Bianca Beneduzzi (Brazil C7) is interviewed by Olga German(Ukraine C6) Choreomundus gave me so much experience. It is like a list of challenges that you start accomplishing one after another. And then, when you look back, you are completely different from the person who started the program. You are totally different from the person who wrote that application. It is a level of transformation that is impossible to catch up with within only 2 years. And most importantly, the people I met, the connections I made are for life. Bianca Beneduzi (Brazil), Cohort 7. Bianca Beneduzi is a Brazilian actress, physical theater and modern dance artist, Choreomundus alumnus from Cohort 7. She holds a BA in Physical Theater and Modern dance (Brazil). She danced in childhood and then studied performing arts, movement technique, actor's training at college and later she went to work in a modern dance company. She sees a special strength in combining her passions as a dance practitioner and a dance researcher. In her opinion, mixing the two can help to realize her full potential and bring important change into people´s lives, especially in terms of establishing dance culture in vulnerable communities. Bianca is inquisitive and diligent in delivering the results of her work, and her motivation to join Choreomundus was clearly strong since she did the program as a self-funded student. Working and studying is clearly a roller-coaster ride to remember. With her vast experience in performing arts, Bianca was more than willing to go for the choreo-discovery. Let’s go on a sentimental journey with Bianca Beneduzi as she tells us an epic tale about her Choreomundus adventure, shall we? WHEN IT FEELS RIGHT, AND YOU CHOOSE TO GO FOR IT Bianca’s story with Choreomundus started in 2015. She found out about the program from a friend who was doing the MA at that time. She applied and was shortlisted that year but didn't enroll. She moved to the US, found a stable job, and later felt it was time to reapply. Sadly, the second time Bianca wasn't granted a scholarship, but this time she felt ready to go for it no matter what: At that time, I was naïve. I didn’t know much about scholarships and funds. The mentality I grew up with is the following: “You work hard, and you make things happen”. So I just thought: “ I have a job, I can do it!. I want to start. I don’t want to wait anymore.” It was a very decisive time in my life. Choreomundus drifted me from my path...in a good way, of course. I was going in a totally different direction. And then - Boom! My life was split into before, and after Choreomundus. I moved to Europe. It was a risky thing for me. I was completely alone at the beginning. Renting places on my own, far from home, at crazy prices for Brazilian standards. Let alone the fact I had debts of over 18 000 Eu to pay. Maybe it seemed I was completely out of my mind. But despite all of that, it FELT RIGHT. The academic value of Choreomundus is unique, but dancing and being a part of the community - inside and ouside the program - is a real treasure for Choreomundi. Each country of the Consortium gave Bianca a unique experience and lots of friends. But the fieldwork was a cherry on the cake of an upgrade as a dancer and researcher. THE PRICELESS GIFT OF GOING TO THE FIELD The anthropological aspect of the program was something completely new to me. On the other hand, now I know how to focus on research, or how to set up a dance in a politically unstable context. For my fieldwork, I did research with refugees, in Athens, Greece. So I learned how to apply anthropological techniques and tools from a workshop in an artistic context and a community, how to engage people using dance. It was a connection point between my life as a performer and an anthropologist. And I am still figuring out what that means and how to work with that. Most researchers agree that fieldwork is a jump into the unknown, no matter how much prior preparation was done. Bianca looks on the bright side, she assures it is worth the risk: Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult at all. There was a lot of laughing in the whole process, and that's why I connected with amazing people. I believe that the power of a project is in your passion and the institution supporting you. When you are within this system, it becomes something bigger if compared to cases when you are alone. And that support makes you create solid connections and better projects. LOCKDOWN AS A WAY TO MEET LONDON AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL AND FINISH THESIS LIKE A PRO Bianca and her fellows managed to have active interactions in France, Hungary, Norway, and during their fieldwork. Yet in London, in 2020…their journey took an unexpected turn. Just like it did for all of us. The pandemic took lots of lives and turned into a tragedy for people all over the world. COVID-19 hit hard when Cohort 7 was in London, at the University of Roehampton in winter 2020: Roehampton is that dream-come-true university. The lockdown was frustrating for me. It