Staying for another two years

After I finished Rambert in July Rachel picked me up with all my possessions and I settled into living with the Bowers family. Then at the end of August, I applied for a graduate visa to stay here for the next years. I really want to be able to get some work experience and take time to transition into becoming more independent before I go back home. I think this is going to be really important for me in the future. This type of visa is new and means I can now stay here until the end of August 2024.

Here are some of the highlights from the last 6 months.

• Springs Dance Company Summer Intensive. Springs is a Christian dance company and it was great to be able to dance with others at the same time as praising God in a big church.

• Dance Camp in Cornwall (camping!). I went to a dance camp with my friend Sapphire (from Rambert), in Cornwall. It was inspiring to get ideas for movement from things outside like the shapes of leaves and ways that animals move in the wild.

• Greenbelt. I volunteered at a Christian arts festival at the end of August, which meant I got to watch some amazing performances. I loved seeing all the different kinds of art and the way they were being used and developed.

• Auditions. I have been applying for dance jobs since the beginning of September. My favourite auditions so far have been in Leeds. In the second one, even though I did not get the job, I got into the last selection of 20 dancers out of 600! It is hard finding work but I am learning a lot in the process and making important connections with other dancers and choreographers. I have had 2 small paid jobs so far.

• The Harbour Project. I danced to retell a Chinese folktale, The Magic Paintbrush, as part of a creative project for refugee families. This was a great opportunity for me to practice my acting skills. This may be important in the future if I want to create work that tells a story.

• Texture Dance Company. Every Friday I have been going with Rachel to work with a Christian dance company in Bath. We have been working on learning how to create workshops for the church that focus on studying the bible through movement. This is really new for me as we have been choreographing by starting with text rather than music or movement.

Alongside all of this, I have been learning to live life beyond being a student. I am starting to figure out how to do things like manage my time, keep myself fit and set goals. I am also working on understanding how to teach and develop classes for different situations.

Here are some photos from the last few months:

At Greenbelt

‘Wednesday at the Zoo on Thursday’

"Wednesday at the zoo on Thursday"

Rachel Bowers

Thursday 27th October 2022 I went to the zoo to celebrate my 22nd birthday!! Rachel, Jon, Stormie and Kira had all suggested that I should choose what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go for my birthday. At first, I had no clue as I have never done this before. However, they were all so supportive and gave me some ideas such as going to a museum, an art gallery, the cinema…and of course the Zoo! It had to be Zoo! The Bowers like dressing up so they also asked if I wanted to dress up for the trip. So I chose The Addams Family as a theme, nothing is more classic than the Addams Family at the Zoo. I dressed up as the character Wednesday and we watched the first movie the night before to get in the character! Here we all are.

Go ahead, have a go at guessing who is who!

I loved the zoo and I saw so many animals that I have never seen before. As soon as we walked out of the parking lot, we saw two huge rhinoceros! It looks as if they were just roaming free everywhere! It was just so cool! We saw so many incredible animals but I’m just going to show you the ones that were my favourite from the day.

And some other moments from the day!

Guess who Came

Mum came! My last week at Rambert School was very emotional but wonderful because Mum (Christina) was here. She came to stay for one week. A huge thank you to dad (Taka) for taking more responsibility at home so that mum could come all the way to the other side of the world. She came during my last week of school and was able to watch me dance! This meant she could see how far I have come and that means so much to me.

It did not feel real that she was able to come in person. It has been 3 years since we have been together in person. 3 years of not seeing or touching someone is really hard. Mum not only came in person, but she also brought precious gifts from dad, my sister Nij, my brothers, and some of the girls from Gateway, who are not just my good friends but are like sisters to me. We did so many things together. We cooked, slept, walked (one day we walked 3800 steps), and talked! We got blisters and were so tired but wanted to see as many places in London as we could as the time that we had together was so short. Here are some photos and a video I made to help me remember those days together.