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Conversation With Marguerite Porter: A Royal Ballet Diamond

Marguerite Porter, director of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, is a British ballet diamond. From joining The Royal Ballet aged just 17, to partnering ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev, Porter’s ballet career has been full of iconic and incredibly memorable moments. Today sees Porter at the helm of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, leading it towards its fundraising Gala at Sadler’s Wells at the end of the month.

Where did you train?

I trained with Louise Browne in York and then at The Royal Ballet School for two years before joining the company.

What was your typical day like?

Class was at 10:30am followed by all day rehearsals which would end around 6pm, however if there was a performance in the evening and one was dancing the principal role, one would finish around lunchtime in order to prepare for the evening performance.

What is a typical day like now?

There is no typical day, as the Summer School approaches it becomes extremely busy. My PA arrives around 10am and typically we will work until around 3pm. At present in preparation for the Gala I am working all hours of the day and night with various deadlines to meet.

Who inspired you to dance?

I began to dance by accident; I was extremely tall for my age and developed a stoop in order to fit in with my peers! In order to try and correct my poor posture, my grandmother asked a friend of hers if her twin daughters (who attended the Rambert School in London) would give me ballet lessons in their bedroom during the holidays. As soon as I started to put music to the exercises I had been taught I knew I wanted to dance. Later when ballet came fully into my life I would say Lynn Seymour and Margot Fonteyn were my inspiration.

Did you train in any other techniques other than ballet?

At the Royal Ballet School we learned character dances and Spanish dancing.

What was life like as a Royal Ballet Dancer?

In my early years with the Royal Ballet as a corps de ballet member I was blissfully happy. Sir Frederick Ashton, Michael Somes and Jack Hart were the joint directors. It was a wonderful atmosphere in which to begin my career. I joined the Royal Ballet aged 17; I had never been out of the country before and in those days we did extensive tours abroad. Four months in America and Canada with a six week run at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York was a thrill for someone who had never been on a plane before or indeed until the age of 15 out of Yorkshire. These were the golden years with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev leading the company, it was such a thrill for us young dancers to be a part of it. As I progressed through the ranks to become a principal the pressure and responsibility increased and somewhat diminished the freedom and pure joy of those early years.

Do you think life there is different now?

Very difficult to answer this question, I can only imagine the pressure is even greater as they do many more performances than in my day.

What are the most memorable parts of your extensive career?

Working with the likes of Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth McMillan, Jerome Robbins and many other wonderful choreographers, also performing with some of the greatest dancers of the 20th century including Anthony Dowell, Rudolf Nureyev and others too numerous to mention.

Do the same things motivate you each day for ballet and dance?

The motivation each day for dance is the love of it, the discipline which is innate in a dancer’s body and constant striving for perfection.

Do you still take classes?

No.

What’s the best part of dance and performance?

I used to find the rehearsal period and preparation the most exciting, creating and developing a role and making it one’s own. If it all comes together in the performance which is what one strives and hopes for, then it is exciting and fulfilling.

Of all the iconic dancers and choreographers you’ve worked with, what is the one moment that will always be with you?

Performing as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake with Rudolf Nureyev as Prince Siegfried at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to a ballet or dance career?

It is a very hard life and I would advise anyone wanting to be part of it, to consider whether or not they have the physical stamina and emotional strength to withstand it. If, after serious soul searching, (and they have all the physical attributes necessary to become a dancer) I would suggest they work hard, wear blinkers and soldier on.

What are you looking forward to most for YBSS?

To continue in the same way with all the positive things that David Gayle the founder of the YBSS instilled at the beginning.

What’s next?

To continue as we have in the past 40 years, hopefully inspiring, guiding and helping young talent.

The GOlive Festival

GOLive Festival Donald Hutera, notable arts journalist and dance critic, has been invited to curate the GOlive Dance & Performance Festival currently taking place at the Lion and Unicorn theatre until the end of September. Hutera’s work has appeared in The Times, Time Out and Dance Europe amongst other publications and websites world-wide, making him the ideal candidate to programme this new festival of dance.

The Giant Olive Theatre is a small black box venue of about 50 seats, so the qualities desired when selecting artists to take part were venue and curator specific. Hutera aims to ensure an immediate connection between the performers and the audience, with the performances close-up; risk, intimacy and play underpin the basis of the festival. As critic-turned-curator, Hutera has found the transition smooth as he enjoys championing dance work he believes in on a day-to-day basis.

