After accepting the invitation from the city to participate in this year’s Christmas Market seasonal festivities, Melissa ( cours violon | EVOL’UT | Ecole Strasbourg) and I began our work to create a moment of wintertime stories and music to bring to the stage in the Advent Village – Petite France, Strasbourg. After working on a selection of pieces for violin, Mélissa came up with a bunch of melodies, all of which enhanced mood and atmosphere. We met over at La boite musicale rehearsal space and began what turned out to be a beautiful journey of creating together, mixing voice, movement, music, silence and of course, stories.
Rehearsals were fun and I loved discovering what we soon began to carve and sculpt together. The stories took on a deeper dimension and meaning with the violin accompaniement, and I let myself be guided by their melodies, and swept away, once again by the power of stories.
We performed twice – once to a bunch of young school children who became wrapped up in the performance from the moment we stepped on stage – and later to an audience mainly of adults, who seemed just as enchanted as the kiddos had been. Mélissa was unable to perform for the third performance last week, so I prepared a solo performance as storyteller alone on stage with my books and precious objects which help bring the stories I choose to life. I loved every minute of the opportunity to perform to so many children and adults, all looking for a moment of escape into the sparkle and magical worlds of a few simple stories.
