Regular attendee Eva talks about the ‘You’ve Been Bell Squared’ Effect

I remember my first visit to Bell Square was to watch Carousel last year – it was close to sunset and there was a actually a circus carousel in the middle of the brick-paved square.

I witnessed a most unusual phenomenon which transformed the local environment, brought people together for something really impactful and turned a normal day into something extraordinary.

That was Bell Square; the invisible theatre – you don’t know it exists until it magically pops up in front of you – creates a huge impact and then disappears again.  It’s as ethereal as the Cheshire Cat but whenever I go to see a performance or when I take other people along, I always feel I’ve been ‘Bell-Squared’ and so do they.

So what is the 'Bell Square effect'? It’s a very positive thing – it puts the shine back in your eyes and a beat in your heart.  It’s really quite hard to pin down the ‘je ne sais quoi-ness’ of it all, but if I was to try and articulate it, I would say it’s more about the eclectic mix than any one particular thing.

During the week, Bell Square is a somewhat mundance, paved red brick area which is transformed every other Saturday into an outdoor arts space, in the round with ‘pop up’ wooden seats. Hundreds of people arrive and gather in the space – all ages, backgrounds and nationalities are eager to see what’s on. Before each performance, a very loud bell tolls for five minutes – it sounds ominous almost but it’s certainly not, it’s the klaxon for people to assemble, the invisible curtain to rise and the company of performers to begin their show.

This is where the magic happens – it may be a company of contemporary dancers putting on something hard hitting, a social commentary like Company Chameleon with their show Of Man and Beat. Alternatively, it might involve walking round Hounslow with Tilted Productions to watch scenes of Belonging(s) play out in unusual settings such as a car park or beside a tower block.

Whatever is on, the ringing bell marks the start of an absorbing journey which may last up to an hour or more. Many of the performers are outdoor arts groups who also perform in theatres – there is something very special about these outside shows – there are no walls, there are no barriers, there is no stage. Many of the performers are happy to speak with the audience afterwards; it’s as if they are important as the players themselves to the success of the event.

What all of these performances have in common is they captivate the audience and everyone is drawn in momentarily and that experienced is shared. Whether it’s dance, acrobatics or theatre, there is a connection made between the public and the performers.

No matter how I’m feeling when I arrive, when I leave, I always feel like I’ve been part of something powerful and transformative and that I’ve learned something about life and the world through these powerful performances. It’s an incredibly powerful and uplifting experience.

Are you ready to be Bell Squared?

To keep up with upcoming events, visit our What’s On pages here

And if you are attending Bell Square events – don’t forget to share your experiences on social media using the #BellSquareLDN hash tag.

Introducing Blogger in Residence Lucy from London Unattached

TrendFEM is passing on the Bell Square Blogger in Residence baton to a new blogger who takes up residency in Bell Square for the next two months.

Lucy Foxell is a writer for London Unattached, a widely read and award winning London blog which focuses on all the great things this city has to offer in including Bell Square

You can follow London Unattached on social media here:

Facebook.com/LondonUnattached

instagram/londonunattached

https://instagram.com/londonunattached/

Twitter.com/Lon_Unattached

And if you are attending Bell Square events – don’t forget to share your experiences on social media using the #BellSquareLDN hash tag.

To keep up with upcoming events, visit out What’s On pages here

An view from Bell Square's Artistic Director: Cia Ignifuga in London for the first time

Across Europe, there are many festivals of outdoor arts.  One of the biggest and most spectacular is Fira Tàrrega.  Every September, this tiny Catalan town in Northern Spain plays host to an extraordinary array of outdoor theatre, dance and circus.  With roots dating back to the 1930s, Fira Tàrrega attracts thousands of artists, audiences and programmers from across the world.  The annual trip to Tàrrega feels like a pilgrimage to the spiritual home of outdoor arts.

Over four days, the festival presents hundreds of performances by artists from across Spain, Europe and beyond.  I go to Tàrrega to look for some of the best shows for Bell Square for the following year.  It is impossible to see everything, so I always arrive with a rigorous schedule that fills every waking moment with the most interesting looking shows!

A couple of years ago, when I arrived in Tàrrega, I asked Jordi Duran, the Artistic Director of the festival, for his top 3 recommendations of shows to see at the festival that year.  One of them was A House Is Not A Home – a new show being performed for the first time by a young theatre company called Companyia Ignífuga.  It wasn’t on my list but it was a great recommendation!

