BARLEY SPRITES the story of the film PART 2

PART 2 OF 3: WHO ARE THE BARLEY SPRITES?

Following on from PART 1 of this series of 3 blogs, here we meet the people behind the film. The Barley Sprites in real life, are professional classical and contemporary dancers. I was first to meet these ethereal creatures in an audition studio in Woking in Surrey, on a grey UK spring day, back when I was looking for “…two ballerinas who could dress up as scarecrowesses and do a lot of pirouetting..” (I think was my initial brief).

The audition had been set up by our director: Simon Reglar, talented film maker, who has worked on a number of high profile BBC productions such as “Dr Who” and “Merlin”. Having started his working life as a contemporary dancer in the original cast of Matthew Bourne’s award-winning, all-male SWAN LAKE, Simon had a true understanding of what would be required from the dancers to convey my vision.

Our Dream Team emerged from this audition, and at our first rehearsal that followed, I found myself in a room full of amazingly artistic dancers who, when left for 20 minutes to “workshop” the idea of dressing a bride for her wedding day, entirely changed the tone and character of the original vision, and created a 3 minute dance piece which actually made me gasp and then cry, I kid you not.

Let me introduce you:

This is Beatriz Lopez, she hails from the sunny climes of Spain, has a degree in clinical psychology and a Masters Degree in Performing Arts. The combination of my her big passions, dance and psychology, have led her to work with autistic children through the dance. You can read her blog about the experience of working on our Barley Sprites film.

Our next professional dancer is Sara Bispham, She is a London based professional dancer and actress. She has been dancing since I was 4 years old and studied professionally in Musical Theatre at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and Laine Theatre Arts. You can read her blog about the experience of working on our Barley Sprites film.

Our next professional dancer is Sara Bispham, She is a London based professional dancer and actress. She has been dancing since I was 4 years old and studied professionally in Musical Theatre at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and Laine Theatre Arts. You can read her blog about the experience of working on our Barley Sprites film.

And there’s one more dancer in the film…Alex Bleim…our bride. and a professional dancer/choreographer originally from Vancouver, Canada. You can read her blog about the experience of working on our Barley Sprites film.

So when I met the dancers, I very uncharacteristically decided to relinquish virtually all control, (although I did fuss a bit over the actual wedding dress itself), and just let it roll as a truly collaborative project. To the extent that I’m not even going to watch a cut of the film before its release on 16th September at our premiere party in London. Some would call this foolishness (you know who you are), but I have faith that magic can happen when you do let go and give people artistic freedom.

The film takes place in mid-summer, in a glorious barley field in Surrey. The bride, in her jeans and T shirt, is walking through the barley feeling despondent that she cannot find ‘the one’. Suddenly three golden barley sprites appear, comforting her and lifting her spirits as they start to show her different styles of bodices and skirts so she can explore her ideal silhouette.

This process mirrors the experience of our brides coming to design their own dress, but is intended to encourage all brides creatively, whether they have a bespoke dress made, buy off the peg or import from a far away land. I believe a wedding dress designer is not there to dictate this journey, but to enable and facilitate it, which means tailoring not only the dress, but their own approach.

The gentle approach of the barley sprites allows the bride to feel empowered and confident. The film ends with the bride running off into the distance, in the dress she designed herself.

The last blog in this series of 3 tells the story of the making of the film, a fascinating and personal journey by a designer with a dream. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you to photographer Gabriella Norton