One week to go before Brighton Fringe!

So it's only one week to go before we pack up our red phone box and leave for a week in Brighton! Sean has been up all night making the music, Sam is busy editing our little promo film and the Elaine, Jess, Caroline, Ughetta, Charlie and Robyn are working flat out on the piece in the studio. It's coming together nicely but still lots to tweak and get looking the best it can be.
On top of that, we are looking ahead to taking up a short residency at The Windsor boys school for the rest of he summer term alongside our Summer festival in July.
4Motion will be in overdrive over the next two months so keep checking in with us to stay on the adventure with us.

Brighton here we come!

So, we are making a big fat effort to get blogging again! Its been a while.
With a performance in Brighton Fringe just around the corner, things are going into overdrive here at 4Motion HQ. Elaine is swimming in the lake and staying up till stilly o'clock to do emails and Im found like a wide eyed Zombie at midnight confirming music, visuals and advertising for the show.
We are both working on a new level at the moment so what better time to tell you lot about it!

We really need you all to spread the word on our performance in Brighton. It runs from the 28th - 30th May at The Hope. If you have never seen one of our performances before, then you are in with a treat on this one!!

So, in just a few hours 4Motion will host its first audition for Kiss Me Goodbye! So far we have had some excellent applicants and we will be seeing them in action later today. We are going to hold a second audition for male dancers so if you interested, get in touch. Ill keep you posted!!

From the paddy fields to the city to the jungle!

So, I know its been a while so apologies for that. The last week at Epic was a bloody mad one with late nights, massive amounts of rain and balancing work needed to be completed for England. But, it was a great last week! The films are finished and on Vimeo so go check them out if you haven't already. We premiered the vids on Thursday night as the opener for the live performance. We expected around 25-40 people to turn up and watch so when over a 100 people flooded in to see it, we were pleasantly surprised. The students did a cracking job and had the locals and odd traveller laughing and smiling all the way through. It was a fantastic emotional night and we could have not asked for a more professional focused group of students who just go above and beyond what you expect every time.  Epic were really pleased with the work that 4Motion had done so we really hope we get to work with them again in the future. It was great having Liz and John over for a week and we had a right laugh swimming in the river with torrential rain and getting caked in mud on our motorbikes.

We finished the week in style and the flew off to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday morning. I think I could get to like the city there, it has a real mix of cultures and the food would keep you interested if nothing else. From local street food to rotis cooked with chocolate, there really is something for everyone. We visited the butterfly park, the Islamic Arts Museum, KL Tower and finished off our stay with a brilliant 45 minute foot massage in Bukit Bintang. I think I would have liked just one more night to fully satisfy me in KL so I think Ill plan to see it again.

Elaine and I said goodbye to each other at the airport as I boarded my Air Asia flight to Sandakan as she did to Bali. Right now I literally feel like I am sitting in the Jungle. I have booked in to Paganakan Jungle retreat about 40 minutes outside the the main town. Its really chilled hear and all you can hear are the birds and the insects buzzing around. Today I decided to do very little and catch up on some relaxing. This place is the perfect place for it, just wooden long houses on stilts over looking the jungle.

Tomorrow Ill be checking out the Orangutan rehabilitation centre and another wild life park close by. Im looking forward to seeing some wildlife.  I am considering not rushing to the Perenthian's this time now and spending more time in Borneo. We will see how it goes. Anyway, I have some jungle chillin to do.

Kampot 'Grey' and Rabbit Island

So, we finished our filming on Friday just before the heavens opened and tipped with rain. Good timing hey?! Ive now got the task of editing the 2 films for the showing on the 4th. I have quite a bit of footage to go through especially because Mark so kindly helped out too so a busy few days coming up.