On 23 September, Cia Ignífuga brings A House Is Not A Home to Bell Square.  The company and the play on which their show is based will not be familiar to most people in London, so I hope some background information will be interesting alongside seeing the show.

CIA. IGNÍFUGA   Who are Cia Ignífuga? In English, they are Fireproof Theatre! The company started in Barcelona in 2011. At the Institut del Teatre, the university of performing arts in Barcelona, a group came together around a shared vision of what theatre should be, at this early point - this still rather disorientated point - of the 21st century.

This group of young theatre makers and actors want to make shows that comment on our contemporary lives.  And they want our experience as audiences, when we see their shows, to be emotional as well as intellectual.

A HOUSE IS NOT A HOMEA House Is Not A Home is Cia Ignífuga’s third show together.  It is based on Interior, a play by a Flemish writer, Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949).  Maeterlinck is remembered and recognised principally for his early plays, written in his late 20s and early 30s.  Interior was one of these notable works, written in 1894 when he was only 32.

Most of Maeterlinck’s work is written in a way that stirs the reader’s own feelings, stimulating their own imagination, and this comes through strongly in Cia Ignífuga’s adaptation of Maeterlinck’s play.  Maeterlinck wrote what he called ‘modern tragedy’ and believed that people are powerless against the forces of fate, that we are all pushed and pulled by circumstances beyond our control. 

A House Is Not A Home is a very simple story.  Friends and family start to arrive at a house for a dinner party.  The group are laughing and enjoying themselves, whilst they wait for the last guest to arrive.  It gets quite late and still the guest has not arrived.

A car then arrives at the house, unnoticed by the residents inside.  The two people inside the car have come with bad news. They can see the people inside the house, in high spirits, and argue about how they can break the bad news to them.  How can they disrupt this happy occasion?  The show then centres on this tension between the anxiety of the people outside the house, and the happiness and innocence of the people inside - and how, with a few words, their sense of security will be shattered.

It was partly Cia Ignífuga’s presentation of the piece that attracted me to this show.  Going to see it one night at the festival, I walked along a dark lane away from Tàrrega’s town centre to an even darker, muddy field.  In the field stood a ‘small house’.  The living room lights were on and we could see the inhabitant of the house preparing for her guests to arrive.

A few rows of chairs were set out for the audience a little way away from the house.  We were all given headphones through which we would hear the conversations inside the house and inside the car.  It is a slightly unsettling experience, voyeuristic. You can hear every word that they say, but you are outside in the dark.  They can’t see you, watching.   

The show demands from us a degree of self-reflection.  It reminds us of those moments, when we walk past our neighbour’s house at night and, protected by darkness, feel a temptation, almost a compulsion, to look into their home, to look into their lives, just for a moment as we pass by.

The show does create a certain degree of discomfort.  Laughing, Jordi had said, “It will be one of the most disturbing pieces in the festival this year!”  The conversation through headphones is close to you, you feel almost inside the show.  But you are also at a distance.  You are safe, it’s not you that this is happening to. But it could be you. This could happen to any one of us.

Come and see something different – and support this great young company!  This is their first international performance outside Spain.

A House Is Not A Home is at Bell Square on Saturday 23 September 2017.  There are 2 performances – at 7.30 pm and 9.15 pm.  The show lasts approximately 1 hour. Please arrive at least 20 minutes in advance to pick up your headphones and be instructed on how to use them.

BELL SQUARE AMBASSADOR CATHERINE REVIEWS SILENT PROTEST

Silent Protest

It was a unique march this August in Bell Square. The banners had no words, neither did the speeches but it was brimming with meaning.

As each protestor carried their blank banners representing the scores of messages collected online earlier to voice protests for personal crusades, the bells of the Trinity church nearby pealed and the hymn ‘The Old rugged cross’ could be heard aptly mirroring the sentiments. Bell Square though was lined up with messages and a few curious onlookers followed the march and stopped by to read the messages which were as varied as ‘Everyone should get presents’ by a 9 year old girl to ‘Muslims are not responsible for everything’.

The blank canvasses although abstract, did elicit more than a cursory glance.

Sometimes, actions do speak louder than words!

THANKS CATHERINE FOR A GREAT CRITIQUE!

