Kathmandone! - Zoe (UK)

So this will be my last posting for the Sapana blog.  I leave Kathmandu tomorrow to go back to London.  I am very sad to go, especially since I didn’t get to see all of the kids and say goodbye to them before I left.  This week there have only been five attending the training sessions as the rest have gone back to their respective villages to get their identity cards in order to be issued passports.  But, this is obviously a very important step to go to Dubai in October.

Last week we received Ivan (from Australia) and Eluned (from the UK), the two newest circus volunteers.  Ivan will be staying with us for three months but potentially for up to five months, and Eluned will be here just over one month.  Ivan trained at NICA and although he is a trained juggler/manipulator he also knows quite a lot of acrobatics, hand-to-hand and corde lisse.  Eluned originally trained at Circomedia and has since gone on to complete a dance degree.  We’re all really excited to have both of their skill sets and the Sapana group has already been very kind and welcoming to them.

In my last days in Nepal I have been handing-over my work to Ivan and Eluned (no I didn't go on holiday in the end), brainstorming lesson plans and ideas for shows and just generally filling them in on the ins and outs of how everything works here in Kathmandu.  We finally bought a lock-box for the equipment in the gym and we visited the British Embassy on Tuesday where we are hoping to stage a fundraising show in September.

On Wednesday, Tristan (who is sponsoring the show in Dubai) came along to training and was able to visit a bit with the kids.  They were all really pleased to see him again, and as he speaks Nepali it’s obviously very easy for him to communicate!

Handstand class with Ivan and Eluned



Sheetal having a rest after running her silks routine

Tristan trying out some hula-hoop moves

The entire Sapana group is advancing in their various disciplines but the crunch time will be in the next few months leading up to the Dubai trip.  Tensions will run high, stress will creep in, and managing circus and school will become more complicated.  I will be watching their progress from abroad, rooting them on and wishing them the best of luck for October.  I have every confidence in them and I know they will be fantastic.

I have enjoyed this project so much and in a way that I never expected.  This group of young people is so fantastically talented and they are such great kids, I will miss them immensely.

I’m not leaving! (Trying to hide out in the newly purchased lock box...)

I now hand this blog over into the capable hands of Ivan who will carry on the updates for the next few months.

Zoe x

Back to Business as Usual… - Zoe (UK)

So now that the excitement of the British School show has worn off, we have gone back to our normal training regime—Pramila and Sharmila on aerial hoop, the “Sittals” on silks, the boys doing group acrobatics, and Anjali, Doli and Saraswati practising hula hoops.  These days I’ve been having quite a lot of extra help from local volunteers which is great!  Peadar, a juggler from Ireland who is based in Kathmandu with his wife, has been helping me on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Because of a recent back injury, he is not really able to participate physically but his presence has been of invaluable help as he has been overseeing the work that the two Sittals are doing on aerial silks.  Sometimes I can’t spread myself thinly enough and I notice that they are perfectly happy to sit and gaze out the window of the gym unless someone is there to encourage them to continue working hard!

Megan also comes to help twice a week; either supervise the hula hoop training, or the acrobatics; teaching a bit of hip-hop dancing to compliment the boys’ break-dancing tricks.  This Saturday Megan managed to accompany me and Anya to the refuge in Godawari to help with the ballet class.

Our resident ballet teacher, Anya, has not only been teaching the kids dance classes on Saturdays (both to the Sapana group and the other kids housed at the refuge) but she has also been attending most of the weekly sessions to lend a helping hand.  Anya was previously trained as a gymnast, which is fantastic as I can leave her on her own to work acrobatic basics with the students that need extra attention. 

I have been spending much of my time supervising the aerial hoop training, trying to find some interesting doubles hoop figures for Pramila and Sharmila.  They both work hard but they’re not used to being two on a hoop so things are still quite clunky and awkward at the moment.  Although what will be included in October’s show has not yet been finalised, I really hope that they will be able to show off some of their newly learned skills in Dubai.