We all made a decision on Friday to take a trip to Rabbit Island for the day/night which is a little island just of the coast of Kep. We ventured there last time we were here but that time is was clear blue skies and calm waters. Not this time! The boat ride over was a good indication of what we should expect when we got there. We arrived around 12 mid day to the last bit of sun. Elaine was straight in for a swim to fulfil her water addition whilst the rest of us selected beach huts and decided on were to take lunch. Lunch for all of us was a bowl of fried rice in tomato sauce, not quite what I had in mind but it did the job of filling a hole. After lunch the winds really picked up and I honestly thought we was at the beginning of a hurricane! We collectively decided that the best thing to do was to have a few beers and get into the sea and have some fun in the ever increasing waves. We chatted and laughed and after a quick snooze, went to dinner. I chose not to have any prawns or curry after only just recovering from my second episode of a dodgy system! So noodles and boiled rice with a small mouthful of fish it was for me. We all went to bed at 10 and I have to say it was not the best night sleep Ive had. The mattress was damp and so were all my clothes from the barrage of wet wind making its way into the cabin. I made it through and the we left the island in the morning and made it back to Kampot for lunch. It was a good laugh hanging out with Katie, Renee, Irina, Becky, Mark, Somnang and Gavin. Thanks guys.

I'm now back at Mea Culpa on the Internet and doing some downloads as this is definitely the quickest Internet in town. We have a busy week with lots of dance, editing and the arrival of Liz. Ill keep you posted and until then, chow for now.

P.S
Happy Birthday to Jamie on Friday and Matt on Saturday. Hope you had great weekend, sorry I couldn't be there.

Filming Kampot 'Green'

So today, we set off to shoot our first Epic film. We met at the cafe and all made our way to the river and the rice paddies where we drove past yesterday. I think we got some good footage considering the heat! It was flippin hot! I reckon I sweat a stone into my t-shirt in the first half and hour. Thank goodness I brought a cap the day before otherwise I am almost certain I would have a burnt head and sunstroke. The sun however, did get through my suncream and burn the crap out of my arms and feet. My neck now looks like a cross between a lobster and an old leather belt. We did our final shots down by the river and got some nice ones of the students in the water.

These students are so professional its unreal. They stood in the scorching sun and dripped with sweat without making a single moan. When they finished their bit they stood under a tree for shade and when asked, got stuck back in. Working with these guys is truly inspirational. You never feel like you have to bend the way you work because they might be tired, or hot, or need food etc. They really are a fantastic group of young people who teach me more about myself and my teaching everyday I work with them. Also, Mark was so helpful filming Camera 2 today, between us we had it covered and it was a great feeling knowing he had other shots whilst I got in to the close up shots I really enjoy. So apart from my skin being on fire its been a good day. Tomorrow we will be back at it but in town. I hope to contrast the 'green' with the 'grey'. I want to focus on narrow streets and buildings giving the second film a completely different feel. Well, that's the plan anyhow. You know, once you get started with projects like this, it really does begin to open up a world of other possibilities, it really is a fantastic opportunity for personal and professional development and I thank Epic and the support of my other 4Motion half Elaine for getting us out here and making this happen.

Be back with more soon, just trying to polish off half a wart hog with rice.

See ya

Beautiful Bokor breakfast

So, we went for our swim this morning and I'm not sure we could have picked a more beautiful day to see the mountain and its reflection in the river. The rice paddies were glistening and looked like there had been a sheet of glass sandwiched between the reeds and the sky. Nice to get into the water (even though I think I swallowed a fair few mouth fulls!) and then sit and eat a Continental breakfast right on the water front. This morning made me think how lucky I am to be here and how amazing this place can look when the sun is out. The ride back out from the river side saw us get stuck in a great big dirty mud swamp and go ankle deep in sludge! Nearly even lost a flip flop is was so thick. I also done my toe in whilst getting out of the water which is a bit annoying and painful when you accidentally spray deet all over it! We spent the rest of the day talking about the shoot tomorrow and chatting about other 4Motion business. I am now writing this post sat by the water front in town and the sun is just starting to tuck itself behind the mountain and say goodbye for the night. We think we are joining our Epic friends tonight for pizza but are still waiting for a text (cos now we have a phone and it even has a back light with buttons!! So 1998!!) Hannah is back at the weekend and Liz joins us next week so many exciting things on the horizon for us to look forward to. So, till next time......