Bell Square Ambassador Sarah Shares Her Impressions of Joli Vyann

Outdoor arts with its lack of confines and endlessly imaginative use of space and surrounding encompass the new direction that art is taking. Instead of demanding underprivileged and culturally isolated communities to seek out the arts, the arts are conveniently brought to them as well as new experiences.

Our July performance of Lance Moi by dance duo Joli Vyann offered just that. It was a moving portrayal of human intimacy and explored the possibilities between two people. It was intensely real and vivacious in its production of human love and our audiences loved it. 

A few members of the local community stared and waited fascinated as the dancers practised. Staff from the local Chinese restaurant peered, curiosity getting the better of them, out of their window to see the preparations.

One South Asian woman stood, lips pursed and arms crossed as she eyed the duo. I handed her a flyer and wanted to know if she was excited for the show. She uncomfortably expressed how odd it was for her to see two people so intimately dancing. She continued to describe her shock at the brazen sensuality of the duo in touching and moving with each other. I could instantly see her perspective and each movement the couple did turned suddenly from intimate to unnecessarily sensual. Coming from a similar background, the women’s opinions reflected sensibilities in the community that I am very familiar with. However, the novelty of Outdoor arts or the Arts in general is that it allows you appreciate the nuances of other cultures whilst understanding what makes it different from your own. The women left me still visibly uncomfortable as I continued to hand out flyers.

The Bell Square audience, indicative of the Hounslow community, is always diverse. As the show began older Indian aunties stopped to stare in awe as the dancers teased and leaped across the square. A young Somali family, two boys still in their long white thobes from the mosque, scrambled to sit at the front of the stage to stare as one dancer climbed on top of the other's body until she stood one foot in the air and the other balancing precariously on his head. The whole community held its breath as the woman was flung into the air and landed almost gracefully on her partner’s chest.

After the show I approached the women again.  I expected a conservative dismissal of Joli Vyann with its perceived over the top theatrics and sensual dancing yet she smiled and spoke about how much she enjoyed the performance.

This is why Outdoor arts are so essential! Bell Square and the emerging outdoor arts programme exposes different perspectives to the diverse community that so consistently go there. Whether it is Polish theatre which tempts us to be nostalgic about faraway lands we’ve never been to or contemporary football Hip-Hop with Highly Sprung that speaks on a past time that's familiar to everyone, Outdoor arts bridges a gap in the community that Hounslow sorely needs.

A View from Bell Square's Artistic Director: Silence comes to London

Intro When Teatr Biuro Podróży premiered their new show, Silence, in 2016, I did wonder what to expect.  It was described as a sequel to their earlier show, Carmen Funebre – or Funeral Song.  Carmen Funebre was a show about the impact of war on civilians as the former Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s.  It was a mighty piece of theatre, uncompromising and searing in its impact.  It is also known as one of the most legendary pieces of outdoor arts ever made.  So, would this sequel live up to its predecessor’s reputation?  Like most people that night, as the show came to an end, I was left stunned, in silence.  As the company took their bows at the end of the performance, it was some moments before the silence gave way to applause.  The intensity of those few moments have stayed with me ever since.

As this wonderful show comes to Bell Square on 9 September, you may like to know a little of the background of Teatr Biuro Podróży and Silence.

The company This famed Polish outdoor theatre company was set up by Paweł Szkotak with a group of young and passionate actors in Poznan in 1988.  Since then, they have created 14 different theatre productions, and performed over a thousand times for audiences in 50 different countries.  They have always been determined to make theatre in a different way to accepted traditions, and to make that theatre for people who don’t normally go to well-known theatre institutions.  They care about people and the stories of their lives.  Teatr Biuro Podróży’s shows are social, political and powerful.

The company emerged onto the scene as civil resistance in Poland demonstrated the people’s demand for change and led to the end of communist rule in the summer of 1989.  The new company came up with the name Biuro Podróży, which means Travel Agency.  In a country behind the Iron Curtain, very few people were able to obtain passports.  As the rest could travel only in their imagination, the ironically-named Teatr Biuro Podróży offered an ‘escape’ through theatre.

The group’s most famous piece, Carmen Funebre, was made in 1993-94.  As the Balkans Wars raged, just south of Poland, and the former Yugoslavia broke up, 4 million people were displaced in the 10 years from 1991-2001.  Carmen Funebre was based on interviews with victims of the wars and specifically explored the impact of war on civilians.  This seminal theatre production continues to tour the world today.

