We have arrived! Our journey to Florianopolis turned out to be every bit as exciting as we had anticipated. Don’t worry, said Bia, all will be fine, Chill. And so it was when we reached Heathrow and checked in early. All fine – the airline was expecting us and were not at all phased by the rather spectacular parade of Dave and Jamie’s metal access equipment, wrapped in duvet covers, lined up for the aircraft hold.

It should be said that we checked in as we arrived and so didn’t all meet up as one group until we were on the plane, which caused me some anxiety. We also managed to miss Alex and Wilie’s entrance to the airport (OK, Jamie had persuaded us to go for a drink in the bar upstairs), but mobile phones kept us in touch, so that was fine.  Once on board we discovered that, bizarrely, the airline had seated us in different places from each other. But we all had someone we knew close by so we managed It was a very long (12 hour) flight through the night. I was seated next to a young Brazilian called Gaby (who’d been studying English in London for 6 months) and she informed me that her cousin (who was in First Class) had the pleasant job of choosing the videos for TAM airlines, so they were good. I watched The Artist, which I enjoyed very much. We dined well – but at 11.45 pm which meant my tummy was rather full for the night (memo to self, don’t choose beef stew late at night, even if it had cranberry sauce gravy).

The night was a long haul, hot and cold all at once somehow. All of us claimed to have slept for an hour or two. I was certainly grateful for the neck pillow I purchased. But it was a bit like ‘British zombies touch down at Sao Paolo, Brazil,’ when we arrived at 6.00 am.

Then it went a little bit awry. It took 90 minutes to collect our luggage and get across the terminal for our planned connecting flight to Florianopolis at 7.45. This was always going to be tight. It took 20 minutes for Dave and Jamie’s wheelchairs to be hoisted up for them and 30 minutes queueing to get through passport control (still, better than Heathrow, eh?). But what with loo stops and long walks and not understanding staff…we didn’t make it. The nice ladies with horn-rimmed glasses and her hair in a tight bun told us in excellent English that we had two choices – wait at that airport for the next flight…..at 3pm! Or take a bus across town to another airport and get the flight at 11.50. It was easy to get the bus, she said with a smile – and even offered to pay for taxis for Dave, Jamie and Alex to go ahead. So off sped Dave with Mike, Alex with Willie and Jamie with Pickles.

The rest of us spent half an hour queueing for the bus and then got told we were in the wrong place, so we moved on to ‘ there under the clock, sir’, and waited there for another hour. But we did meet a nice family who told us what time the bus would come (9 am) and that it would take 40 minutes. I breathed, dear Breathers, a sigh of relief. At 8.55 we gathered our belongings to discover that Shaine had gone AWOL- well, in search of a loo, in fact. Amy nobly went to find him in the airport. Not a sign. The bus arrived. What were we to do? ‘We can’t go’ I said – ‘Hold that bus!’. I rushed into the terminal and cast my eyes about the large, empty, neon precinct. And there was dear Shaine, looking a little bit lost, perhaps composing a new poem – he wrote three last night on the plane, one comparing the ‘lovely’ air hostesses to those on Pam Am. I yelled, Shaine heard, we ran…and just caught the bus!

And so began our panoramic tour of the vast megalopolis that is Sao Paolo, home (they told me) to 25 million inhabitants. We saw an awful lot of roads, and fly overs, sky scrapers, building works and….traffic. The 40 minute journey took 1 hour and 30 minutes, but… but…..we made it!!! And waiting for us were the others. Dave was in a very merry mood.  Mike informed us that they had had a hair-raising taxi journey across town, ducking and diving, weaving and ….whizzing, Ayrton Senna style (former Brazilian Grand Prix Chamion, for those too young to know). Mike was a wee bit scared, and was hiding his head, but Dave thought it was great and was laughing all the way. When they arrived, the taxi driver, who had said not a word throughout, suddenly smiled and gave both Dave and Mike a huge hug.

