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Sports Partnership for the Royal Ballet

The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science at St Mary’s University, Twickenham and the Royal Opera House have recently announced a new partnership in order to deliver sports science support services to the Royal Ballet. Working closely with the dancers, the St Mary’s academics will be providing strength, conditioning and sports science support, alongside the Royal Ballet’s Clinical Director. The academics’ expertise will provide much needed insight for the dancers in helping them to work smartly.

The partnership will provide much opportunity for research into the mechanics behind ballet and dance, with bespoke programmes designed to enhance dance performance and recovery from injury. In order to facilitate the research St Mary’s is offering a fully funded position on its new Masters by Research degree, which will mean there is a unique opportunity to work and study in such a sought-after ballet environment.

The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will now have the means to improve knowledge and understanding of conditioning for ballet through this innovative programme of research. Dealing directly with performance, it is hoped that the partnership will mean this will be improved and consequently sustained over time, aiding the dancers directly. For the Royal Ballet, the health and wellbeing of the dancers is paramount, in addition to the prevention of injury. The School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will contribute greatly to this, providing the highest quality rehabilitation.

The Royal Ballet has improved its healthcare provision significantly over the years to ensure the best conditions for dancers, considering the demands of their work, and the new partnership with the School of Sport, Health and Applied Science will mean this becomes even easier in the future. The work will therefore directly improve the health and wellbeing of the dancers and help influence a well-evidenced sports science model for the dance community.

Choosing Competition Music

Many dancers take part in competitions throughout the year, and are often keen to learn new dances to present against their peers. Music can be a large part of a routine to impress a judge, but can make or break the dance regardless of how talented the dancer is.

It is important to ensure the music is age-appropriate; practising a dance can mean the music may fall by the wayside if it is listened to over and over again, but when it is heard by the judge it will be new and have an effect on how they view the dance routine. It will not only be heard by the judge, but also fellow competitors, teachers, parents and even younger audience members. A track may have a catchy rhythm or melody, but the lyrics may imply something quite different. That said, it is important to choose something both the student and teacher likes. You will both hear the music time and time again, so make sure you can create an honest, genuine connection to the music. It will be all too clear to a judge if you do not like your music – there will be force rather than flow.

There are many song choices available for many different genres and dancers. The choice does not necessarily have to be what is popular, with quirky and unique music choices just waiting to be discovered. Don’t just limit your choice to this week’s most purchased songs in the charts. Consider using underground artists to ensure your music choice is the only one used at a competition, or widening your search to different genres. You could use Broadway show tunes, classical music, instrumental versions or song covers by different artists in order to surprise the judge.

Don’t be afraid to take a risk with your music choice: it will stand out to both the judge and the audience. Ultimately a dance competition is about the total package – how it is performed, the costume, choreography, and the commitment of the performer. Music is just one ingredient, and all the performance elements must unite.

Theatre Etiquette

Theatre etiquette is a topic that springs up time and time again, albeit faster than the time it takes for your neighbour along the row to move from their seats to let you past to yours. This is just one instance in the theatre of behaviour that detracts from the theatrical experience for many audience members, where their enjoyment is tainted by the fact others cannot and will not behave accordingly.

Shuffling along the row to your seat aside, it seems many audience members – be it at a musical theatre show, a ballet, a straight play or even an immersive experience – are unable to abide by simple etiquette rules in the theatre in order to enhance everyone’s experience. A Saturday matinee performance is notorious for sweet wrappers and young children, but more often than not food is taken into the auditorium similar to the cinematic experience. Some may argue that this shift towards cinema is positive in encouraging new audiences to enjoy the theatre, however not at the distraction from what is happening on stage.

Mobile phones are another bugbear for many, audience members and critics alike. With a world that is increasingly technology-orientated, it is no surprise that mobile phones and tablets are constant in our daily lives. As the lights go down the audience is still awash with a glow as they check those final emails or social media sites, unwilling to turn the device off or even to silent. Sometimes said device even takes precedence over what is happening on stage, with all usher rules taking the backseat. Curtain call photographs are now in abundance as audiences strive to take them despite calls from ushers!

