Author: Jessica Wilson

The Gender Debate

The Gender DebateMany dance artists working in the industry would argue that there are still gender issues for them. Some audiences still retain the thought that dance equates to ballet for girls, full of prejudice and stereotypes. This is despite the leaps that have been made regarding gender equality in dance, leaving the uneducated public. To them, dance requires little to no training or commitment, and could not be a legitimate career.

It is clear to the participants of dance, however, that dance is a difficult vocation that is pursued with commitment, dedication and passion. We know that dance teachers are of different ages and can be women or men, and that the training provided by teachers aims to utilise a student’s potential to have a career in the world of dance.

With the increased popularity of dance over the last few years, there has definitely been an overall improvement in what the general public, students and parents know about dance and dance training. Despite this there still underlying issues with matter of gender when it comes to dance teaching.

If even dance audience and schools discriminate on the basis of gender then what hope is there for parents, students and the general public? This type of conduct is incredibly harmful to the industry and does not support the professionals already working or trying to break into the industry, as they have to fight against gender stereotypes and discrimination from the people expected to support them.

Although the rejection of a job application on the basis of gender is illegal, in the dance world this action is accepted due to the perceived normality of it. To take into account a dance teacher’s gender when considering their application is an out of date mindset, let alone unlawful, as is the refusal to hire them on the basis of gender.

Elixir Festival

Elixir FestivalMid-September will see Sadler’s Wells present its largest ever celebration of lifelong creativity and the contribution of older artists with the Elixir Festival, running from 12–15 September 2014.

Across the four days, Elixir Festival will feature a range of performances: contributing artists include Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Hofesh Shechter, world-renowned choreographers Mats Ek and Ana Laguna, international guests and the Company of Elders among many others, including a new piece for retired professional dancers which will see them relive their swan songs.

In addition to performances on the main stage the Elixir Festival offers the opportunity for further engagement with a series of workshops, events and a conference to close the festival. The Lilian Baylis Studio performance programme will feature older dancers from international companies and from across the UK, invited to perform after an international call out for contributors; reflecting the diversity of approach and responding to the fast-growing interest in performance work for mature artists.

In the main house at Sadler’s Wells, ‘KnowBody’ encompasses a lifetime of experiences. The programme features artists Mats Ek and Ana Laguna, Sadler’s Wells’ Company of Elders performing a restaged excerpt from Hofesh Shechter’s ‘In your rooms’ and a new commission performed by the former professional dancers, some of whom are returning to the stage after twenty years or more. This unique evening will throw different light on dance and performance to challenge preconceptions and present contemporary dance illuminated by a lifetime of experience. In a juxtaposition of electronic music and contemporary choreography performed by older dancers KnowBody will present beauty and power in single gestures.

The Art of Age Conference will take place on one day only, featuring contributions from artists, choreographers and leaders in culture, health and performance research. There will be a range of focuses, on dance, wellbeing and artistic perspectives, followed by a performance from the Company of Elders in the Lilian Baylis Studio.

Miss Saigon Marks 25 Years

Miss SaigonMiss Saigon, the iconic musical which has recently returned to the West End, has plans to mark 25 years with a gala charging its 1989 ticket prices. The gala will take place on Monday 22 September, and all tickets for the performance have had their prices slashed to £22.50, £20.00, £16.50 and £13.50. There will also be an anniversary CD released on the day of the gala. The 2014 company of Miss Saigon have performed for a live recording to celebrate the show’s anniversary, following in the footsteps of Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera.

The gala will take place at the Prince Edward Theatre starring members of the current company, and it will also a feature some familiar faces from the original cast during a special finale. Fans of the show will have a two-hour priority booking period online via Miss Saigon social networks and the official show website with general on-sale starting after this. Fans can also purchase by queuing in person at the Box Office. The performance will be recorded for BBC Radio 2 and will be broadcast in its entirety on Sunday 28 September.

