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Conquering Stage Fright

Janet Leigh Screaming! Fear backstage is common for at least 50% of performers, regardless of performance experience. More commonly known as “stage fright”, performance anxiety can be a constant problem or something that emerges over time.

Stage fright can occur for many reasons, as well as bring unexplainable, such as because of an injury or recovery from one, a bad experience or pressure of an important performance. Anxiety can drastically affect your performance and love of dance, if not overcome and dealt with accordingly. Symptoms of stage fright include racing pulses and fast breathing, a dry mouth, tight throat, trembling, and sweaty or cold hands. Mental symptoms can affect your career if not dealt with, with fear and self-doubt taking over.

A reason behind stage fright has been suggested as a result of the brain’s fight or flight response. Most performers are able to control stage fright by controlling the lead up to a performance and controlling a certain amount of anxiety needed to perform. This can be done such as by a pre-performance routine or a specific warm up. However, too much anxiety and adrenaline will mean you turn and run, sometimes literally.

It is important to take care of your body, and in turn control and calm performance anxiety. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, especially before a performance and eat potassium-rich foods to help lower your blood pressure naturally. A familiar routine backstage, and peace and quiet, can also aid anxious feelings. Breathe deeply and try to relax.

Project Plié’s First Yyear

ABT Project Plie Logo As American Ballet Theatre celebrates its 75th anniversary, it will also celebrate the first birthday of Project Plié, its national initiative focusing on increasing racial and ethnic representation in ballet. Even in the US ballet is still incredibly streamlined, with nearly every major ballet company being made up mostly of Caucasian dancers.

Project Plié seeks to combat this issue of deficient racial diversity through dance scholarships for non-white dancers, complimentary training for teachers who work with ethnically diverse populations, partner companies around the country who reach specific populations, free classes for children through Boys & Girls Clubs of America (how ballerina Misty Copeland began) and masterclasses that introduce youth to ABT in each of New York City’s five boroughs.

The initiative aims to assist ballet students from diverse backgrounds reach their full potential by providing them with the support and active engagement of teachers, mentors and current professional dancers. ABT believes that diversifying the art form at its training level will strengthen and broaden the pipeline of future artists and help ensure ballet’s continued relevance in the 21st century. So far the project has been well received with many embracing the mission of the programme and reaching out to get involved.

Since the project began, there has already been a rise in the number of dancers who have auditioned for ABT’s summer and full programmes. In addition, ABT has been able to award 40 merit-based scholarships for talented students. Project Plié was also able to provide six teachers National Training Curriculum scholarships, giving them the means to travel to New York, train with ABT and learn to creatively and collaboratively address barriers to young dancers’ participation in their communities.

Overall, the long-term goals of the many outreach initiatives of Project Plié are to see America’s ballet companies diversify and reflect the country’s multiculturalism to remain relevant, recognising that the demographics of the country are changing.

An American In Paris

An American in Paris (First Recording) Jean-Luc Choplin, the director of the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, has brought many American musicals to his Paris stage in recent years, with a focus on the work of Stephen Sondheim, in English with French subtitles. Recently it was announced that he is co-producing a new musical version of the Oscar-winning 1951 MGM movie An American in Paris, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin.

Châtelet has many links with Broadway: it presented Show Boat in 1929, two years after its Broadway premiere, and under Choplin, its presentations of American musicals have included West Side Story, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Carousel and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and Sweeney Todd. This season it is offering the return of My Fair Lady in December as well as new productions of Sondheim’s Into the Woods in April, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I in June.

An American in Paris will begin in winter 2014, with a planned move to Broadway in spring 2015. The director and choreographer is Christopher Wheeldon, making his Broadway directing debut. A former dancer with the New York City Ballet, Wheeldon has worked on full-length ballets and excelled at storytelling and developing characters in dance. He is to create a ballet sequence for the musical that is different from the movie’s famed version.

The film, which won six Academy Awards, including best picture, is set in post-World War II Paris. It starred Gene Kelly as a former GI seeking success as a painter, and Leslie Caron as the French girl with whom he falls in love. Dancers Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope have the workshop’s lead roles, but the parts for the Paris and New York runs have not been cast.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Dance Track

Birmingham Royal Ballet has recently celebrated the success of its Dance Track programme, which seeks out and nurtures dance talent from primary schools across the City of Birmingham. It enables primary school pupils to access ballet, opening Birmingham Royal Ballet’s doors to those who would not ordinarily be introduced to the art-form.

Over the 2013/14 academic year Dance Track has reached out to 31 schools across North and South Birmingham and delivered workshops to over 1,700 Year 1 pupils: three Dance Track students are to train full-time at Birmingham Royal Ballet’s associated school Elmhurst School for Dance from September, and one is to train at Young Dancers Academy in London. By participating in schools’ workshops, students’ confidence, communication skills and creativity is greatly enhanced. Dance Track continues to work with students who display a particular talent by preparing them for auditions for ballet schools.

In 2013/14 and over the course of the Dance Track audition process, Birmingham Royal Ballet visited 17 affiliated schools in the south of Birmingham and a further 14 affiliated schools in the north of the city and delivered workshops. From these students, 171 were invited to ‘final’ audition days held at Birmingham Royal Ballet studios. Following the finals, 41 students from the south were selected to start classes at Queensbridge School in Moseley and 30 students from the north started classes at The Lighthouse in Aston.