The GOlive festival looks to be highly rewarding as a result of its conception. George Sallis, the artistic director of Giant Olive Theatre at the Lion and Unicorn pub, questioned Hutera about curating a dance festival earlier this year, meaning Hutera’s desire to do so was met by Sallis’ need. In fact, the pub has a past record of presenting dance as a result of the efforts of George and Antonia Franceschi, formerly a Balanchine ballerina and later a teacher, coach and choreographer. Franceschi is also an actress, playing the ballerina who becomes pregnant in Fame.

Spread across 21 consecutive days and featuring works of over four dozen individuals or companies, the GOlive Festival will include Darren Ellis, Ella Mesma, Renaud Wiser, Anusha Subramanyam, Daniel Hay-Gordon/Eleanor Perry, Shane Shambhu, Nuno Silva, Moreno Solinas, The Dangerologists, Stopgap’s Sg2, Angela Woodhouse, Dog Kennel Hill Project, Mickael Marso Rivière, Jennifer Jackson/Susie Crow and Fred Gehrig amongst many others. Between them they have worked with the likes of Richard Alston, Siobhan Davies, Shobana Jeyasingh, Russell Maliphant, The Royal Ballet, Wayne McGregor|Random Dance, Rambert Dance Company, Henri Oguike and Arthur Pita.

The Growth of Lyrical, Contemporary And Jazz

Contemporary Dance With the now mainstream TV entertainment programmes such as So You Think You Can Dance and Got To Dance, dance culture has shifted in the UK.

Before the emergence of programmes of this type and of this popularity, contemporary dance and lyrical jazz techniques were less ‘discovered’: ruling the day was ballet, tap and modern jazz, with the increasing growth of hip hop and street dance.

Large performing arts institutions offering dance classes on a huge scale, such as Pineapple, Danceworks and Studio 68, offered and continue to offer an abundance of daily classes to all ages and abilities. Whilst lyrical and contemporary classes were on offer to the attendees of the classes, it seems the growth of the dance television programmes has increased their popularity. Moreover, the style of lyrical, lyrical jazz, contemporary and contemporary jazz has shifted completely, with classes now offering both the technical side of these styles as well as the steering the performance qualities seen on the programmes.

Despite the technical side of dance, the television programmes convey a prominent sense of intention behind the movement in addition to a ‘jazzy’ narrative. Telling a story through dance is not a pre-requisite yet it seems for television this is desirable in order to appeal to the entertainment of the mass audiences. This is in addition to relating the movement through screen and making it desirable for its environment, namely a competition. As a result, the dazzling leaps, high kicks and multiple turns have made their way into mainstream, everyday classes; not necessarily a good or bad thing, simply an observation that these movements and choreographies are becoming increasingly popular.

Purely technical classes, however, have not disappeared, just added to by this increase in popularity of the dramatic and heartfelt movement portrayals on television. Dancers who look for both sides of the lyrical dance coin now have the added benefit of a certain sense of performance behind the class.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The RAD’s Virtual Launch

On 10 September the Royal Academy of Dance will be launching Progressions: the launch of the new Advanced Foundation, 1 & 2 syllabi. It will be a virtual launch of the new work of the vocational graded examinations meaning members and non members alike will be able to watch the first ever virtual launch of new RAD syllabi on 10 September. Also on offer to engage with are demonstrations of the new advanced work, interviews with the creative panel and even a live Twitter question and answer session.

The online launch will be available to view at intervals throughout the day depending on where viewers are located. In addition to the launch events are being organised across the world by RAD National and Regional Managers with countries such as USA, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Mexico in discussion about holding events for members to attend to watch the launch together. There will also be ‘coffee morning’ style events round the UK in many regions, and one held at RAD headquarters too.

The new syllabi (Advanced Foundation (male & female), Advanced 1 (female) and Advanced 2 (female)) challenge students to meet higher technical and artistic demands than previously, with a nod towards current ballet training and performance. Each of the new syllabi provides opportunities for self-expression and achievement through dance, while building on the foundation of previous grades offered by the RAD, in both the graded and vocational graded strands of work.

The virtual launch will highlight the RAD at the forefront of dance training, with the examination syllabus reflecting this. The new syllabi have been developed with an emphasis on choreography, music and performance through dancers’ technical development at an advanced level. As a result candidates will prepare for an internationally recognised portfolio of examinations which is seen as an industry benchmark for students working towards a professional dance career.

