After a weekend of magic and relaxation, students returned to lessons on Monday morning rejuvenated and raring to carry on their exploration of their subjects. They worked steadily in lessons until lunch, with afternoon workshops resuming before dinner. The Fashion and Costume Design workshop was particularly exciting: students travelled to London, where their fashion teacher was waiting for them, to visit the enormous costume collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The exhibition specifically visited was one focusing on the work and legacy of Cristóbal Balenciaga, the legendary Spanish designer whose pupils included Givenchy and whose clients included Grace Kelly.
In the evening, students had the chance to test out, or improve, their sense of rhythm. A choice between a drumming workshop and a Zumba session presented an opportunity to get to grips with both African and Latin music— and both were equally well-received. Bongo drumming, much like the punting experienced earlier in the week (and to be reprised on Thursday for those who chose a different form of afternoon entertainment) has a somewhat deceptive level of difficulty: it seems easy, but to keep up with a group of other drummers, and to stay in time with them, takes a good deal more skill than the students first suspected. They rose to the challenge admirably, and by the end the sound was very harmonious.
Elsewhere in Jowett Walk, a different form of music was spilling into the evening air: Latin beats came to the Dreaming Spires, and the sedentary life of the scholar was expelled in favour of the Zumba exercise regime. Those plugging admirably away in the Homework Club rushed to finish their work as the tunes wafted in through the window, and soon there was a large group of people dancing. Sarah, from Switzerland, stole the show with an all-action, wholly committed approach to dance.