art and gardens
The French culture regarding art and the environment is different from that in UK.
There are often walks in the countryside which are accompanied by musicians or singers. Sometimes the musicians wait en route and play when the walkers approach.
In the gardens there are frequent exhibitions of sculptures or paintings.
Last weekend I went to an event which combined a garden visit with a walk and a dance performance.
The garden was classical French- a park rather than a garden. There were no flowers just trees. But what magnificent trees. They were mostly hornbeam. They were laid out in geometric forms or in long alleys. It was big, big enough to have fully grown trees in most of the areas. Some of the trees were pruned to keep their size to form hedges some were allowed free rein to show their magnificence. Even hornbeams had been shaped as in topiary.
We met the leader of the event and she gave us an introduction to the event. We were all given a mini cd player. We were instructed to were it around our necks and to play when given the signal. The cd contained a story and music to accompany the dance.
We set off and the performance began when we saw in the distance sitting under tree someone dressed in black wearing a pointed hood playing with leaves.
We were led by the dancer among and around and under the
gardens tree formations. We listened to the story and the music as we walked. We were drawn into the world of magic and make-believe in a real enchanted woodland. Occasionally, we, the audience stood still and silently watched our dancer perform in this other world.
Finally she lay across our exit path and we had to pass over her to exit this world to re-enter the mundane world of reality.
There are often walks in the countryside which are accompanied by musicians or singers. Sometimes the musicians wait en route and play when the walkers approach.
In the gardens there are frequent exhibitions of sculptures or paintings.
Last weekend I went to an event which combined a garden visit with a walk and a dance performance.
The garden was classical French- a park rather than a garden. There were no flowers just trees. But what magnificent trees. They were mostly hornbeam. They were laid out in geometric forms or in long alleys. It was big, big enough to have fully grown trees in most of the areas. Some of the trees were pruned to keep their size to form hedges some were allowed free rein to show their magnificence. Even hornbeams had been shaped as in topiary.
We met the leader of the event and she gave us an introduction to the event. We were all given a mini cd player. We were instructed to were it around our necks and to play when given the signal. The cd contained a story and music to accompany the dance.
We set off and the performance began when we saw in the distance sitting under tree someone dressed in black wearing a pointed hood playing with leaves.
We were led by the dancer among and around and under the
gardens tree formations. We listened to the story and the music as we walked. We were drawn into the world of magic and make-believe in a real enchanted woodland. Occasionally, we, the audience stood still and silently watched our dancer perform in this other world.
Finally she lay across our exit path and we had to pass over her to exit this world to re-enter the mundane world of reality.
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