Silence In Silence, the sequel to Carmen Funebre, the company returns to the story of refugees and migrants caught up in the spiral of war.  Directed by its founder, Paweł Szkotak, the show uses physical theatre, overwhelming music, and the highly visual effects of fire, and tyrants towering on stilts, to tell the story of people again trapped in the turmoil of war.  In the context of carnage and cleansing in the Middle East, Teatr Biuro Podróży tell the fate of refugees caught up in the mass exodus to Europe, looking for a safer place.

In Silence, the situation is seen from the viewpoint of someone living in a besieged city, a city destroyed by bombs.  Someone who, a few years ago, could never have imagined that they would one day become a refugee. Children are represented through life size puppets – the innocent witnesses of the death of loved ones, and the victims of exile and starvation.  Silence asks that, for a moment, we put ourselves in their world.

Teatr Biuro Podróży present Silence at Bell Square on Saturday 9 September 2017 at 8.00 pm.  The show lasts 50 minutes. For full listing and video trailer click here. 

Blogger in residence TrendFEM reviews Joli Vyann

We are delighted to share another review of one of our Bell Square London events by our blogger in residence Mary Nguyen of TrendFEM.

Photo by Mary Nguyen

Joli Vyann, an ‘innovative fusion of circus, dance and theatre’ company, stunned the local audience of Bell Square London, at the end of Hounslow’s busy high street, with their audacious, yet ethereal performance Lance Moi En L’air(Throw me in the air). They danced slowly together to soft music, by Xavier Demerliac, a blend of light acoustic sounds and percussion instruments which enhanced the timeless states of their bold and impressively delicate movements.

Ex-stuntman Jan Patzke and ex-gymnast Olivia Quale formed Joli Vyann in 2012 and have continued to tour internationally, captivating audiences with their refreshing take on dance and acrobatics. In the middle of Bell Square, whilst Patzke was crouched on the floor, Quale skillfully climbed on his back. Steadily, he stood up tall without holding her hands. Then, somehow, Quale was standing on top of Patzke’s head, balancing herself on one foot. There, Joli Vyann had become a 8 ft tall person.

You can continue reading Mary's review of Joli Vyann at Bell Square London on her blog here.

Our next event is coming up:

Cirque Rouages

Sodade

Sat 29 July, 8.45pm

Captivating French circus, performed at dusk. Live music, acrobatics and circus performers tell an

enchanting tale. Details on the What's On Page

Bell Square Volunteer Catherine reviews Far from the Norm

Today's blog has been written by our social media ambassador Cathie who came along to the Bell Square performance of H.O.H by Far from the Norm. Here's her take on the event and some amazing photos she captured on the day too - just check out the gallery below - just click on the images to see the whole sequence.  Thanks again Catherine and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

Blog review by Catherine: 'Far from the Norm' performed today at Bell Square in Hounslow. It is an interactive dance group that uses the hip-hop genre of dance to connect with the audience.

Although a sudden shower had threatened to put an end to the afternoon activity even before it began, the Sun soon came shining through the dark clouds. The organisers heaved a huge sigh of relief and began humming the famous Beatles number ‘Here comes the Sun’ as they wiped the benches and swept the square dry.

Soon the bell was rung on Bell Square to indicate the beginning of the performance. A curious crowd had already gathered around looking forward to this week’s performance. It was a bunch of people of myriad ages and hues. Right from the swinging sixties to toddlers in prams, it was a sight to behold as they all swayed to the beats of the hip hopping dancers.

The dancers worked their way through the crowd and even persuaded a bunch of happy kids to join them in their dance with a skit woven through to convey a message, which I thought was about ending the fighting and war in Somalia.  

It ended abruptly with the crowd waiting for more! They were assured that there were more performances at 3pm too!

Thanks Catherine

Don't forget - if you want to enjoy our free events in Hounslow you can check up on what's coming up on the web site here.  And if you want to come along and take photos or videos, why don't you sign up as a Bell Square London volunteer social media ambassador here?

See you at Bell Square soon!

New for 2017: Bell Square Volunteers - do you want to take part?

The Bell Square London team is always busy finding ways to engage with the local community to create more buzz around our season of events and 2017 is no different.

