Jessica Wilson – Page 126 – Dance Direct Blog. News, Reviews & Advice About Dance

I Can’t Sing! Casting Announced

I Can't Sing Full casting has been announced for new Wet End production I Can’t Sing, The X Factor Musical which premieres in Spring 2014 at the London Palladium.

Earlier this year it was announced that Olivier Award-winner Nigel Harman had been cast as X Factor supremo Simon and that Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo and Holby City actor Alan Morrissey had been cast as lovestruck contestants Chenice and Max. Joining Nigel as judge will be Ashley Knight as positive boyband manager Louis and Victoria Elliot as pop queen Jordy. Simon Bailey will play the affectionate X Factor host Liam O’Deary, with Billy Carter as Executive Producer and Simon’s right hand man, Gerard Smalls. Simon Lipkin plays Chenice’s canine sidekick and Joe Speare is her powerful singer Grandad. Along with Chenice and Max, the I Can’t Sing hopefuls include Katy Secombe as supermarket checkout girl Brenda, Charlie Baker as The Hunchback and Shaun Smith and Rowen Hawkins as Irish pop duo Alterboyz.

The I Can’t Sing! cast is completed by Luke Baker, Adam J Bernard, Jenna Boyd, Cyrus Brandon, Gabrielle Brooks, Scarlette Douglas, Kelly Ewins, Scott Garnham, Cherelle Jay, Faisal Khodaukus, Jaye Marshall, Brian McCann, Max Parker, Joseph Prouse, Steven Serlin, Kirstie Skivington, Philippa Stefani, Gary Trainor and Alex Young.

The brand new musical comedy, written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown, will feature 19 original songs, telling the sensational(ised) story of heartache and laughter that keeps millions tuning in to the X Factor every week. Harry Hill has worked with a lot of the cast in the workshops for I Can’t Sing! and have some new company faces. Harry has even commented on the uncanny likeness between Nigel Harman and Simon Cowell, especially with a wig and false teeth!

Injury Diet

Shin Splints With injuries perhaps the most feared aspect of a performer’s life, it is important that your diet is aiding recovery, aside from other treatments you may be using such as ice, physiotherapy and rest. Ensuring you are providing your body with good nutrition will reduce recovery times, which is paramount for getting back in the studio. It is said that there are three key nutrients to get you back on top form.

Protein is essential for both building and healing muscle, in addition to repairing bones and improving muscle contraction. Despite this, too much protein can be detrimental; it is important to eat protein intelligently in order to maximise its impact, which does not mean simply eating more protein. Many dancers already consume enough, so it is perhaps best to eat small amounts of high-quality protein with each meal for rebuilding tissue, such as yogurt, cheese, lean meat, beans, rice, quinoa, nuts and seeds. Too much protein forces the body to release calcium from the bones to balance it, which could slow recovery time.

Dancers must also get enough Vitamin D, due to the fact they spend long hours inside. Calcium is another vitamin that dancers tend to not get much of, both of which are vital for the repairing of stress fractures, for example. Vitamin D allows bones to absorb calcium and use it to repair stresses, hairline fractures and breaks: it also strengthens the immune system and helps reduce inflammation throughout the body. Just 15 minutes of sun exposure a day, even when it’s overcast outside, can help increase your levels for better healing. Other sources of vitamin D include yoghurt, fortified milk, tuna, salmon, and the yolks of eggs.

Vitamin C is also a great healer, from rebuilding ligaments to repairing blisters, however an excess amount becomes similar to excess protein. Because vitamin C is acidic the body will use calcium to neutralise the large amounts found in supplements, causing a weakening of the bones. The daily requirement is just 45–100 milligrams, which is around two oranges.

Northern Ballet’s Sponsor A Dancer campaign

Young students from Headingley Ballet School recently presented a donation to Northern Ballet, specifically the Company’s Sponsor a Dancer campaign. The students have previously used the premises as a venue for their dance shows, home to the inspirational ballet company. The funds were raised following the students’ Pass It On second hand dancewear scheme which allows pupils to buy second hand dancewear and shoes for a small donation. The dancers are set to carry on with the fundraising!

