"Nobody is quite sure how Crow was born. Different stories were told. . . " –Ted Hughes

This past November I premiered my first solo, a devised physical theatre piece inspired by Max Porter, Ted Hughes, the Dadaists, and the centennial anniversary of a period of insane political turbulence.

100 years ago explosions on all fronts: literal ones on the battlefields of Europe and figurative ones in the field of art. It's been 100 years since von Freytag-Loringhoven's and Duchamp's God and Fountain, respectively...well, depending on whom you ask.
100 years since the United States of America declared war on Germany.
100 years since the Boshevik Revolution.
100 years since Tzara wrote his second Dada manifesto.

And here we are again. 100 years ago might just have been yesterday.

Crow swoops in in a final attempt to charm/seduce/persuade/threaten humanity to come to its senses – the natural, physical kind, not the detached, rational kind.  But as powerful and clever as she is, nothing Crow has up her sleeves can stop the neverending "insance spectacle of collective homicide" to which she has played witness for hundreds of years.  A failed messenger, a condemned Cassandra, she must carry the weight of her vision alone in grief.  A solitary black feather remains as a symbol of her dashed hopes for revolution.

A huge thanks to my friends at OH MY Productions for this fun adventure! We filmed this music video for (and with) FABER back in early July, and it was definitely a collaborative effort! Doing a "making of" video like this requires plenty of creativity and on-set improvisation. I think the meme background still had wet paint when we shot it, and coordinating the guys behind the trees and mountains to start and stop at the same & right time was quite entertaining. So many details, so much to choreograph, so much to film all squeezed into one day of shooting! Luckily we had a truly wonderful team of very dedicated and multi-talented folks (check them all out below): Feliks & Sebastian from OH MY were the dream team leading the project and walking that fine line between keeping up the morale on set and still making sure we (sort of) stuck to the tight schedule. Nadine, our costume artist, had some clever tricks up her sleeve to keep my dress in place while running around and dancing, while Maggie, our makeup & hair artist, and I became an expert team at getting my FABER wig on and off in a matter of seconds.  And now here we are!  Our work is finally out there for all to see! 

What do you think? 

And how do you think the material was handled? FABER certainly doesn't aim to be politically correct in his songs. This one is no exception. And to that end, flouncing around in a sexy red dress obviously isn't the most feminist act I've ever committed... But perhaps the fact that Faber's voice is carried by a female protagonist who is fully in control of what happens around her gives her more power than her apperance

An OH MY Film (www.oh-my.de)Concept: OH MY & Irrsinn Management
Direction: OH MY (Feliks Horn & Sebastian Tomczak)
Director of Photography: Chris Baur
Steadicam Operator: Karsten Jäger
Camera Assistant: Patrick Zeller
Gaffer: Tim Vallender
Lighting: Felix Gnideo, Lennart Hüper
Set-Aufnahmeleitung: Mathias Gaumann
Set Runner: Max Gast
Set Design: Babs Tarabczynski (Argus Event)
Set Design Assistants: Rüdiger Gay, Céline Ah, Momo Arts, Adi Busch
Makeup & Hair: Madeleine Magnus
Costumes: Nadine Weyland Näddin Weyland
Playback Operator: Emily Schörnig

Lead Actress: Lucy Flournoy
Band: Silvan Koch, Tillmann Ostendarp, Max Kämmerling, Janos Mijnssen
Management: IRRSINN
Cheerleader: Dortmund Giants Cheerleader
Dancer: Tim Dunkel
Making Of: Barton Kirchmann
Extras: Frederik Horn, Kai Schuleit, Martin Hoffmann, Tim Wille, Barton Kirchmann, Marcel Docquier, Benne & Simon (Curb Stomp)
Catering: LUUPS DORTMUND

The Physical Theatre Department at the Folkwang UdK and the Maschinenhaus Essen are partnering for the fourth time to host the FULL SPIN International Physical Theatre Festival from July 5-9, 2017 at the Maschinenhaus Essen.  This festival is one-of-a-kind in Germany and this year will be particularly monumental, as it will coincide with the founding of the Physical Theatre Netzwerk, which will serve as a collective cultural-political voice for the physical theatre scene in NRW and beyond.

My fellow physical theatre students and I are very excited to be playing host this year to an inspiring group of international physical theatre artists for four fully packed days of theatre.  You can see the full schedule HERE.  Folks are coming in from far and wide: Beirut, London, Amsterdam, Seoul, Brussels . . .

For my part, I am most looking forward to seeing Lebensraum by Jakop Ahlbom at the Grillo Theater in Essen and Sabine Molenaar’s performance of That’s It at the Maschinenenhaus and to participating in workshops with Trygve Wakenshaw and with the Duda Paiva Company.

