Art Festivals

Previously Rebecca contacted us to judge at the youth art festival. Due to the positive feedback from our dance performance at the opening of the festival, she contacted us to help her with her next project. This time round she wanted to organize a few dance workshops and performances throughout Foshan. We, of course, were really excited to participate and help in any way we could. The project was not aimed at professional dance performers but more directed at amateur dance teachers (active in Foshan) who could experience new styles of movement and were able to perform them. MDC was responsible for organizing the dance teachers and the artistic content. Our aim was to have three different teachers (two foreign and one Chinese) teach in different contemporary movement styles.

Liam O’Callaghan (Amsterdam, NL), organizer, director, and head teacher. Shifei Chen (Zhuhai, CH), our good friend (who we worked together with at the Sino-Dutch dance festival) as teacher, performer and supported in translating (most students did not speak English very well) and last but not least Roos De Groot (Rotterdam, NL), an intern from the Codarts University of Rotterdam teaching dance in Guangzhou. All three only had one workshop of 2.5 hours each to teach, experiment and create material for the performance. Most of the participants did not have a high level of technical skills so our workshops were quite challenging for them.

It was such an inspiration to see them so motivated to learn new things. The following afternoon we molded all the material into a small performance of 40 minutes, which they performed for the first time that evening. Rehearsing, choreographing, light/stage designing and performing all in one day! That’s intense and quite demanding for professionals let alone doing this with amateurs who have never set foot on a stage before. We took the challenge head-on and found a way to make it work.

To support and guide the participants on stage all the teachers joined the performance. Working hard in the studio is not the only thing that is important. Standing on a stage with an audience gives you a totally different feeling. Through our guidance, we were able to give them a base from which to work with. Everyone gave it their all and truly enjoyed every moment on stage with us. All levels mixed up together to create a totally new experience. We were more than happy with the result and look forward to our future projects with Rebecca and her company.

It was at our performance at the SINO-Dutch international Dance Festival where Rebecca first saw Liam & Loura on stage. From this moment forwards a fruitful working relationship has bloomed. Only a few months after meeting each other, Meraki Dance Collective had the honor of working together with Rebecca for the International Youth Arts Festival in Foshan, Guangdong. Besides judging the different art categories, ranging from musicians to dancers of various ages and levels. Meraki Dance Collective also performed at their grand opening evening.

Amongst the other judges was also (Dutch cellist) Roeland Duijne, an incredible musician, and warm-hearted human being. It’s always such a pleasure to meet inspiring people such as Rebecca and Roeland when traveling through the country sharing your art. We can’t wait to see you both again!