Sponsor a Dancer was launched in 2011 in response to severe budget cuts to Northern Ballet, and has since raised more than £500,000 to support the Company’s work, enabling it to retain a full Company of 40 dancers. Sponsor a Dancer has also been selected to be included in the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2013, an annual match funding event which means any money donated to Sponsor a Dancer from 10am on 5, 6 and 7 December could be doubled. These donations will see Northern Ballet continue to provide employment and development opportunities for the classical ballet dancers, nurture young and upcoming talent through training programmes and be able to continue to create and perform full-length ballets.

Online donations are matched on a first come, first served basis and donations will be matched as long as there are matched funds still available. If not, donors will still be able to make donations but it would not be matched so donors are encouraged to return to the site the following day and donate as close to 10am as possible. The Christmas Challenge will conclude once all of the matched funds have been exhausted until 18 December at 5pm.

Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s five large ballet companies mixing classical dance and theatre to give a unique interpretation of popular classical ballets. It is a busy touring company and typically tours for around 24 weeks of the year. The Company presents a combination of new works and repertoire to cities throughout the UK and are the only large scale ballet company to do so.

Body Of Knowledge

ResCen Early November saw the launch of a new strand of ResCen, the Research Centre of Middlesex University. This strand is dedicated to the reaching and works of Robert Cohan, a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and now a teacher and choreographer in his own right.

Cohan went on to establish The Place, London, with Robin Howard, and London Contemporary Dance Theatre, bringing a specific style of contemporary dance to the UK.

The students at Middlesex University are taught the Cohan method of the Graham technique by Anne Donnelly, a student descendant, passed down from teacher to student to teacher again, creating a legacy which is both complemented and supported by ResCen. The Cohan method does not differ widely from pure Graham technique; the principles of movement remain the same, just with the additions of Cohan’s profound teaching method and incorporation of the body and mind.

Robert Cohan, is the founding artistic director of The Place alongside Robin Howard, who financed the years following The Place’s inception. It was born from the journey of the Martha Graham technique from America to London by Cohan, seeing his work and legacy documented in by his colleagues and students to preserve his teaching method and also include interviews about his ethos and various works.

Now The Place is home to many contemporary and jazz classes, alongside the Richard Alston Dance Company and London Contemporary Dance School, no longer London Contemporary Dance Theatre which became the recipient company of London Contemporary Dance School students. The Place offers termly classes in techniques such as Release, Cunningham, Limón and Graham, alongside some ballet and jazz.

The Carlton Dance

Alfonso Ribeiro's "Carlton Dance" Eagerly awaited on this year’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here was The Carlton Dance, made famous by American actor Alfonso Ribeiro during the hit TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. With the IACGMOOH series now over for 2013, it is clear that the contestants bonded from the off and worked together throughout.

Audiences had to be incredibly patient to see Alfonso’s flawless moves, and perseverance finally paid off. Alfonso both demonstrated and taught the Carlton dance to his I’m a Celebrity campmates, injecting some fun and sun into some of the relatively darker mood days. Alfonso, up to this point, had maintained that there “will be no dance until I am voted out” however he burst into action on the reality show after getting a pep talk from fashion designer David Emanuel.

The campmates joined in with great gusto, with the signature dance moves learnt by Olympic Gold Medallist Rebecca Adlington, reality star Joey Essex and professional dancer Vincent Simone also joining in. Rebecca was particularly pleased that Alfonso taught the dance to his campmates having been desperate to learn the routine. The impromptu dance lessons from Alfonso was a welcome distraction from camp life for the campmates following surprise evictions and rising tensions.

The camp’s efforts at learning the dance were rewarded with some music after dinner, and the campmates looked blissfully happy to hear the Tom Jones classic “It’s not Unusual”, with each campmate performing the routine. Thankfully spirits in camp were restored to a higher level than had previously been seem, but not for long as it was revealed the following morning that Matthew Wright and Vincent Simone were out!

For those of you who don’t know “The Carlton Dance” here it is performed by Will Smith and Alfonso in an episode of “The Fresh Princeof Bel-Air”!

Neal Street Productions’ Original material

Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions has revealed its next musical theatre projects will be completely original shows that are not based on existing source material.