The first live cast recording of the entire show, featuring the current cast, will be released on Monday 22 September. It will be released by Universal Music and First Night Records and will be available from iTunes, the Prince Edward Theatre and all good retailers. The West End revival has proved to be a great success since opening earlier this year.

The musical, with its music written by Boublil and Schonberg, coverts the Madam Butterfly story to war-torn Vietnam. Cultures clash when a local prostitute meets her GI Joe during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Miss Saigon has extended its booking period at the Prince Edward Theatre until 25 April 2015.

The Return Of Copacabana

Jon LeeThe company Dancing Fool Theatrical, in association with Harlow Playhouse, is presenting a new tour of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana, beginning in October. The iconic musical will tour to a variety of theatres across the autumn. More casting and dates for the following year will follow, however the touring venues for 2014 include Harlow Playhouse, Southsea Kings, Buxton, Jersey Opera House. Bournemouth Pavilion, Newcastle Mill Volvo, Blackpool Grand and Billingham Forum.

The new production will star Jon Lee (of S Club 7, Les Miserables and Jersey Boys fame) as Tony Starr, Richard Grieve (who has performed in Emmerdale and Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as Sam Silver and the tour will introduce Jennifer Harding as Lola. The musical tells a tale of romance and stardom, featuring aspiring songwriter Tony working as a pianist in a bar when he meets Lola, who is determined to make it in ‘showbiz’. Quickly falling for Lola, Tony does everything he can to assist her attempts to find stardom. At Manhattan’s Copacabana Lounge both start to find fame, before fate steps in and Lola is swept away to Havana to work in a splashy night club where Lola’s new mentor and boss Rico demands a price for putting her name in lights.

The musical, written by Manilow and his longtime collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman, has not been seen in the UK for ten years and will begin its production tour at Harlow Playhouse on Thursday 2 October 2014 (press night Friday 3 October). This new production will reimagine the original stage version of Copacabana, which was first performed in the US in 1991 and has never been seen in the UK before. The iconic musical will feature all the Manilow hits including ‘Dancin’ Fool’, ‘Who Needs to Dream’, ‘Welcome to Havana’ and the Grammy Award-winning ‘Copacabana (At The Copa)’.

Turn Boards

Turn BoardsThe benefits of turn boards can be debated. There are many aids, products and remedies for dancers on the market which help their training, however the pros and cons of turn boards can be identified easily. Seen in the dance film documentary First Position, it seems turn boards help dancers to master their pirouettes, improve confidence in turning and correct their spotting, balance and posture.

A turn board is a slim rectangular board which works on the principle of reducing friction between the foot and the floor, allowing the dancer to spin fast. While it is clear a turn board delivers a multitude of turns for the dancer, this does not necessarily translate into a number of turns when a turn board is not used. It may however improve dancers’ spotting and allow them to get used to the sensation of performing multiple turns, as well as highlighting small adjustments to be made to improve turns on the floor.

Despite this, a turn board requires the dancer to turn on a flat foot which has potential for problems with technique: in classical ballet, a turn is performed with a releve to either demi or full point. Turn boards may then encourage dancers to turn on a low demi pointe rather than pulling up and turning on a high demi pointe as required. Turning on a flat foot means the foot is not in the same position and the weight distribution is different than for pirouettes in ballet.

Therefore the physicality of a turn, with an adjusted centre of gravity when on flat to demi or full point, is very different with and without the board. For beginners who are just learning turning technique it is likely that the turn board would complicate matters. It could make learning pirouettes harder or encourage bad habits.

Principal Casting For ENB’s Autumn UK Tour

ENB LogoPrincipal casting for English National Ballet’s autumn UK tour, and performances of the classic The Nutcracker, have recently been announced, with a multitude of pairings to watch once summer is over.