This year we have launched a volunteer programme working with Volunteer Hounslow and Team London. We are asking people to be part of the Bell Square London team on a volunteer basis to help spread the word about our outdoor arts events using social media. So if you're a whizz on Whatsapp, a fabulous Facebook or an influencer on instagram - you might want to give this a go. Or perhaps you are not at all but would love to be? If you don't have experience, we will be giving volunteers a training session on how to be involved.

Want to know who we're looking for?

Volunteering is open to all - if you are under 16 you will need to get your parents to complete a parental agreement form.  Ideally, you will have a good writing and digital skills which you are looking to improve - the volunteering will involve a variety of activities depending on your experience, anything from posting images to instagram through to writing blog posts and for the more adventurous creating and editing short videos.

Read more about the role on Volunteering Hounslow here. If you don't live in the borough of Hounslow, you can try Team London here.

What's in it for you?

We know you want to support your local community and the great Bell Square London events by volunteering - but it's not just a one way street - we want you to benefit from your experience. We will give any training and support necessary and pay your travel expenses. If you are keen to add this volunteering to your CV we will support that and also give you a reference if you'd like one. In addition, if you want to get writing credits to show you have published work, we are more than happy to give these to you as well.

Want to get involved? Get in touch on the links above and we'll be delighted to hear from you!

Blogger in Residence TrendFEM reviews: Paradiso, Akademi at Bell Square London

Our blogger in residence, Mary of TrendFEM came along to watch Akademi at Bell Square recently. We were very excited to host her as we knew she would not be disappointed by the whole experience.

As we walked up to the empty square, we could see a large circle drawn in chalk, very intriguing! If you haven't visited Bell Square before you may have walked through it on a 'normal' day - there's a pub, a fish shop, a restaurant and a bookies. When Bell Square is set up for a performance day, the area is transformed with pop up wooden tiered seating in the round.  This creates a horse shoe shape as each end of the semi circle meets the stone benches. There's a gazebo for the production team who are always on site and managing the sound system and helping the performers get set up. You can see how it looks below - it's quite something to see an empty space transformed into something extraordinary - we often have crowds of one thousand or more turning up to watch and enjoy contemporary outdoor arts for free.

Photo credits: Mary Nguyen, TrendFEM

Here's Mary's review:

Akademi tantalised Hounslow’s local community last Saturday with their multifaceted exploration of Dante’s Paradiso: Man’s Enduring Search for Perfection at Bell Square London, a free festival packed with dance and physical theatre performances. Paradiso is a poignant and highly moving piece of choreography. Following the inspirational conceptualisation of Akademi’s director Mira Kaushik OBE and choreographer Jose Agudo, Akademi instills Dante’s final stage of his narrative poem, written in1308-1321, The Divine Comedy, through a wide-range of contemporary and traditional Indian dance styles.

For 40 years, Akademi has continued with their mission to inspire and bring ‘classical, contemporary, popular and participatory South Asian dance’ to all audiences. Their mission, to inspire, is crystal clear throughout Paradiso. In his literary masterpiece, Dante describes the struggles and obstacles man faces in a lifetime. Akademi expresses these cosmological and mortal forces through the strength of six diverse dancers, some more experienced in Indian dance and others trained in contemporary dance technique.

You can read the rest of her Bell Square London review on TrendFEM.

New for 2017 - Bell Square Bloggers in Residence

Last year we introduced the Bell Square Bloggers to help spread the word about Bell Square and this year we have extended the programme and will be working with two amazing London culture bloggers to keep a record of the brilliant events at Hounslow's favourite outdoor arts venue. We will be running our first Bell Square Bloggers in Residence this year to bring an outside perspective to you all and help you keep up to date with events you might have missed. Make sure you keep your diary up to date by visiting our What's On page so you don't miss any of the performances though.

Our first blogger is Mary from Trendfem who will be attending three events and sharing her experience on her blog, we will also be cross posting here as well.

So without further ado, we will let our first blogger introduce herself:

“My name is Mary Grace and I run a London-based blog called Trendfem, which focuses on my enthusiasm for opera, theatre and performance. I’m currently a proofreader by day and leisurely blogger hobbyist. For the past five years, I have written for other online publications including LondonTheatre1, LDNCARD, Fringe Opera and CultureVulture.net, as well as Theatre and Perform magazine..”

