Lalalian: Summer S.M.A.D.D. 2007

I spent last week working on Summer S.M.A.D.D. (Song, Music, Art, Drama & Dance) which is a performing and visual arts camp for high school kids.

I've been involved with this camp for more than 10 years and while it's a lot of work, there are always good things that come out of it.

This year was probably one of the more difficult camps I've done, mostly because I was asked to direct the art section at very short notice.

I'm generally with the singers, so it was quite a mind and skill shift and there were lots of different factors that meant it wasn't the easiest job which left me feeling incredibly stressed and inadequate for most of the time. Needless to say, I came home feeling utterly shattered.

In the end there were some interesting pieces to put into an exhibition as part of the concert on the final night. Parents and friends come along to see what their kids have been up to.

There were just over 100 kids and all of them were amazingly talented. Every item in the final concert was created during the week and came off so well that you'd think they had worked on it for months.

This video below is of an interpretive dance that was brought to life by using just about all of the disciplines on camp.

Monday afternoon a small group gathered to write lyrics. These were given to musicians on Tuesday so they could write the accompanying music. Wednesday the musos went to the recording studio where a CD was made to be given to the dancers on Thursday, so they could choreograph the dance. All of this was captured on video to create a documentary on the process. The final product blew me away.

On the other hand, this song probably didn't have as much rehearsal time put into it, but I have to say it brought me a great deal of joy (which you will more than likely hear throughout the vid) {:->

The site where we stayed is in the hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast. There is a beautiful lake and is surrounded by native trees and animals. It was so pleasant to wake up each morning and hear lorikeets and magpies singing to celebrate the begining of another day.