While this statement is irrelevant in terms of news, it is notable due to the fact a lot of musical theatre work in the capital alone is remaking originals and rarely never-seen-before work. Moving away from the capital into fringe, regional and local theatre, musicals based on existing source material are even more popular, due to lack of resources and the requirement to bring audiences into theatres. A sure fire way of doing this is by offering musical theatre that is well-known and popular.

Having presented Shrek and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Neal Street Productions is perhaps now more known for its work with existing films rather than existing musical theatre material. It has been said that Neal Street Productions has its eye on a couple of musicals, and these could be film titles. However, this is not its aim, first and foremost, so it is perhaps likely that its next two productions will be completely new. Neal Street Productions also co-produced Heidi Thomas’ play, The House of Special Purpose, with Chichester Festival Theatre, emphasising the revival of contemporary plays as an additional strand for Neal Street Productions in presenting on which had been overlooked.

This may be a significant next venture for Neal Street Productions in the reviving of contemporary classics, bringing work back to theatres which has not been seen by the next generation of theatre audiences. These works are often contemporary plays which don’t get revived for minor reasons, and them fall by the wayside as other work comes along which may be more appealing in terms of production and facility.

Gemma Sutton: Magical Talent

Gemma Sutton is a magical leading lady. With her feet firmly on the ground Gemma has played a number of coveted musical theatre roles, her most current being Roxie in Chicago at Leicester’s Curve Theatre. Gemma trained for three years on the Musical Theatre course at ArtsEd, having previously engaged with a number of Amateur Dramatic performances. She hasn’t stopped since, and here offers a snippet of her life, both onstage and off.

When, where and why did you begin dancing?

I began dancing at my local dance school in Macclesfield when I was 8, encouraged by the girls I was doing pantomime with in our local Amateur Dramatics Society. My first teacher soon retired, and the teacher who took over from her taught me until I was 18 and became a very close friend over the years as I began teaching for her in the few years before I went to Drama school.

What were your early years of training like?

I remember my Mum being a constant taxi service, taking me to dancing classes 4 times a week, along with singing lessons, piano lessons, and three different Am Dram societies. I don’t know when I had chance to eat, never mind do my homework! I took dance exams in Modern, Tap and Ballet, with IDTA. I used to love going to the IDTA conferences and learning from the great guest teachers they had there.

How long have you been performing? Did you start young?

The first show I was ever in was The King and I at the local Am Dram Society after my Mum answered an advert in the local paper saying they were looking for children to audition. From that day on I was hooked. I also used to sing in local nursing homes and concerts with my Dad accompanying me as he is an excellent pianist. Over the years I was in shows such as Crazy For You, Me and My Girl, Godspell, Sweet Charity, West Side Story, Barnum, Kiss Me Kate… it gave me such good experience and stood me in good stead for when I went off to Drama School at 18.

Where did you train and what was a typical day like like?

I trained at ArtsEd in Chiswick, London, on the three year Musical Theatre degree course. It was very intense and I couldn’t have wished for better training. We’d start at 8.30am and finish at 6pm Monday to Friday and each day had a variety of lessons, usually starting with a one and a half hour ballet or jazz class, sometimes one after the other (!) and then lessons such as acting, improvisation, physical theatre, ensemble singing, solo singing lessons, street jazz, pilates, history of musical theatre, alexander technique… I remember being so tired I’d be in bed by 9pm each night. I learnt such a lot there and worked with amazing industry professionals, many of whom I’ve worked with since graduating into the profession.

What is a typical day like now?

My routine changes all the time depending on if I’m in a show or not. When I’m working, like I am now in the musical Chicago at the Leicester Curve Theatre, I tend to get as much sleep as I can, then get out and about in the day (at the moment to do my Christmas shopping), I may go for a run if I’m feeling particularly virtuous. We have to be in at 6pm on a ‘one show’ day, and 12pm on a matinee day. We would then have a physical and vocal warm up, get notes from the dance captain and resident director to keep the show on top form, get wigs, microphones, costume and make up on and then do the show. It’s hard to go to sleep soon after the show as my adrenaline takes a while to settle down after the excitement of the evening’s performance! If I’m not in a show, my day may consist of preparing and going to auditions, going to singing lessons, and doing part time work to keep the pennies coming in. I’ve done loads of different things from bar work to office temping. There are so many talented people in the industry, we all have times out of work, but you just have to keep going and never give up.