Whilst there is no doubt that theatre is changing, becoming more accessible and welcoming to new audiences, it seems unorthodox for the theatre etiquette to change so drastically too.

The Next Steps

With the summer months well underway, many dance students are preparing to begin vocational or further dance training in September on a college or university programme. The years of study will pass by in a flash so it is essential to be ready to hit the ground running when beginning your studies, ready to get underway straight away.

There are many things prospective students can do to prepare for their studies, the first being making the most of your time off before the hard work begins. Having applied and auditioned for your place on the course, ensure you have a clear idea of the course structure and what you should expect to be doing when you arrive in the studio on your first day. There may be new information available to first year students that can be obtained, without the added focus on any of the other courses and institutions you may have applied to.

There may be preliminary reading you can start on in these summer months, such as background reading for the areas you will focus on, or general information on further education. Don’t leave it too late to gather all the materials you will need to begin your course, such as buying mandatory reading materials, and making sure you read them! Keep abreast of information from your institution, such as deadlines for registering for classes and semesters that are essential to your learning.

If you will be learning about new dance techniques, you may wish to take a couple of classes in the style in order to have an idea of the demands of the technique. You will be able to find out lots about your new tutors from the college or university website, giving you an idea of their work and their focuses on dance. Keeping active this way will mean your body is ready to train in September and alternative movement or fitness classes will help in cross-training. Seeing unfamiliar dance will serve to inspire you ahead of joining your peers in the studio, helping to open your mind to new dance and choreography.

A Theatre Named Selfridges

The London department store Selfridges – identifiable by its prominent yellow branding – is set to launch an 100-seat theatre this summer, that will allow customers to watch a Shakespeare production being rehearsed and performed within the store. In what appears to be a first for the performing arts, the department store will dip into its artistic side in order to provide its shoppers and other theatrical audiences with some theatre in its Oxford Street store in London.

In addition to Shakespearean delights in store, Selfridges has also teamed up with drama school RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) to provide two weeks of workshops and masterclasses for shoppers. RADA will precede the theatre company with a two-week residency from 4 July, offering customers workshops and masterclasses in areas such as stage combat. It is unclear as to how popular these sessions will be for shoppers, but an innovative idea nonetheless.

The store will have a traverse stage, a box office, a designer royal box and a bespoke lighting rig from White Light, forming the Refashioned Theatre. In presenting Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Selfridges has teamed up with theatre company the Faction. The theatre company will offer audiences and shoppers the chance to watch rehearsals, which Selfridges has compared to the experience shoppers have while looking at its own window displays. Marrying shopping with art can seem a vast leap, however the elements are similar in making passive observations of what is being presented. Rehearsals are in action, running in the space from 18 July to 22 August, with the play being performed from 23 August to 24 September.

The play will feature nine actors, in addition five digital cameos where images will be projected on to shop mannequins, integrating the two further. The new collaboration will go just some way in celebrating Shakespeare400 this year.

Professional Dancer Line Up for Strictly 2016

The BBC recently announced its professional dancer line up for the hit television show series Strictly Come Dancing 2016. A highlight of the dancing year for many, the series is always highly anticipated and has gone from strength to strength year on year. With other celebrity talent competition, such as Dancing on Ice, falling by the wayside, Strictly has continued to be popular.

With some departures from the Strictly Come Dancing professionals there are also some new faces. There will be three brand new dancers perform alongside the return of viewers’ favourites. New to the line up are world-class Latin and Ballroom dance experts including World Champion Katya Jones, Ukrainian Champion Oksana Platero and Spanish dance professional Gorka Marquez. The most recent series of Strictly saw the team win both an NTA and BAFTA Television Award, so the stakes are high to continue this winning streak.

Returning to the Strictly dance floor are the male dancers, Anton du Beke, Brendan Cole, Kevin Clifton, Pasha Kovalev, Aljaž Škorjanec, Giovanni Pernice; and the female dancers returning are Karen Clifton, Natalie Lowe, Joanne Clifton, Janette Manrara and Oti Mabuse. Professional dancers Tristan MacManus, Ola Jordan, Kristina Rihanoff and Aliona Vilani announced at the end of last series that they would not be returning to the show, as well as Gleb Savchenko who has decided that due to family commitments he will not be appearing in the next series. Additional professional dancers to join the Strictly team will be announced in due course.

