READY, STEADY, G… ERM, AH, YES …GO NOW!
Cove Park, Day 1
I find it deeply comforting being the first into a new space and getting as far as Loch Long yesterday means we are the earliest new arrivals at Cove Park. We also get to see all the busyness around the venue as cleaning and changeover goes on. Alexia Holt, Acting Director / Senior Director of Programmes and all her team give us a heartfelt welcome; they are truly invested in making our stay at Cove Park as rich and rewarding as possible. Their passion is to support residential artists in any way they can in order to nurture the creative process. I don’t even think they see it as a job.
As we begin to settle in, the underlying quietness is palpable and we feel the space hugging us and allowing us to breathe like no other dance studios I know. The views through the many large windows are absolutely stunning. With freshly brewed coffee and our notebooks in hand, we look out onto the loch and agree we should get started soon so as to hit the ground running. So, eager to get cracking, we separate to find our accommodation pods and drop off our suitcases.
So it was very funny that this also turned out to be our only communication fumble of the week. We had both thought this first morning in the space would be all about logistics; setting up, taking in our Tesco order, meeting people etc. So we failed to agree exactly what time we would reconvene for our first creative session. Although we both thought that it would just be a matter of minutes, Charlie, completely new to the venue, was waiting for me to knock on him. But I had already wandered back to the studio without realising his mobile provider had no signal in this area to receive my texts. So there’s him thinking I’m taking forever to unpack and me thinking he must have to do his rehabilitation for a recent dancer’s injury he had suffered. It was over an hour before we eventually found each other again. Luckily, we both found it quite amusing after all our meticulous planning and had a good laugh. But we made sure it never happened again as neither of us wanted to lose any of the precious time we had in this wonderfully enriching environment.
This is my second visit to Cove Park following their Play Park residency in March. What makes it feel such a special place for artistic growth is something we both keep coming back to throughout the week. Is it the way they programme their residencies? Is it the remoteness? Or the ability to ground yourself in your practice? Is it having the safety to fail? Or is it living and connecting with other artists and disciplines who are also here? Maybe it’s simply the opportunity for reflection and taking time to really understand what you, your mind and your body needs right now? I think it's all of these plus more. What would generally take a week at home can be achieved in a day here.