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March 26, 2007

This entry was written by  Breis *

MAURITIUS - FIRST IMPRESSIONS

One of the good things about PIV was the fact that an artist from one country went to another country and represented his/her country. From Mauritius, there was Know Me. He experienced the PIV workshops in Mozambique with me and gave me the low down on Mauritius. He assured me that I would want for nothing in Mauritius and that Yaz and Clyde were on top of everything. So from the offset, I felt good about Mauritius.

After almost not getting a room in a South African hotel and numerous phone calls made to three different countries to get it sorted, myself, Know me and Mr Arssen arrived in sunny Mauritius. We headed to the Coco Beach resort, where we met the PIV group. Hit it off with the Yaz straight away, who made the whole experience flow really well. Unfortunately the group had to begin the first day without me (as we arrived on the first day), so it felt strange joining them late. However after meeting everyone, we went for dinner and started to get to know each other immediately. It was very different to Mozambique, but just as intriguing.

THE SESSIONS and THE LAUNCH

The first thing I noticed about the PIV group was that overall, they were quite quiet. So we spent the first half of the day doing warm up exercises and impromptu performances. On getting to know the group, I realised how diverse this group was. There were poets, rappers, comedians, teachers, singers and a TV producer. A very diverse group, but everyone was very passionate in their own way. I enjoyed getting to know everyone as much as facilitating the workshops themselves. The first two days were spent sharing various workshop exercises and watching DVDs of an Apples & Snakes slam competition as well as the pilot of PIV in Mozambique '05. There were some great pieces of work that were written individually and some amazing group stories. The story that sticks out is the story about the mouse and the piece of cheese…potentially a children's classic. Utam, Fanny and the rest of that group, I would go back to that story and work on it and start looking for a publisher. Seriously!

It was great being in the same place with everyone, as it meant there was more of a chance to bond. Most of that happened at dinner time and sometimes the odd room party. There was a lot less time to deliver all the material as we had only 3 days of workshops and 1 day rehearsing and visiting some schools. The school visits were amazing and great for the artists, as they got to try out some exercises, perform and encourage the students to enjoy the project. The students really enjoyed the visit and it was great to see a picture and article of the artists carrying out an exercise in one of the schools in the local paper a few days later. The group wrote an amazing piece on what power in the voice was to them, very moving and powerful stuff. The last day of the sessions was so emotional. I was almost moved to tears by one of the guys who expressed his appreciation for the whole experience. (Much love Eric!). All that was left was the launch, which was brilliant once all the important, long speeches were made. It was great to see everyone perform and show their skills. At the end, there were up to 50 school children running onto the stage for a humongous group picture. The artists in Mauritius were beautiful, loving, full of talent and passionate. I miss them all.

The power in spoken word became even clearer after I left Mauritius. One of my favourite poems at the launch was by an amazing artist, Priya. It was about a cyclone. A few days after I left, a cyclone hit the island. I immediately thought of the poem and for a few seconds I was no longer in London, but back in Mauritius under candlelight hoping the cyclone wouldn't leave to much havoc as she raged and raged and raged.

Posted: March 26, 2007, 5:06:50 pm (UK time)

Breis (breeze) is a rap artist, writer and workshop facilitator. He has a passion for young people and is concerned about their education.  He is presently writing a book for young children and frequents schools all over England facilitating rap and poetry workshops. Breis is also working on his long-awaited debut album. His music is a fusion of jazz, hip hop and African percussion. He has toured internationally as a solo rap artist and with other renowned world music artists such as Cuban jazz pianist, Omar Sosa and Afro beat musician, Dele Sosimi.