, but it would take too long to describe it now.) But more than the detail of each object, what just about all of them were able to do was tell a story… for the point of the technique is to be able to use it to tell a story. And over the course of these mini-improvisations, they told some great stories… and all without a word.
There was, however, something unusual about the situation. I often have to deal with… let’s say slight unruliness, chattiness, whatever. But these were astonishingly disciplined, sitting in silence. It was all slightly unreal (and did give me a slight cause for concern that my own somewhat laid-back approach might be a bit too free and easy.) For quite a while, they did not even seem to react to each others’ performances, even though some of them were hugely entertaining (and I, it does not need to be said, laughed loads.)
But gradually the atmosphere lightened, as they realised that it was fine to relax and enjoy themselves. And I think they did. A bit tricky to be absolutely sure, of course, without the precision of language. And me? I couldn’t be more pleased; provided they all turn up again, I reckon there’s a terrific cast!