Joining English National Ballet from Boston Ballet, Alejandro Virelles will make his debut as Principal, performing the role of Prince Siegfried alongside Alina Cojocaru’s Odette/Odile in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake. We will also see lead roles from Ksenia Ovsyanick, who was recently promoted to Soloist, and her debut as Odette/Odile with Zdenek Konvalina; Tamara Rojo and the winner of Emerging Dancer 2014 Junor Souza; Fernanda Oliveira and Dmitri Gruzdyev; and Shiori Kase, who was promoted to First Soloist and her debut as Odette/Odile, with Yonah Acosta, who was promoted to Principal. Deane’s traditional production tours to Manchester in October, followed by Milton Keynes, Liverpool and the London Coliseum.

After a critically acclaimed run at the London Coliseum in July this year, Coppélia begins a UK tour to Southampton in October, also heading to Oxford and Bristol. Following their debut performance in the lead roles of Franz and Swanilda, Acosta will also perform alongside Kase on tour. Coppélia is the comic tale of an eccentric toymaker and his mechanical doll. Dr Coppélius, the toymaker, creates a lifelike Coppélia doll and wishes to bring her to life.

Nutcracker returns to the London Coliseum from 11 December 2014-4 January 2015. First performed in 2010 to celebrate English National Ballet’s 60th anniversary, Wayne Eagling’s version has since been seen by over 300,000 people. Principals for Nutcracker include Laurretta Summerscales with identical twins Guilherme Menezes and Vitor Menezes, both making their debuts as the Prince and Nutcracker.

This is English National Ballet’s 11th production of Nutcracker since it performed its first full length Nutcracker in 1950, its founding year. Since then, English National Ballet has established the tradition of performing Nutcracker at Christmas every year.

Rumours For Cats The Musical

Cats The MusicalIn news that may have surprised some musical theatre fans, it has been rumoured that former Pussycat Doll, solo artist and X Factor judge may be in the running to make her West End debut in Cats. It seems Nicole is in “very early discussions” to star in Cats as Grizabella the Glamour Cat, at the London Palladium for the show’s limited run later in the year.

Nicole majored in musical theatre at university, and has had small roles in various TV shows. Last year, she dedicated a fabulous rendition of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita on an ITV show to Andrew Lloyd Webber, so she has been on Lloyd Webber’s radar since 2011. He had planned for Nicole to join the judging panel of one of his reality TV casting shows such as Any Dream Will Do.

If Nicole is to join the uber-talented cast she will do so in the wake of musical theatre legends Elaine Paige and Ruthie Henshall who have also played the role. In addition to this, Lea Salonga (the original Miss Saigon) even portrayed the prominent cat in her native Philippines.

It has also been rumoured that Nicole has been itching to get onto the West End musical scene for some time, having already sung a rendition of the title song, “The Phantom of the Opera”, with Simon Bowman, Earl Carpenter, Ramin Karimloo and John Owen-Jones. 2012 also saw her rumoured to play the part of Mary Magdalene in the comeback Jesus Christ Superstar arena production, only to be offered a stint on X Factor, and be replaced by former Spice Girl Mel C.

Cats will run for a strictly limited twelve-week run from 6 December 2014 following its current UK tour.

Students’ Potential Is Within The Arts

Ballet Students

According to new research from University of Sydney academics, the arts are key to unlocking a child’s potential. While this may be the thought of many arts practitioners, especially of those in the education sector, it has not yet been formalised in findings. The study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, tracked 643 primary and high school students from 15 Australian schools and assessed their academic outcomes and personal well-being over two years.

It was found that students who studied creative and performing arts were more motivated, more likely to complete homework, participate in class and enjoy school more than their peers who didn’t participate in the arts. These creative students also had a greater sense of purpose, self-esteem, life satisfaction and educational aspirations: dancing, singing, acting, playing music and so on all greatly benefit a child’s academic performance and overall creativity.