The hugely popular Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One in the Autumn when the celebrity line-up will also be revealed. Some existing rumours have been circulating as to the celebrities who may take part; it is clear that the 2016 Strictly will be just as fabulous.

An Immersive Ballet First

Director-choreographer Will Tuckett is on track to stage the world’s first immersive ballet through the classic The Nutcracker. Named solely Nutcracker, the production will enable audiences to explore the world of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas ballet first hand. Last year Alice’s Adventures Underground took place in the Waterloo Vaults in London, and this year an immersive dining experience surrounding Roald Dahl’s The Twits will disgust and delight, demonstrating the aptitude for this type of performance. Audiences – as well as artists – constantly strive for new experiences.

Nutcracker will therefore see innovative new staging; it will run in a 20,000 ft. temporary structure in Wembley Park and will feature live musicians, as well as a cast of over 40 performers, who will be from the world of ballet, and musical and immersive theatre. The production is touted to be a completely fresh approach to a classic ballet, taking the world of the story of The Nutcracker to the widest possible audience. With much experience under his belt, such as his 2014 Wind in the Willows, it looks as though Tuckett’s Nutcracker will be a magical experience

Dancer Adam Cooper, who created the role of the swan in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and starred in Singin’ In The Rain will perform in the piece as Uncle Drosselmeyer. The piece will last 90 minutes and has musical arrangement from Andy Massey and set design from Colin Richmond. Woodroffe Bassett Design, the designers responsible for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, will be in charge of the lighting design.

Tuckett’s Nutcracker will run in a temporary theatre from 30 November to 8 January, and will allow audiences to interact with the dancers in a 360-degree environment, visit the toy factory and travel through snow-capped forest of trees.

Australian Ballet in the capital

Under the artistic helm of David McAllister, The Australian Ballet was last seen in the UK in 2008; 2016 has seen a two-week season of ballet for the company, with Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake from 13–16 July and Alexei Ratmansky’s Cinderella from 20–23 July at the London Coliseum.

Cinderella has become a signature work for the company, remaining true to tradition but with a few twists along the way to keep the production relevant, a blending of old and new. The classics are not forgotten, and here they are be transported for future audiences too. The Australian Ballet is renowned for producing new versions of the classics with contemporary choreographers and Cinderella is no different. Ratmansky is one of the world’s most sought-after and his production of Cinderella for The Australian Ballet will be the first time it has been performed in Europe.

Commissioned by McAllister in 2013, Ratmansky’s Cinderella is re-imagined as witty, vibrant and romantic full of athleticism and dynamism rather than tradition. Jerôme Kaplan’s vivid designs draw inspiration from Dior, Schiaparelli, the elegance of 1940s Hollywood, and Surrealist art, against Prokofiev’s cinematic score as he charts Cinderella’s journey from rags to riches, transported to the ball by planets and stars. Perfect poise accompanied these agile dancers into the transformation scene: with graphics, fringing and temptors along the way of the Prince’s journey, the company dancers were hugely technical yet did not shy away from the modernity of Ratmansky’s Cinderella. Technique was then matched in artistry and performance, and Leanne Stojmenov’s Cinderella stole the show.

After sell-out seasons in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, this exclusive London season is a true crowd-pleaser. Cinderella, and indeed all the Australian Ballet dancers, moved with huge ease and suppleness. Skinny and Dumpy – two awful yet lovable stepsisters – added a large helping of humour to the production, midway between the classics and the neoclassicism.

Nicholas Afoa – Lion King life

New cast have joined the London production of Disney’s The Lion King this summer, including New Zealander Nicholas Afoa who has taken on the role of Simba at the Lyceum Theatre.

Afoa made his stage debut in the Australian production in 2013 and played Simba in the Sydney production of the musical between 2013 and 2016, performing more than 860 times. The opportunity to play the role in the West End brings Afoa to London for the first time, as he embarks on his second professional theatre engagement.

