Full Bloom was a festival of contemporary dance by and for older people, produced by Julia Thorneycroft Dance. The day-long event at the Trinity Centre consisted of a number of workshops, and culminated in a sold-out public Q&A and performance featuring dance groups Gerry’s Attic, YAMA and Striking Attitudes, and including choreography by Lea Anderson
Although I wasn’t involved in the run-up to this fabulous dance event, on the day Julia was too busy in the technical rehearsals with her company to ensure that everything else was running smoothly, so I came on board with on-the-day production management. I was heavily involved with keeping everything running smoothly between rehearsals, workshops for performers and public participants and the final evening showcase.
This involved ensuring everyone knew where they needed to be at all times – quite challenging when you are managing around 60 performers plus large public audience. It also, and perhaps most importantly, meant making sure there was a freely flowing supply of tea and coffee available at all times!
For the evening performance I took on Stage Management duties, giving cue calls to performers and ensuring all props where were they needed to be at the correct time.
The day was an absolute blast, and the performers were such a large part of that. While it was quite odd being part of an event that I had no involvement in until the day, I still enjoyed seeing everything come together into a buzzing and successful event.