Fit to Dance?

Dance Fitness

Dancers are renowned for their slick technique, exquisite muscle tone and fantastic ability to perform convincingly in front of an audience. Particularly for ballet and contemporary dancers, they are used to the demand of lengthy and extensive choreographed pieces which can last for any given length of time! As a result, their aerobic fitness levels must be adequate to deal with these demands and work the body effectively through the performance.

Despite the high levels of fitness required by dance, most dance techniques require short bursts of energy, rather than prolonged ones: a sprinter in comparison to a marathon runner. By default this means that dancers will perform anaerobically, meaning the oxygen used in an aerobic sense is not transferred to the muscles and red blood cells, dancers are dancing on reserves.

In addition to this, dancers are becoming increasingly aware that they are only fit to dance, rather than fit to run long distances, for example. Many dance companies now complement their dancers training with body conditioning and alternative fitness classes, even encouraging the dancers to use a gym to build up cardiovascular fitness. Although dancers are described as being “fit” in their ability to dance through incredibly long days and strenuous performances, it seems they are now required to ensure they are fit and versatile, able to cope with extreme demands and engage as “artistic athletes”.

There is consequently much debate as to whether dance is an art, a sport, or even a combination of the two. Naturally dancers will argue that dance is not a sport, due to the aesthetic demands and specific artistic performance quality which is lacking from sport. However it is a disservice not to refer to dancers as athletes in their ability to soar above the stage and perform great works, and as Albert Einstein and Martha Graham separately declared, they are ‘athletes of God’.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Dreaded DOMS

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness DOMS: a common ailment for dancers, athletes and sports players. As much as it is common, the meaning of the each letter and its cause is not often known, especially by those who are younger and just beginning to train harder in their chosen area.

For dancers, the beginning of the attempt to pursue a performance career can start very young, throughout teens or perhaps post-20 years old. However, in deciding in this goal, dancers are inspired to push their bodies harder, take more class and learn new things. DOMS then come into play. Also known as Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, DOMS occur when muscles have been used to a greater extent than they are day to day. For example, DOMS are most likely to occur in the new academic year when the body has not been used as much throughout the summer.

Dancers are likely to feel varying degrees of stiffness in their muscles during DOMS, usually in their quads and hamstrings which are worked hard in all dance techniques. The following morning it may be a struggle to get out of bed and even walk down stairs, depending on the extent of the DOMS. Some dancers may not even feel their DOMS the next day – being delayed the soreness may come into play 24-72 hours later and may be a complete surprise with the stiffness of the muscles seemingly coming from nowhere.

For many dance students in higher or vocational education, DOMS are a regular part of life. Long days mean that the students must get up and train again the next day, working through the stiffness and discomfort knowing they will usually wake up with DOMS again the next day. However a high protein diet rich with nutrients can help to work against DOMS, repairing the muscles tears and making them stronger.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Olivier Awards 2014

2014 Olivier Awards The Olivier Awards, the iconic award event which took place earlier this year, is due to take place on Sunday 13 April 2014 with MasterCard. The coveted statuettes – as well as one new award – will be awarded to the very best productions, performers and creatives in London’s Theatreland. Many may argue that the UK’s capital is the best in the world in terms of theatre, but with New York’s Broadway as a prime contender it’s a close call!

The Olivier Awards ceremony is the most highly anticipated event in London’s theatre awards calendar. In 2014 the event will be held again in the iconic Royal Opera House for the third year running. It was announced than the 2014 Olivier Awards will see the introduction of a new award category, Outstanding Achievement In Music, in which the composition of original music for plays, orchestration, and musical supervision/direction will be recognised.

With the Awards taking place earlier in the year than 2013, the 2014 ceremony enables shows opening up to 25 February to be eligible for one of the prizes. Other information about the 2014 Olivier Awards will be revealed early in the new year, however it is hoped that the 2014 event will still contain performances, loyalty and celebration.

In 2013 each musical which was nominated for the Best New Musical Award put on a show-stopping performance to support their nomination for the star-studded award. Other highlights from the 2013 event of particular noted were performances by former Wicked star Idina Menzel and her Glee co-star Matthew Morrison, guest appearances from current West End stars Daniel Radcliffe and Kim Cattrall and the free Covent Garden Piazza extension of celebration.