Upstairs we went, found they had changed the gate number and walked back the way we came and arrived in time! We all sat together and arrived within an hour. Florianopolis was as beautiful as I remembered, misty and cloudy but with the mountain peaks peering out of the sea. We went through to get our baggage, walked out and…

What a welcome! (I’d managed by the way to contact APAE to let them know were running late – thank you, dear Bia!!) . There were about 50 people there – holding banners saying ‘APAE welcomes UK Breathers’, members of APAE, VIPS, friends, mothers, student documentary film-makers….we felt like royalty! We all got kissed on both cheeks, hugged, embraced…wonderful.

Then they drove us in an adapted bus and minibus to the APAE Centre in the middle of Florianopolis – the roads were quiet. We were ushered into their dining room, where they had set out a magnificent display of exotic fruits and chocolate cakes. We were seated on tables with white cloths, strewn with shiny leaves and offered delicious food. But first, a choir entered, accompanied by a percussionist and two guitarists, and sang us a song of welcome. Well, I must confess, I had to fight back the tears at this point.

We talked and smiled a lot. It was great, except we were exhausted. So after a quick press interview (they were waiting for us, Jen and we had to fight them off, saying we too tired to talk more!) we went to the hotel to relax. But first APAE gave me a mobile phone, so we can contact them at any time if we need to. Each of us had a beautiful illustrated diary, a chocolate and a rose laid on our bed (courtesy of APAE). We have a lot to live up to in July, guys!

Jude, good news is that the percussionist is coming in July with his conga!

That’s all for today. More to come! Boi noite. Abracos from all tired 15 of us. It’s great to be here at last!

Tony

And….breathe!  Four months to go, and I’ve settled into my role on Breathe. We’re  picking up the pace and there suddenly seems a lot to do….

I’m one of the three Emerging Artists on the project and have been given the title of Assistant Director, which is very exciting, as I’m being mentored by Jamie Beddard, an artist I’ve worked with before, but with me being a performer under his directorship, rather than his shadow. So, working on a high profile  project such as this with Jamie is a fantastic opportunity!

I’m also assisting on the project management and marketing side of things and my mentors Alice and Jenny have shown huge amounts of faith in me, giving me incredible, unexpected opportunities. Already I’m writing my second Breathe press release and project newsletter, and have worked with the parents’ fundraising group to organise a three hour integrated zumbathon to support the cost of performers’ costumes. We raised a grand total of £750 on the day, which I think shows an overwhelming commitment to the project from performers and their families and has given parents the chance to get actively involved in the planning, organisation and running of the day, allowing time for social networking, which is not always possible with the homeward rush before/after sessions.

And, my role in the rehearsal room itself? Again, its been varied and never exactly the same on any one day! I’ve acted as role model and peer mentor to the cast on weekends/residencies when Jamie/artists have been leading. On Sunday rehearsals I have ‘stood in’ for Jamie, leading warm ups and facilitating elements. This in itself has been an enormous learning curve; a challenge that I’ve readily undertaken and has offered much-needed hands on experience. From my past artistic training on Remix and my former  experiences as an actor/facilitator with Double Act, I have worked with the two groups as separate entities on numerous occasions over the years. But, with an integrated cast of adults and young people, and an average group size of 47 participants, I’ve had to quickly adapt my techniques and adjust to a ‘bigger’ way of working!

Another side to my development process has been the over-riding question: to perform or not to perform?  I am a keen actor and have performed with Double Act many times, and to stand up on the Olympic stage and do what I love would be amazing! But, is this my role on the project? Will I be missing out on valuable mentoring time, if I become part of the piece? To perform requires much rehearsal , and perhaps the boundaries between performer and creator will become blurred, even if unintentionally so. The young people have become accustomed to seeing me in a position of authority which it has taken time to establish, and I am enjoying being part of the creative team in a professional capacity.

I have found moments in rehearsals when individuals need my attention and I have been torn. All hands are on deck and there is no-one else near to support them, without disrupting the flow of the group as a whole. But, can I leave my partner to assist them? How to perform, yet still be on hand to carry out my job?

I know in my heart, that I must follow my dream: to use Breathe as a stepping stone; paving the way for the transition from volunteer performer to professional artist. It is a journey I am ready to take, and a week of theatre with Jamie, after Easter will determine my decision. Bring it on – I can’t wait!