If you spot Mary at any Bell Square London events - make sure to say hello - you might even be quoted in one of her blog posts!

You can keep up with Mary's adventures here 

Blog Trendfem

Twitter MaryGNguyen

And of course, Bell Square London here. Don't forget to use the hashtag #bellsquareLDN on your posts so we can share them too please!

Bell Square Blogger Review - Big Dance Bus 2016

What a wonderful end to the Big Dance Bus! The journey of the iconic London bus ended on September the 10th in Bell Square, with the rainy weather reflecting the sadness of such an amazing event coming to an end. 

The Big Dance bus pops up in several places across London, with its active and interactive performances lightening up the high streets, parks and even housing estates! The company was founded in 2006, so this year marks its ten year anniversary! It definitely was a special day! The organisation is led by the Mayor of London  and delivered in partnership with People Dancing and the Big Dance Hubs.

Various acts took the crowded stage at Bell Square, and whilst everyone hid under umbrellas or ponchos, their eyes saw some of the most magnificent pieces of performance they could have ever seen. A taste of every culture was seen through the performances, exciting everybody, no matter what background they came from! Everybody seemed to have learnt a new dance style that they hadn't discovered before, so it was also a great learning experience for everyone. From hip-hop to bhangra, everyone danced along. It was absolutely amazing to see the elderly having the time of their lives dancing to the songs too!

One eye catching performance I witnessed was where the driver of the Big Dance Bus came out for what he thought would be a nice sleep. However, he was going to be proved wrong. the talented dancers creeped up upon him, and took both the driver and the audience back into time to show us that change music has overcome. quick outfit changes, music interludes and panic emerged from the stage as we'd teleport from decade to decade. Some of the most extravagant outfits were worn, although the same couldn't have been said for the driver in his pyjamas and night hat!

The most iconic performance had to be at the end, when YOU, the public, follow a dance routine and danced in the rain. As they say "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain"! Children, adults, and the elderly all joined onto the stage to jump about, wave their hands and most importantly, dance! The crowd erupted into joy and laughter upon seeing this. It was great to see a very depressing day transformed into a day of pure happiness :)

The next event at bell square is:

22 Oct. 3pm

LIEUX PUBLICS: LE CONCERT DE PUBLIC

Make sure to go with your friends and family for an enjoyable day out!

Block Mania!

This post has been written by Bell Square London blogger Navjot Kahlon.

On the 27th of August, Hounslow's Bell Square was enlightened by the presence of No Fit State and Motion House as they performed "Block". What this consisted of was 20 Jenga-like blocks that were tactfully used by the circus performers and dancers to portray a beautiful and interesting performance for the public.

The lovely weather brought many audience members as they eagerly anticipated what the blocks would be used for, and they were blown away. From the second the performance started, everybody fell silent as they watched the mind blowing performance. Blocks would be re-arranged to create many visions, they would be thrown into the air and caught again. But the most fascinating part that the audience loved in particular was when the performers would climb onto the blocks and get carried across the square; the audience could not believe their sights!

There were also many shocking moments, you could hear the gasps from the audience when the performers would jump from such great heights and would land safely to the ground. Blocks would start vigorously shaking with people on them and you could see the audience on the edge of their seats! It was truly a magnificent piece, and had the audience thrilled. Various types of music played in the background of the performance which further enticed the public. 

The final part of the performance was definitely the best, using the blocks, the performers tried to make a huge tower. They would climb on each stage level and grab another block from below. Their attempts were followed by huge cheers from the audience as they finally completed the whole tower, with each performer being accommodated in each level. However, the audience was still being prepared for the final surprise. The breakdown of the tower. Piece by piece, the tower started falling to the ground as the audience stared in shock and awe. 

It was a wonderful experience to see such a great crowd that were so enthusiastic about the performance and very cheerful. Overall, the performance was a great audience pleaser and left everyone in awe. 

Below are some of the highlights of the performance:

New Bell Square Blogger!

Hello Everyone! My name is Navjot and I'm joining the team of Bell Square Bloggers to review and inform you of all the amazing events happening in Bell Square. I've been going to Hounslow for as long as I can remember, but it was only a few years ago that I moved into the heart of Hounslow permanently. Living near Bell Square is such an experience as the joy of casually seeing such extravagant events on your way to and from home is incomparable to anything else. 