The Auckland-raised performer had a promising rugby career with the All Blacks until he was sidelined by injury. After recovering and dedicating himself to his theatre career, nearly a decade later the 30 year-old beat 400 other hopefuls to the role of Simba in the Australian production.

What caused your transition from rugby pitch to stage?

I suffered an ACL and miniscus tear in a rugby game when I was 23. My introduction to theatre wasn’t until years later as I spent a lot of time trying to rehab the knee and come back to rugby. I also spent time trying to start a band and focus on my solo music. I eventually accepted the fate that was the end of a rugby dream and focused on these artistic qualities; I feel so lucky to be where I am right now.

Did you undertake any formal training as a result?

My formal dance training really started once I had landed the role. Now being part of the show has become such a huge part of my life and I feel like I am training and improving my skills every day. It is great to be around so many talented performers and teachers in an environment where everyone is constantly learning.

Describe a day in your life.

I like to spend time with my wife, go to the gym, keep in touch with family back home and go to vocal classes or ballet classes to keep my body up to speed.

How important is your ranging and diverse world experience in your work today?

I wouldn’t be able to bring the same depth to the role if it wasn’t for my life experience over the last 10 years, the interactions I have had with people, the trials I have overcome and what I have learnt from overcoming them. I worked as a youth counsellor for four years, where I learnt so much about adolescent behaviour and the way young people (like Simba) view the world around them and perceive themselves – these are all things that helped me to bring Simba to life.

What’s the most rewarding thing about the performing arts?

The most rewarding thing is how, through your passion, you can also inspire and move others. That’s what drives me, especially if I’m feeling tired. The fact that somebody in that audience, young or old, is being positively affected by the show is the most rewarding thing.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

I always say a little prayer moments before swinging on stage. Whenever I can I will watch young Simba and Mufasa in the first act. Their scene gives me an extra emotional boost that I carry through into the second act.

What is it like being part of The Lion King?

It’s very humbling. Every day I learn something new. I’m in an amazing show surrounded by talented, passionate people. I still consider myself very fortunate and never once take it for granted.

What were you most looking forward to about beginning your Lion King contract in London?

What I was looking forward to most was learning and experiencing new energies and actors, seeing how that would affect me as a performer and being able to see what contribution I could make. It was also a chance to experience life outside Australasia as I have never been this far away from home.

What is your advice to an aspiring dancer?

I see with the dancers I work with how dedicated every dancer is to maintaining their own standards. What dancers’ bodies go through is mind-blowing. It inspires me to keep bettering myself. My advice would be to keep working hard, but also give yourself time and space to heal when you need and to also take in some of the world around you. While it’s good to be driven we can get so set on our dreams that sometimes we lose touch with our surroundings. This is also where we learn the most about ourselves and in turn makes us better and rounded performers.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Dance Class

As children, parents and carers spend lots of time and money committing to dance lessons, even when they take joy from watching rather than doing. Taking children to dancing lessons requires energy and time, not to mention additional funds for competitions, costumes and extra performances. For a child, it is not until later that they see dance lessons in the same way, as an investment. Only then do they see that time, money and energy go to waste when they do not make the most of their dance lessons.

It is understandable that every dancer experiences a rut in their training, where they may not want to attend classes or feel they are not improving at the rate they should be. Despite this, it is not the dancers that stretch the most, sweat more or practice at home at all hours that necessarily get the most out of their dance classes either. The correct mental attitude is hugely important in dance training, to understand the purpose of dance for yourself and how to experience it in the best possible way.

When dancers become older, their adult freedom equates to a similar responsibility for themselves, be it getting themselves to classes, paying for their own training or beginning to assist with the teaching at the local dance studio. With these aspects comes heightened responsibility, for learning, fuelling and directing your dancing. It goes without saying that dancers must therefore arrive early and prepared for class, being focused and dedicated to the class, taking and applying corrections that are given to the class and spending time on the parts that need the most improvement, even if that means going back to basics.

Making mistakes is a large part of dance training; it will mean you will discover something new about the dancing body, through listening, watching, or error, even if this feels uncomfortable. Don’t forget to enjoy the process and thank your teachers for giving you the tools to better yourself and work hard in each class you take.