I will also be performing at the FULL SPIN OPEN SPACE on Sunday, July 9th.  From 11:00am to 1:00pm in the Meierei on the Folkwang Campus in Essen-Werden we Folkwang students will perform selected devised scenes from the past three semesters and the acting students from the Chung Ang University in Seoul will be performing a 50 minute piece.  There will also be readings of self-written work and food & beverage catering to round out the morning.  The entrance is free!

Tickets are still available for the entire festival but space is limited.  So if you’re in the area, reserve a spot today (tickets@fullspinfestival.de) and join us!

You can also follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram (@fullspinfestival) and Twitter (@fullspin_essen).  We will be posting live every day.  (I'm managing the social media!)

Exciting news, dear followers and supporters! 
I have been accepted to the Folkwang University of the Arts to study Physical Theatre starting this summer semester 2016 !

On April 4th I will begin the 4-year program (8 semesters) that awards an Artist's Diploma upon successful completion.  I am extremely honored, thrilled, and grateful to have been offered a spot in the class of 2020 after a very intensive (and fun!) audition and evaluation process, which took place at the beginning of February. 

Traditionally each class is made up of four students or fewer.  Our class will be the first year with six students, which I think is fantastic.  We are also very international: Germany, Switzerland, Nigeria, Palestine and the USA are all represented.

I cannot wait to begin learning, training, working, creating, brainstorming, sweating, and all those other juicy verbs that will soon become a part of our daily life!  I'll be sure to keep you updated here!

Cheers!
Lucy

The idea behind this new series is to provide swing dancers of all levels a fun and easy way to get their bodies warmed up before dance class. 

Beginner dancers can use the choreographies to learn basic solo jazz and Charleston moves, while more experienced dancers can use the straightforward structure as a frame for playing around with their basics and work on adding different rhythms.

The moves you will find in this video include:

• Single Bounce
• Swing Bounce
• Shout Steps
• Single Kicks
• Hallelujahs
• Mess Around
• Front & Back
• Swivels
• Knee Slaps
• Jazz Square
• Kick Crossovers
• Traveling Charleston
• Lock Turn
• Shimmy

This routine will be taught and danced over the next two months in all of our LindyPott classes in Dortmund, Bochum & Essen.  In the area?  Please feel free to join us!

Look out for the next installment of our LindyPott Warm Up Series coming in January!

Saturday – 14.11.2015 – LindyPott Studio, Dortmund, Germany
Learn one of the most fun and fascinating follower variations in Lindy Hop: the swivel!
Level: Beginner-Intermediate and up
***Sold out!  New sign-ups will be put on the waiting list.
More information & registration HERE.

Saturday & Sunday – 21./22.11.2015 – LindyPott @ Villa Rü, Essen, Germany
Lucy, Tim, and Sabine give you all the basics you need to start jitterbuggin' and rug cuttin'!
Level:  All are welcome! No dance experience whatsoever necessary!
***Sold out!  New sign-ups will be put on the waiting list.
More information & registration HERE.

Friday – 11.12.2015 – LindyPott Studio, Dortmund, Germany
Lucy & Tim share their tips & tricks for teachers of beginner & intermediate levels.
Closed workshop for LindyPott Trainers only.

This past September I attended a truly fantastic workshop on the topics of pantomime, mime corporel, Marceau-style, and Meyerhold's biomechanics taught by Anke Gerber, Oliver Pollack, Lionel Ménard, and Tony de Maeyer.  This workshop is hosted by the Mime Centrum Berlin and by the Plateforme organization and has been taking place for the past three years.  Not only were the instructors phenomenal, the studio in which we worked was absolutely beautiful: Studio 2 of the Kunsthaus Bethanien is a large, bright room with natural light and high ceilings in a castle-like ex-hospital located in Kreuzberg.  Every morning we looked out from the tall open windows over the lovely courtyard and park below.  The days were full of hard, physical work, inspiring challenges, in-depth exploration of the different styles, and great conversations over shared meals.  Our week together culminated in an hour-long performance open to the public, during which we showcased several pieces we had been developing over the week and our work with ensemble-based, improvised movement.  Aside from our group work, I was involved in a Marceau-styled performance of "Le Manteu" directed by Lionel Ménard and based on the short story "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol, and in a piece created with two other colleagues based on "Les Lavandieres," one of Marceau's dream studies.  After such an intense week, it was certainly hard to say goodbye, but the relationships formed will surely lead to future creative collaborations, to which I am already looking forward!  In case you're interested in participating yourself, check back in with the Mime Centrum & Plateforme next year for registration details.  Highly recommended!