Life on tour in China – a blog through photography!

December 18, 2012

Nicole McKeever,  Irish Dance Troupe, China Tour

 

As this is my first Riverdance blog, a quick introduction seems necessary!

At the end of this Chinese tour I will have been with the company for five years! During this time I have been fortunate to work steadily and travel extensively through North and South America, Europe and Asia.

If any of you have encountered life on tour you may be familiar with the warped sense of time that is often experienced by those of us on the road. Memories blur together and suddenly five years have flown by. To combat this blurring of time I like to document my life on tour through photography. Whenever I revisit my collection of images from tour I am reminded of all the incredible experiences I have shared with my fellow company members.

I have five pictures to share with you this week, all of which really give a broad view my experience in China so far.

The first image comes from our day walking around Guangzhou. Underneath the glass panels are sections of a street over a thousand years old which was discovered and preserved. The hustle and bustle of a modern commercialized society in the background, the adorable baby in the foreground, China’s past, present and future are captured in one setting.

 

The second image was taken during our stroll around Dongguan. Many of us that day felt like we stuck out like sore thumbs, not only in our physical appearance but in our manner of dress. After walking through a very vibrant and crowded neighborhood some of the local people started to talk to us. With an extreme language barrier we often found ourselves communicating with basic human expressions like smiles and laughter.

The third image is from Shenzen. In front of a sculpture I caught a cute little girl playing and dancing. I liked the way her small scale was expressed in contrast to the large sculpture. One of the things that has struck many of us on tour is the abundance of adorable kids we see. Seeing them play with their grandparents and parents makes me realize how so many human interactions are culturally universal.

Next we have an image of clothes drying in apartment windows in Shenzen. When I look out my hotel window I often see a sea of apartment buildings, and regardless of the economic level, there will always be laundry drying in the window. I just found this to be visually interesting occurrence.

Lastly we have an image of my fellow dancers and I experiencing some nightlife in Shenzen. The smokey filled envirnoment mixed with the colorful lights made for an interesting image. Fellow cast members Ben Mapp and Lauren Smyth have their faces in focus while the background is in a blur, and their concentrated expressions of attentiveness communicate how we all felt that night. All of us taking in such a fascinating foreign environment with the companionship of sincere friends.