In 2019 I meet Marie-Lou at a speaking event. She was still going strong as a performance artist but I had thrown my hat in and had started a new outside the arts. Since my retirement, I felt I had been bouncing around different careers. I was never able to recreate the love I had for my dance/choreographic lifestyle. 

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With Marie-Lou there was some type of serendipity. We had been sharing friends and dance spaces since the late 80s. Yet, our paths never crossed until we had found ourselves in Gloucestershire.

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If the definition of retirement was stopping it was not going well. I had been asked to do two performances and I had reluctantly said yes. One was to create an improvisation for the shift wellbeing festival. The other was creating Robert Wedderburn for the Stroud theatre festival.

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During the same time, I went to see a tour of the 1920s dilapidated Olympus Theatre in Gloucester. I remember standing backstage and feeling this immense feeling of being at home. I shared this with the director and was invited to be the dance councillor for the Olympus Theatre. I now had access to a theatre and was back performing in festivals after 10 years. What was going on?

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I asked Marie-Lou to join me in these projects. She said yes and we set to work. For fun, we also headed to the countryside to make dance for video. It felt so right being back in the creative realm of movement. I was 49 and felt physically on my last legs.

 

Marie-Lou suggested that should be the name of the company. It was all a bit of a laugh and a nice hobby to keep dipping our toes into the contemporary dance scene.

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All projects although tough on the body were received well. We had a post-performance discussion at the strand theatre festival. The audience feedback was to continue developing Robert Wedderburn. Marie-Lou, and Sarah, managed to get arts council funding for a full-length show for stage two.

 

It was no longer a fun hobby. We had to get down to some intense work. My partner, an experienced classical musician joined the project. Chioma a musician/ actress, captured an array of elements within the story. Our team was set. But life was about to change.

 

​Covid 19 pandemic forced us online. It was a challenge but it helped create a new project strategy. The approach expanded to international audiences and zoom discussions.

 

After two years, Marie-Lou needed to focus on other artist projects. She asked if I wanted to take on Last Legs Dance Theatre. My initial feeling was no.

 

But after a camping trip on the beautiful coastline of North Devon. I had a chance to reflect on what made me feel alive. Arts and education are who I am down to the core. It was time to come home to myself and again start creating. But what does Last legs mean outside the fun of being an “old dancer”.

 

On your last legs can mean losing strength, but still pushing forward. It represents many social challenges. People get fatigued but try to continue to move forward. And that is it. Then I had my overarching concept. Last legs is dance theatre that engages in subjects and conversations. This in turn brings awareness to people’s strife in life.