Performances: November 6th, 1999 at Latvian Dramas Theater "Dailes" in Riga.

Some words about the first part of the project from Fiona Millward:

All of us except for Zoltan had previously visited Riga and taught workshops alongside performances and so were familiar with the city and the dancers who lived there.

However, being the first time we had actually worked in collaboration with each other on a group piece, as well as our first meeting with Zoltan Nagy, it was important to integrate as a group in the first few days and work out our differences and similarities. Therefore, although time and space were limited, the first two days were spent improvising, playing, discussing our approaches and finding a common process.

The rehearsal schedule was hectic and timing quite erratic. With the limited amount of studios available for use, and the even more limited budget we were working with, it was difficult to secure a studio for long periods of time during the day. This said, we were offered mid-rehearsal period, the use of a studio just outside of the main city...set in a beautiful location close to the sea and available for our use throughout the day. This saved us!

From the start of rehearsals to performance time we had the equivalent of around 7 full days of rehearsal. Our studio times were intense, from being full of discovery, debate and exploration, to times of complete frustration and mis-communication.

This is the magic of a project such as this. That five choreographers with such diverse backgrounds, histories, experiences, training and lives can find a common purpose and shared 'language' through our mutual passion of dance.

We performed for one night only at the Dailes Theatre in Riga to a full house. The tech took place on that day and thanks to the speed, skill and positivity of the technicians and designers at the venue we were able to pull everything together. There were no technical mistakes, despite the numerous music and lighting cues, and everything ran smoothly. The audience were open, receptive and very generous in the their response, something which I had previously found when we performed in Riga.

Overall, this project was probably the most difficult of all, being the first in a series of collaborations, whilst we developed a group process and approach. The fundraising continues for these to take place in UK, Bulgaria and Hungary and I look forward to developing our ideas further during the next four sessions. These projects will always be short, intense and gruelling, but the dialogue has begun and the communication can only get more honest, open and effective as we proceed. Onwards and upwards!