Here is a video and some pictures of Saturday’s ballet class.  It was so cute to watch all the kids in rapt attention of Anya, trying to mimic her turned out feet and arm positions.  After the technical class she taught them a choreographed dance set to hip-hop music which they all really seemed to enjoy.

After ballet class on Saturday, Anya, Megan, Fiona, Noah (two other EBT volunteers) and I went for a walk in the hills of Godawari.  Along the way we stopped at the EBT mosaic workshop.  It was fascinating to watch the employees hard at work on their intricate designs.

We then set off on a gruelling five-hour hike up to the ridge which Noah assured us would only take two hours...ahem.  It was worth it, though, and it was truly beautiful.  I haven’t had that many chances to get out of Kathmandu so I really appreciated the fresh air, the views, and the quiet (no horns beeping, crazy dogs barking, or fruit sellers squawking...)

Only two weeks remain to my time here in Nepal.  I am very sad to leave.  I’m hoping to get away and do a short trek or at least visit Pokhara.  We’ll see though—both time and money are running out!!

Zoe x

Australians and Angels in America - Zoe (UK)

Last Thursday’s show at the British School was fantastically received.  The assembly hall was packed (and very hot!) mostly with children and their parents.  Sapana arrived around 2 pm to do a quick rehearsal and to check the sound and lights.  The group seemed pretty nervous and wanted to do the run with the curtains closed!  The Australian circus group, The Roof of the World, arrived shortly after we did—unfortunately they were one cast member down due to a sudden stomach upset…  After a quick word from EBT’s director, Philip Holmes, the show began, the curtains opening to all of Sapana’s girls unfurling in a group balance which revealed Pramila (the group’s most recent addition). 

The rest of Sapana’s performance went off without a hitch eliciting many delighted gasps and ruptures of applause from the audience.  The Roof of the World performed immediately after us showcasing their various talents (poi-swinging, mime, magic, clowning and stilt-walking).  The children giggled hysterically at the clowning and were suitably impressed by the magic tricks and the stilt-walker.

Here's the link to the article covering Sapana and the Roof of the World in the Himalayan Times this weekend.  http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Dreams+of+better+tomorrow&NewsID=290474

We all went out for ice-cream to celebrate after the show, getting our cold treats in batches as the café didn’t have enough bowls to accommodate us all.  The kids seemed happy and proud of themselves for performing in front of such a big audience.  About 400 people showed up which makes the biggest crowd that Sapana has performed in front of to date!

On Saturday, Anya, the dancer who is volunteering her time to teach ballet to the Sapana kids, was finally able to give her dance class at the refuge in Godawari.  The room is tiny and hardly large enough to run a ballet class but she managed somehow!  All the kids enjoyed it and although they were laughing at themselves attempting to be graceful ballerinas, they also took it very seriously, trying to copy Anya’s form exactly.

As well as organising the show at the British School, I have been busy performing every night at the Nepal Tourism Board, playing the role of the “angel” in a production of Angels in America directed by American Deborah Merola.  I offered my time in exchange for some publicity and fundraising opportunity for Sapana.  I've stuffed over 500 envelopes with information about Sapana and EBT in order for it to be included with the programmes!

I've been rushing off each night to arrive for the 3^rd act, just in time for my two short cameos.  It has been interesting albeit tiring work but it's all worth it if we can raise awareness about Sapana in the Kathmandu performing arts and theatre scene.

I have been feeling quite sad recently as I now have to wrap up my time here in Kathmandu.  I leave three weeks from tomorrow and will spend these last few weeks training with the kids on their various disciplines.  Now that I’ve been here this long, I don’t feel like going home!  It will be quite a culture shock to go back to the UK and I will really miss each and every member of Sapana...

In two weeks time we receive Ivan, the latest circus volunteer from Australia.  I will have about a week with him before I leave to show him the ropes.  He will be joined by another colleague from down under in July and the two of them together will be responsible for readying Sapana for their big Dubai premiere in October. 

I hope to write a few more post before I go after which time the next volunteer will take over this blog.

Zoe x