Objective:

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To find the location for our work. Accommodating an average of twenty people, including children as well as have a working space.We were hoping to find a place where we could return on a yearly basis. Boreas Farm, an artist retreat on 45 acres of land in Hebron, upper state New York, USA was a first option. http://www.dance-web.org/boreas/. Apart from the physical needs of the project participants, a more important principle of action was to find a place whereby the shape of the Cassandra Project would manifest through the practice of Authentic Movement and the sourcing of classical and contemporary texts as well as interviews with people. We were committed to allowing the work to take its own shape as an installation, a film, a theatrical production, or a gathering of writings or nothing at all.

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Activities:

The main activity was to test out the possibilities of spending four days in one location that would ultimately extend to twelve days the following year. Was the studio adequate? What were the impediments of working in a rural environment and in a foreign country as opposed to a rural or urban location in Canada? Could the septic tank sustain so many people?

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We determined that the studio was perfect and the location very inspiring despite the challenges of border crossings. The living quarters, however, were insufficient for so many people . Camping would be necessary and more time would need to be devoted to accommodating daily needs than focusing on the work. As the following year would be the first year of work, 2003, we wanted to devote the majority of our time in the studio.

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During this four day period, 28-30 June and July 1st, we discovered a new way of working which had not manifested in our earlier Authentic Movement masterclasses. We worked with no beginnings and no ending to our work periods which provided a complete flow between daily chores and studio work. This in itself was a sign of maturity in the practice that we would continue to explore in future years. It meant that the boundaries were being blurred in service to the work that was developing.

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Participants:

Gerry Trentham, Louise Walker, Judith Koltai and Monique Léger. Louise wrote: 'I remember our dusk practice in the studio. Shadows, shades of grey, softness in the light, at the edges of our forms. In our Cassandra work, I want to journey more into these in between places, these bridges, these moments before sleep comes, of recognizing a dream while dreaming. I want to dig the richness of seeing the in between. This is my beginning.'