Some of my interests involve reading and poetry and I'm excited to start blogging here as I'll be able to partake in one of my passions alongside making the community more lively!

If you're reading this and haven't seen any events from Bell Square yet, I'd definitely recommend it. It's absolutely wonderful to see the community coming together to witness such magnificent talent and displays - you'll treasure every moment of it!

I'll be at Bell Square tomorrow at 12:30 to see "No Fit State/Motionhouse:Block" which runs at 12:30pm & 3:30pm tomorrow (27th August 2016). If you see me, feel free to say Hi!

You can also follow my social media for my experiences at Bell Square & more:

Instagram: @navjot.x

Twitter: @navjot_x

Bell Square 2016 gets off to a fantastic start

I've been coming to Hounslow all my life and it is really exciting to see quality arts events happening here. I work with Watermans, the arts centre in Brentford, and have been involved in Bell Square myself in 2015. This year I have become the first Bell Square Blogger. 

Carousel attracted the biggest crowd I’d seen at the Square. It was fantastic to see people clapping along and cheering at the end. The act itself was best in its moments of high energy, with a toe-tapping folk score. The story that Southpaw was telling was classically tragic. It was great to see a dance show so focused on telling an emotional story captivating a large and diverse group of people.

Of Man and Beast by Company Chameleon didn’t draw a huge crowd, due to performing twice in the afternoon and the bad weather. The show itself was very interesting though, again with a narrative focus. It was fun to hear Rage Against the Machine being blared in the middle of Hounslow. Interviewing the performers was a brilliant experience that I recommend to any young people interested in journalism.

Teatr KTO told a wacky but pretty easy-to-follow tale about modern working life. I heard people talking about the show in a local shop after, describing it as very raunchy. And while it wasn’t afraid to take risks, the show seemed suitable for everyone. It tackled everyday life in a truthful and funny way. Initially, when the pack of dancers began to sprint away into the high street, I wasn’t too pleased about having to chase them down. However, after seeing the crowd grow and change every time they moved, I came to see the decision as incredibly smart. Company Chameleon had said that the venue was great because of the people passing through, but when both the act and the audience are in transit, they become even more intertwined. Despite the show's outlandishness, it seemed to grab people’s attentions more than any other. It has been amazing to see audiences getting more involved and the acts connecting more and more.

Check out my video of these three events below:

[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5AsYBaRzWQ&w=854&h=480]

Your chance to perform!

We are looking for local dance groups or individuals to have the opportunity to perform at the Big Dance Bus event on 10 September at Bell Square.

Please contact Seth Richardson seth@watermans.org.uk to find out more or register your interest.

Introducing our first Bell Square blogger Connor Cochrane

Connor Cochrane is joining the Bell Square bloggers and will the be first to post about Company Chameleon, the dance and theatre company which will be performing on May 21 at 1pm and 3.30pm on Bell Square.

Connor loves writing and has written for gaming web site Zelda Universe for the last six months and was previously an editor of several web sites. 

"I've been coming to Hounslow all my life and it is really exciting to see quality arts events happening here. I love writing, film and instagram, so this is perfect for me. The events are thought provoking, with plenty to talk about and it also gives me the opportunity to do some video production."

Watch out for Connor on social media this Saturday and he'll be posting his review of the event here, so watch this space.

Twitter: @ConnorLCochrane

Instagram: @rogums

Follow Bell Square and Company Chameleon on Social Media to

Company Chameleon Facebook: facebook.com/companychameleon

Company Chameleon Twitter: @chameleon_info

Bell Square Facebook: facebook.com/BellSquareLDN/

Bell Square Twitter: @BellSquareLDN

Do you love the arts and free outdoor shows? Become a Bell Square Blogger

If you love Bell Square events and want to share your point of view, then why not volunteer as a Bell Square Blogger?

You'll join a small team of people who photograph, video, write about and share THEIR experience of Bell Square events and what they mean to the local community.

Bell Square Bloggers might film the event, interview the artists, write a personal response to the performance, or just tweet and post on your own social media pages... it's your call.

We'll give you a free training session to help you master blogging and social media techniques. You don't need to be an expert - just enthusiastic and interested in sharing your experience online.

All we ask of you is that you come to the training and attend at least two Bell Square events during the year. 

If you're interested in taking part, please contact eva@homeofsocial.com to will be able to tell you more.