was supposed to be time full of options and opportunities…The studios… The library. And out of a sudden, everything was shut down. And we didn’t have access to anything. We hoped we could have extended access later to compensate, but that didn’t happen. Yet being optimistic when facing troubles, Bianca and Cohort 7 self-isolated wisely – thesiswise :) : We had some more time to dedicate to our dissertations. That is a good thing. We could focus. Despite all of it, we got to see London in a setting we would never have seen before the lockdown. And it was a privilege to spend it at Roehampton because we had all the campus to work. We didn't have to choose between studying and wonderful things in London. The events just weren't happening. It was a bit crazy because January and February 2020 were quite normal. I would meet my groupmates to book tickets to go somewhere in London. Together. We wanted to be everywhere all the time. Bianca sympathizes with Cohort 8 and future students who confront so many restrictions. Yet, who knows, maybe those limitations can lead to even more discoveries: I can't even imagine how it feels to do fieldwork during this pandemic. It must have been crazy. While writing my dissertation in London, I knew that Cohort 8 was doing fieldwork. And I was like: “Oh my gosh! How is that even possible?” FIELDWORK IS FIELDWORK! HOW DO YOU GO TO THE FIELD IF YOU CANNOT GO TO THE FIELD? I'm really interested in those narratives.would like to read about the experiences of the next Cohorts. The research done during the pandemic is a memento about this time. But Cohort 7 "felt the urge" to leave a creative trace of their own. It resulted in their Performing the Pandemics/Emergency Festival - an artistic response to the COVID-19 situation: their emotions, and their vision of the pandemic via movement and other media. Cohort 7 organized this event in London and later presented it at CAA Conference and Festival in September 2020. WORKING AND STUDYING. THE CHALLENGE WITH EVEN MORE PITFALLS As a self-funded student, Bianca combined working and studying during the program. It was hard because of the intensity of classes. And also because this format of attending lectures was not always favorable: I had some problems in Choreomundus because I worked. Some of the teachers were fine with it. But some of them couldn’t accept the fact that I had to work while watching the classes. So it was hard to explain why I had to combine those things. Claiming my opportunity to be in class wasn’t easy at times, but I learned lessons from that too. Bianca is proud to remember that she was a good student, regardless of everything. Assiduous in terms of meeting deadlines and submitting good essays. Professor Georgiana Wierre-Gore was always pleasantly surprised with her diligence. She managed to submit the essays on time, while students who didn’t work asked for extensions/ I just committed myself to the program with my whole heart, explains Bianca. CHOREOMUNDUS: IMPACT. GROWTH. TRANSFORMATION. Choreomundus was a big adventure. Obviously, we had many classes and a lot of assignments. It is definitely not appropriate time to relax. It’s time to study hard.It was crazy. I had a 40-hour job and had to combine it with studying... I come from a humble family, and it is common in Brazil to work and study at the same time. But Choreomundus is not an ordinary program. It is intense. So it was a huge jump. It was terrifying at the beginning, but I would do that again. It was more like: IT'S YOUR DREAM, SO GO FOR IT. And I made it bit by bit. Bianca feels that she has grown at many levels. Not only as a practitioner and researcher but as a negotiator and activist: Now I am more mature when dealing with institutions. When I was communicating with organizations before Choreomundus, an image of myself was really small. I had no idea about the ACADEMIC world and its rules. I didn't have enough strength. Choreomundus changed my perspective. Four different universities, four different methods. I practically grew up in terms of understanding how this works, how to negotiate, put myself in the face of the system, express what I need, and position myself. For me, that is really empowering. Not just studying dance subjects, but growing as a human being, a human being who is free within this system and has an understanding of the rules. If you know these things, you get that freedom. Choreomundus having your back really pushes you to go forward. Even though we were very autonomous in the programme, the support of institutions was very strong. One thing is to go as Bianca, and a totally different one - to be Bianca, a researcher from the Choreomundus program. Now Bianca Beneduzi is in her home country, Brazil. Clearly, she is happy to be home after a long time away. While facing bravely the threats the COVID-19 situation caused, Bianca is planning to get back to the UK. Seeing Bianca happy and empowered is inspiring. She is open to opportunities and more adventures.
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