Learning together creatively

The Tree of Light, a celebration of the life and importance of trees, is one of this summer’s four extraordinary ‘Community Celebrations’ – events funded by Legacy Trust UK to create a lasting impact from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and inspire creativity across the UK. Involving, as it does, a 16-metre industrial multi-media ‘tree’ powered in part by volunteer cyclists, 40 schools and community groups across the Thames Valley, an additional choir of about 450 and a very fine creative team of lead artists, the project is nothing if not ambitious in scale and reach. It will culminate in July with performances at the Oxford and Reading Torch Relays and an epic finale at Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames.

For the participants, the Tree of Light began in autumn 2011 with a series of workshops: first with arboriculturalists and other tree experts. It then moved on through a substantial programme of arts workshops before beginning a programme of choreography workshops and rehearsals. With 1,200 expected performers, the logistics are mind boggling. Says Performance Director Charlie Morrissey: “At times it’s like a military operation, where we’re moving great numbers of people from A to B. It’s a hugely complex exercise, but also a very human experience, about people coming together as individuals to create something much larger than the sum of its parts.”

The project, led by a consortium known as Thames Arts, has had to be carefully structured from the start. Breaking the geographical areas into four ‘hubs’ (Oxford, led by Ciao Festival; Henley, by the Henley Festival; Reading, by Reading Borough Council; and Windsor/Slough, by Windsor Festival) has built in flexibility and manageability. With each hub deciding the exact mix of their contribution under the umbrella of the whole scheme, each group’s individual ideas and needs can be met – no mean feat when the parameters are wide enough to encompass primary school children, culturally diverse groups, young people, adult groups and a mixed ability group that includes profoundly disabled young people.

Born from an original idea by Henley Festival’s Artistic Director, Stewart Collins, the creative team includes design duo Block9, best known for their work at Glastonbury Festival, and composer Orlando Gough, who has created all the music which will be sung by the region’s choirs. The dance performance itself, though, is entirely in the hands of Charlie Morrissey and his team of choreographers. He has an enormous respect for community arts, while not being blind to its challenges. For this reason, for example, he is using a ‘flocking’ technique to ensure the performers remain clear and focused at each stage of the show by following more experienced dance group leaders. He says: “There is something very powerful about commitment and unbridled enthusiasm that is both infectious and moving. Working with non-professionals can bring a real immediacy, lack of pretension and rawness to a piece of work and participation in something like this can have a profound effect on people’s lives.”