Do you still take classes? How do you keep on top of our technique?

When I’m working I find that doing the show each night and being very focused in the vocal and physical warm up helps to keep my technique sharp. I’m really enjoying our Chicago warm up; we do a lot of yoga and ballet exercises which makes a nice change from the usual star jumps and press ups that warm ups often consist of! When I’m not working I go to regular singing lessons and do a lot of running, strength training and yoga. Keeping fit is so important in this industry as you never know what you’re going to be asked to do in a dance audition and you need to be on top form all the time.

What’s the best part of performing?

Having been on the tour of Hairspray for the majority of this year, I’ve been lucky enough to experience the most wonderful reaction from the audience in the finale number You Can’t Stop the Beat, night after night. It is so lovely to see the audience up on their feet, dancing away. It’s great to know you’ve made people happy and hopefully taken them away from the stresses of normal life for a few hours!

Which part of Chicago do you enjoy most?

That’s a tricky one! It’s such a well written show and all the numbers are great and so varied. I sing a number called Roxie in the first act where my character starts to realise that she’s going to be able to be the celebrity she’s always dreamt of being after working for years as a chorus girl in a dodgy nightclub. I’m joined on stage by male ensemble and it’s very exciting to be surrounded by these amazing dancers, all doing Drew McOnie’s amazing choreography, with a massive neon Roxie sign as the backdrop.

What are rehearsals like?

Intense! We only had three weeks to rehearse Chicago so we worked long hours and were totally consumed by it all day, every day. We usually start with a vocal and physical warm up at 10am and the day would be split between scene work, choreography and working through the music. This show has been particularly interesting as we have new choreography, not the Bob Fosse staging that all big productions of Chicago over the years have used. The choreographer also wanted us to create it with him, so it has been very fulfilling putting the show together. As we came closer to opening we would do runs of the show in the rehearsal room with lots of notes after and then a week of technical rehearsals in the theatre, adding the set, costumes, lighting, sound and orchestra.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to be part of the musical theatre world?

If you really want to succeed, never give up. It is such a tough industry and once you realise that and come to terms with the fact that you won’t be working constantly (92% of performers are out of work at any one time – it’s a very scary statistic!), all you can do is keep going and don’t give up hope. Get a part time job that you get fulfilment from or you’ll just get depressed and that can grind you down after a while. Keep going to see lots of shows and performances, watch great films and listen to great music to keep being inspired so you are reminded of why you wanted to choose this career in the first place. Choose carefully which drama school or course you are going to audition for as they are all different, do your research and keep working hard in your classes!

Rambert’s New Home For Dance

Rambert Dance Company Logo Britain’s national contemporary dance company Rambert has taken up residence in its new home on London’s South Bank, which includes dance studios, treatment and body conditioning rooms, workshops, offices and an archive. The location has been made available to Rambert by Coin Street Community Builders in return for a commitment to provide a significant community dance programme in the local area, and for a rent of one pair of ballet shoes a year. The facility will nurture, develop and realise the creative visions of the best of today and tomorrow’s choreographers and dancers; the ambition is that the landmark dances for the next 100 years will be created in the building, therefore giving dance a permanent home on the South Bank

Rambert will take its work to people throughout the UK, with the most far-reaching touring programme of any British contemporary dance company. Currently over three-quarters of Rambert’s performances take place outside of London, complemented by equally extensive education and community-based work. Closer to home, the new premises will hold connections with the local neighbourhood. People of all ages and abilities will be welcomed into the building to join in dance classes, and the daily activity of the building will be opened up to visitors, as will the extensive archive of Britain’s oldest dance company. The hope is that everyone who comes into the building will be inspired with confidence and ambition for Rambert’s future as Britain’s national contemporary dance company.

During the first year in its new building, Rambert’s home will be a hub for making new works, restaging classic repertory, creative collaborations and community engagement. Plans include, three new large-scale commissions for the company (Artistic Director Mark Baldwin, Shobana Jeyasingh – one of the UK’s foremost independent choreographers – and Alexander Whitley, a former Rambert dancer recently appointed associate artist with the company. Two classic works from Rambert’s past repertoire will be revived, namely Christopher Bruce’s iconic Rooster, first performed by Rambert in 1994 and last revived in 2001, and Four Elements, a 1990 commission for Rambert by celebrated US choreographer Lucinda Childs.