Body Conditioning: A Lifetime Of Habit

Body Conditioning for Dancers Many dance students who are getting ready to commence their vocational training at performing arts institutes will also be introduced to the term ‘body conditioning’. It is something that all dancers are aware of as a means to improve their technique and overall presence in the performance space, and many continue working on their body conditioning for years on end.

In general terms body conditioning will see dancers work to tone and sculpt their muscles aside from their technique classes, in areas such as Pilates, yoga and classes which purely focus on stretching. Other ways of carrying out body conditioning may include muscle toning or building exercises with weights or in a gym, such as for their abdominals, glutes or hamstrings.

Lots of preparation of body conditioning is done throughout rehearsals too, making sure the body is ready for what the choreography and performances require from the dancer. Body conditioning ensures dancers have enough strength and stamina to complete the task ahead to best of their technical and performance ability, such as staying ‘on your leg’ in turns and balances, making sure the performance is as successful as the rehearsal period.

In this sense, body and core conditioning is a hugely important part of the rehearsals and off-stage preparations. If the body’s strong and able, executing the choreography is wholly easier. Many dancers undertake conditioning exercises in order to define their muscles further however the most important part of body conditioning is ensuring the body is healthy, strong and ready for the demands made on it. This then gives way to the creation and sustaining of an illusion on stage in which the body performs something so far removed – in terms of ability and physicality – from the audience. The body and muscles are used efficiently as a strong base to perform the movement from.

Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons.

The Art Of The Circus

LIMBO

LIMBO, as part of the London Wonderground festival at the Southbank Centre, is just one example of circus shows, and is in itself a dazzling feast. Full of fire, contortion, aerial work, tap dancing and jazzy interludes breaking up the action, the show is made up of performers from all corners of the world, including Canada, France, the United States and Russia. Cirque due Soleil is another outlandish performance of this type, the multifaceted creative performance which includes the beautiful, the daring and the innovative in terms of ‘circus’.

In each of Cirque du Soleil’s shows, or any other of this type for example, each performer is talent heavy. It is clear that the shows’ directors look to achieve eclectic individualism through multi-talented performers who bring something different to each performance, speaking to each member of the audience. For LIMBO, the performers brought a certain sexiness and edginess to the stage. They worked closely alongside each other with a delicate chemistry resulting in an intimate evening in an eclectic pop-up circus space.

Heather Holliday shone as a vintage beauty who pouted her way through the chaos to later swallow 2 swords and ignite her tattooed thighs before eating the fire and smoking the flames. Evelynne Allard, as an aerial specialist who has also appeared in Cirque du Soleil, wowed in her hoop performance metres above the stage space and added much humour to the interludes between the main performance. Superb talent came in the form of a tap dancing, tumbling trio which revolved between four dancers. The males turned their hands to both skill and performance, concluding the show as an undiscovered mesh of talent and performative illusion, deserved of more recognition.

The Yorkshire Ballet Summer School’s Gala

The Yorkshire Ballet Summer School’s 40th anniversary will be celebrated this year in a gala organised by Anthony Dowell and the actor Derek Jacobi. The gala will be held at national dance house Sadler’s Wells, London, on 29 September, marking the journey from strength to strength of the summer school and its staff.

The Yorkshire Ballet Summer School began as the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars in a church hall, taught by ex-Royal Ballet dancer and teacher David Gayle. The seminars were devised in order to provide young local dancers with an introduction to the professional ballet world, enabling them to learn about opportunities and meet other artists.

The success of the seminars meant they evolved to form a residential ballet course, with the first masterclass taught by Alicia Markova. 2005 saw Marguerite Porter take over the directorship reins of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, who began teaching at the course in 1990.

Kevin O’Hare has spoken of his support for the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School: ‘It was such a huge inspiration for me attending the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars and added so much to my training and knowledge of what it would be like to become a professional ballet dancer. When I look back at all the amazing teachers who taught me I feel so lucky to have had that experience while growing up in Yorkshire and I am so glad the seminars continue to thrive and inspire a new generation of dancers.’

This year the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School of more than 180 students will be held at York St John university, boasting course faculty including Anthony Dowell and David Pickering. In terms of the gala, directed by Richard Clifford, the event will include guest stars such as dancers from The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Wayne Sleep and the BalletBoyz. Actors Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter and Samantha Bond will also be in attendance.

Tickets cost £12-£85 and are available from Sadler’s Wells.