FFIN DANCE
Image Paul Trask
…and the end of the beginning! Friday saw us open our new triple bill at our home theatre in Abertillery. This season is aptly named t e n as it marks the company’s tenth anniversary year; it also marks my fifth and final season with Ffin.
As you would expect, over the past five seasons some things have stayed the same (my pink jumper makes an appearance every show day!) while many things have changed or developed over time (not least the length of my hair or the Heads of the Valleys road!).
Friday was an interesting one – it was the opening night of our tour and yet my last performance at the Met, an evening of beginnings and endings all in one! It was the first time we were letting the new bill fly and transition from being in the studio to stage – where a piece really starts to find its own existence. It’s akin to that sense you don’t really start learning how to drive until you’ve passed your test and are in a car by yourself on the roads.
I think because of the newness of the work, I didn’t have time to dwell on it being a last of something as well, which is probably for the better! The last time that we performed Missing Pages in 2013 (a piece which all season had felt very special) I put too much pressure on myself to really make the most of it and actually came away not having enjoyed myself as I would have liked in its final outing.
Recently, I listened to a radio programme called ‘A Dancer Dies Twice’ and it got me thinking about whether I would I prefer to know and plan when my last ever performance comes, or to realise after the event that my last performance had already been. I’m still not sure, but for now I shall continue with t e n until July and fingers crossed both Ffin and I will continue to enjoy plenty of performances after we part ways.
Effie 🙂