Rambert’s new home is the first major, purpose-built dance facility to open in London for 10 years. The building’s three main studios have been named the Marie Rambert Studio, after the company’s founder; the Mercury Studio, acknowledging the Mercury Theatre, the company’s first home; and the Anya Linden Studio, in recognition of the generous contribution to the fundraising campaign from two of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts: Monument Trust and Linbury Trust. The Marie Rambert studio is 306.75 square metres – the equivalent size of the stage at Sadler’s Wells which is the largest theatre space the Company regularly tours to.

Huge Audiences For TheatreCraft 2013

Future theatre-makers came together at the Royal Opera House earlier in November as part of the huge theatrical careers fair TheatreCraft. Over 1,000 passionate 16 to 25 year olds attended the free event to learn more about theatrical careers beyond the stage in a rich experience from those who have already worked in these areas. Some even boarded buses in Leeds at 3am in order to attend the event!

Jamie Lloyd opened the event, a young director whose work as part of the Trafalgar Transformed season has been acclaimed in the West End recently, and can be seen at the St James theatre next year. Lloyd spoke about it being OK to not to have an idea of what exactly you want to do in theatre or why, because it is your passion and drive to be part of the industry which is the most important thing. TheatreCraft, therefore, gives young people the chance to explore theatrical passions as part of an important and successful event. Breaking into work in the theatre can be challenging an isolating, ad not just for the performers on stage. TheatreCraft enables driven young people to stand face to face with potential employers and provide the chance for a much better angle to portray passions for the arts.

The annual event of TheatreCraft, which is now in its eighth year, offered more than 70 workshops, more than 50 exhibitors and an ask the experts zone for one-to-one advice sessions. Staged by the Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust, Royal Opera House, Mousetrap Theatre Projects, Society of London Theatre and Creative & Cultural Skills, it covered areas from producing to designing, theatre journalism to wig-making, and boasted contributors including producer Kim Poster, journalism Lyn Gardner and playwright Vickie Donoghue.

Here’s to 2014!

Rambert’s Evening Of New Choreography

Rambert Dance Company Logo Rambert’s Evening Of New Choreography comes soon after its opening of its new premises on London’s south bank, to be held at the Lilian Baylis Studio on 17 and 18 December 2013, 7.45pm. The event is one much anticipated in the dancing calendar, enabling Rambert’s dancers to present the latest offering of new work from them. The Evening is an opportunity to see a new generation of emerging choreographic talent and will feature new works created by Malgorzata Dzierzon, Dane Hurst, Estela Merlos, Mbulelo Ndabeni and Patricia Okenwa, accompanied by the Rambert Orchestra.

Rambert has nurtured generations of choreographers who have gone on to enjoy long-standing and influential careers. They include Rambert’s current artistic director Mark Baldwin and such other notable names as Christopher Bruce, Michael Clark and Rafael Bonachela. It is fitting that the 2013 programme is comprised of the first works to have been made in the studios at Rambert’s new home.

Reminisence from Dane Hurst sees his continued collaboration with award-winning jazz composer Tommy Evans. Here he addresses ideas of cherished memory, failed romance, violent passion and solitude.

Hikikomori, the phenomenon of reclusive young adults withdrawn from social life, is the provocation for Malgorzata Dzierzon’s work about the impact of cyberspace on human relationships. Rambert Music Fellow Kate Whitley has composed a string quartet for the piece – her first commission since taking up post.

Mbulelo Ndabeni offers an exploration of the female spirit. Inspired by his South African roots, this work will be performed to a driving percussive score by Rob Millett.

Entre tú y yo is Estella Merlos’s portrayal of obsession and confrontation within the illusory sense of self, accompanied by an electronic and baroque score featuring Fennesz, Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe and Plastikman.

Patricia Okenwa’s collaboration with dancer Antonette Dayritt sends her on a personal quest to uncover a dance near the edge of her ability. Set to music by Geoff and James Holroyde that takes Lockgroove records and experimental jazz as a starting point for a unique score.