It is clear that the study provides compelling evidence that the arts should be central to education, rather than left to the outskirts of an apparently well-rounded curriculum. In short, the students who participate in the arts excel across the curriculum, so it is paramount that the arts are included in the education system. The research proves that arts education is not and should not be a bonus, but an essential part of a well-rounded education.

Teaching artistic creativity and encouraging children to participate should be mandatory from the off-set through to university, available to all students regardless of socio-economic background. Already, many Asian countries such as China, South Korea and Singapore are investing in improving their schools’ arts education to develop creativity and innovation. While these students rank highly in tests across the board, the Korean government has seen the need to increase their capacity in arts education too.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Wilton’s Strike!

Wilton's Strike!Wilton’s Strike!, a new dance platform, is offering emerging dancers and choreographers the opportunity to develop a piece of work with Wilton’s Music Hall and to perform on its historic stage. Wilton’s is the world’s oldest surviving Grand Music Hall and London’s best kept secret, so this opportunity to work within the building is an incredible opportunity.

The atmospheric building full of history and stories is led by Frances Mayhew and produces an exciting programme of imaginative, diverse and distinct entertainment including theatre, music, comedy, cinema and cabaret. For Wilton’s Strike!, the performances will also be live-streamed on the Wilton’s website and will remain online after the event too.

Running from 25–27 September the programmes presented include:

Ieva Kuniskis ‘They Live Next Door’ (working title)

Ieva Kuniskis creates theatrical dance pieces rooted in Lithuanian theatre, folklore and everyday experiences. Her piece explores the story of an older man embodying and pushing the boundaries of social stereotypes.

Jack Webb ‘Inside Opulence’ (working title)

Exploring the connections between animal and human nature, Jack Webb’s contemporary piece investigates the desire to be seen and fighting for survival in the setting of a modern day Vaudeville show.

Rebecca Evans (Pell Ensemble) and Lorenza Lo (Flock Collective) ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’ (working title)

This contemporary piece looks at how modern society is undergoing a metamorphosis in communication through the use of texting, how this new way of interacting is modifying our verbal and physical language and affecting our human stories.

Dane Hurst ‘Finding Freedom’ (working title)

Dane Hurst has an attraction to dramatic works driven by a strong narrative which he translates into beautiful contemporary choreography. This piece is inspired by the narrative of American death row inmate, Jarvis Jay Masters, and his metamorphosis from darkness and isolation to enlightened peace.

The Royal Ballet Receives RAD’s Highest Award

Royal Academy of DanceThe Royal Ballet received the Royal Academy of Dance’s highest award during a fundraising gala recently: the QEII Award – presented annually in recognition of outstanding services to the art of ballet by the RAD – was first conferred sixty years ago upon Royal Ballet founder Dame Ninette de Valois, in 1954.

To celebrate this benchmark in ballet history, the award was presented to The Royal Ballet’s Director, Kevin O’Hare, during a glamorous dinner at Claridge’s in Mayfair, London. Also in attendance were past Genée International Ballet Competition medallists, as well as 19 current Principals of The Royal Ballet, Wayne Sleep OBE (RAD Vice President), Dame Monica Mason DBE (former Director of The Royal Ballet and past QEII recipient) and other celebrities and luminaries of the dance world.

The RAD’s initial projection is that the evening raised £65,000 towards the creation of a new bursary scheme to enable more young people to compete in its flagship event, the Genée International Ballet Competition. The Genée has proved to be a launch pad for a professional career in dance. Since the year 2000, 14 Genée medallists have gone on to dance with The Royal Ballet alone – amongst them current Principal Dancers Lauren Cuthbertson and Steven McRae. The auction proceeds will create means bursaries of up to £3,000 for future Genée International Ballet Competition candidates who cannot afford the costs involved in taking part, as well to develop the competition itself further.

The Daily Telegraph’s joint dance critic Mark Monahan, who delivered the QEII Coronation Award citation, described the former winners of the QEII Award as ‘people, as we all know, without whom British ballet would be unrecognisable today’.