

How can I tell you that I love you if we do not speak the same lanaguage?
How can I tell you that I am glad that you are here next to me?
Is there a common place that we find where can understand each other, without speaking, without language?
Letters is a commentary on all of the things that happen due to miscommunication – the opportunities missed and gained, the funny misunderstandings and above all, about love which is never spoken.

For the second part of this research and development, we invited a Deaf French artist, a musican, two set designers, three actors and a director to join our team and to continue the research on the themes of communication within relationships, with the letters between Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine as inspiration.
From this we presented a scratch performance at Horse and Bamboo’s scratch night.
"Quirky and playful ... a company with real potential"
Bob Frith, Horse and Bamboo.
In 2006, Hayli was chosen to be artist in residence with Compagnie Songes, a dance-improvisation company based in the South of France. This residency lasted for six months and in 2006 and 2008 she was assistant choreographer for the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon.
During this time she developed her pedagogy for intergrating Deaf and hearing people which led to her directing two shows for them with Deaf and Hearing adults, in 2007 and 2008 for their project "L’esperluette".

This project, led by Deaf artist Matt Jenkins and Hayli Clifton, was aimed at hearing and Deaf children ages 7-11, and particularly to Deaf children placed in hearing schools, in order to help decrease the effects of isolation and to promote sign language in a positive and creative way. The sessions involved physical games and exercises which promoted the use of sign language and physical development.
This version for younger participants from 3 to 7 years, included the development of self-awareness, physical expression, the use of sign language and finished with big book storytelling and signing.

This month-long project was collaboration with Professor Jian Kang, head of Architecture and Acoustics at The University of Sheffield, Compagnie Animotion and Doncaster Deaf College.
This project consisted of a research into sound and the potential physical effects on the body. The idea behind this research was to find out how we can create theatre spaces to be more effective for Deaf audiences by benefiting from the possible physical effects of soundwaves to create certain atmospheres and feelings.
Working with students with different levels and frequencies of hearing loss, we created several different spaces where we changed the pattern and direction of soundwaves, as well as sensorial deprivation. We enhanced this with senses: smell, touch, taste and vision to create sensorial theatre spaces.
Each of the team had a hearing aid created for them by the audiology department and with an analogue attachment were able to experience some of the difficulties that come through wearing this type of aid.
In April 2008, Hayli and Sam from Cie Animotion created L’enfant Lune, a show based on Moonbird by Deaf author Joyce Dunbar and produced by Festival Vice and Versa.
They wanted to create a show which supported the work of another artist and to promote the Deaf community and its language. They also wanted to create a show which promoted the Muslim community after a backlash of negative prejudice after the 2005 bombs in London. At the time Hayli was living in Beeston, Leeds, a Muslim community which was badly affected by this event.
In 2008, Compagnie Animotion worked with ten English Deaf and hearing people (amateurs and artists) to come and perform in the Biennale with a group of Deaf and hearing people from the Rhone-Alpes region for Compagnie Songes choreography.