Regular Practice

The regularity of activities and consistency of practice are crucial. Since the first session in January 2021, the workshops took place almost every week regardless of how many people participated. Sometimes nobody came, other times there was a flood. The sessions continued on and the word thus spread to the community who became secure with our consistent presence. We constantly adapted the plans to the people who happened to come to meet us, which could be a surprise each week. There were those who left at the beginning and returned months later. There were those who accompanied us the whole way through. There were those who came once and never returned but the work always moved forward. It was important not to follow the flow of people - that is, not to let the process and its regularity be compromised by the frequency of the participants. BOWING was a force that entered São Teotónio and Odemira and never left. Its continuity often attracted and formed groups by establishing a regular practice. Practice, practice, practice. Interest waxes and wanes, moving in cycles, but if the practice holds steady something valuable is sure to happen. Even if only one person comes to the workshop we will work with them, offering individual attention and developing what may be future opportunities. The message was sent out and what started as a small group in the hall of the São Teotónio Parish Council, in the intensive agricultural enterprises, or in the Odemira Municipal Market, changed and passed through many faces, names, stories - all important parts of the project. This regular energy was the ingredient that, at the time of the show, brought a group of more than 80 participants to join the cast. Also present in the watching crowd were several faces that had peeked in on the rehearsals at one time or another, becoming part of the extended experience of this process.