Some former students now train full time at ballet schools or study dance regularly with associate programmes as a result of previously recognised talent and passion shining through. Not only does Dance Track open participants’ eyes to ballet but also their families, teachers and friends, and the wider community involved. Arts Council England believes that great art should be accessible to everyone and Birmingham Royal Ballet is achieving that with the Dance Track programme.

Your Next Dance Steps

Next Dance Steps After years of dance study you’re enrolled on a dance programme! Your goal may to become a professional dancer, to teach or study dance further, so make sure you work hard and dedicate yourself to your studies.

Keep an open mind and be willing to try something new. Your teachers will come with years of higher education teaching experience in addition to their work as dancers and choreographers, and they will use those skills to challenge your perceptions: think about the body, technique, and even what dance is in a totally different way. Let yourself be pushed to becoming the best possible student you can be. There are lots of different ideas out there!

Make sure you take care of your body, and this can be challenging to ensure you stay healthy. If you’re using food services on campus, try to choose nutritious options whenever possible, or even better, teach yourself how to cook! Depending on your previous training, this may be the most dancing you’ve ever had to do, so now is not the time to deprive your body of the nutrition and fuel it needs to perform at a high level. Get enough sleep to avoid injury, illness and anxiety.

Remember all the different options available: a dance career requires years of hard work and your college experience may confirm your commitment to dance, or it may transform your dream in other ways. You might find an interest in choreography, stage production, writing, or even dance therapy. Explore lots of interests and be open to learning how dance can impact other areas of your life.

And don’t forget to plan for your future! It can be easy to forget that there is an outside world you’ll have to re-enter after you graduate. Your teachers may even be able recommend summer programmes or internships to help you meet your goals, and they might be able to connect you with professionals in the field.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

BalletBoyz at the Opera House

The BalletBoyz are set to make their debut appearance at the Royal Opera House from 16-27 September, dancing in the Linbury studio theatre. The company will present theTalent 2014 in a brand new triple bill at the Linbury as part of Deloitte Ignite 2014, the contemporary arts festival curated by the Royal Ballet and Minna Moore Ede of the National Gallery.

Former Royal Ballet dancers Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, co-founders and artistic directors of BalletBoyz will present works by Christopher Wheeldon (Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet), Kristen McNally (Royal Ballet Soloist) and Alexander Whitley (New Wave Associate artist at Sadler’s Wells). The triple bill is the company’s first chance to perform new work since their final performances of the award-winning double bill – Liam Scarlett’s ‘Serpent’ and Russell Maliphant’s ‘Fallen’ – at the Camden Roundhouse in July.

Mesmerics, by Christopher Wheeldon, is a piece created in 2004 for three men and two women. Wheeldon’s reworking has recreated the piece for eight of theTalent’s dancers. The old format, set to a score by Philip Glass, contained a lot of pointe work and traditional partnering. Wheeldon set about re-inventing it, working closely with Nunn and Trevitt.

Kristen McNally, Soloist with the Royal Ballet, has created Untitled. She is a fast rising choreographer and recently made the fresh, indie-ballet ‘Mad Women’ for New English Ballet Theatre at the Peacock Theatre. Nunn and Trevitt, along with Kevin O’Hare, are keen to encourage the development of new artists, including McNally. She has found new ways to work with boys and the result is highly anticipated.

The Murmuring by Alexander Whitley, in its well crafted and constantly moving structure, is relatively abstract in its nature. It is set to a low, distinctive and continuous sound, as murmurings is also the flight pattern of flocks of birds, particularly starlings.

Eyelash Heaven

Many professional dancers rely heavily on false eyelashes, however this may not be a luxury for every dancer. It is possible grow, maintain and curl your lashes quickly and easily for that dramatic wide-eyed look often only achieved by false lashes.

Nothing is more of an eye-opener than having long, thick, curled lashes. Beautiful lashes are a sign of health and as they are hair, they require good health and vitamins. Vitamin B can help increase hair growth and strength by eating foods such as cauliflower, salmon, bananas, carrots, egg yolks, sardines and mushrooms.

Curling lashes opens the eyes and makes lashes look longer. Position an eyelash curler as close to the roots of your lashes as possible without pinching your skin. Clamp gently, and hold in place for a few seconds. Move the curler a little farther out, and very lightly press again, and so on. Avoid curling them daily as this can stress lashes and don’t curl them with mascara on!

Use mascara to your advantage: hypoallergenic mascara is for sensitive eyes and this is especially helpful for contact lense wearers. Any mascara that can be irritating can also cause lashes to fall out. Remember waterproof mascara should be used just for the beach or pool, not for every day as this formula can be drying and difficult to remove, again causing stress to the lashes.

Use lengthening and volumizing mascaras to layer the formulas for longer and thicker lashes, and/or use a black, dark brown, navy or black eye liner in between the lashes and along the lash roots of the upper lashes to increase the illusion of thicker lashes at the base line. Remove mascara properly and brush your lashes with olive oil before bed to help lashes grow thicker.

The London Theatre Report

The recently finalised London Theatre Report, which has been described as the “most comprehensive” study that has ever been published on the size, number and location of theatres in the capital, includes a number of interesting findings. Unlike previous reports, it includes data from non-West End theatres and the fringe too.

Co-commissioned by the Society of London Theatre and the National Theatre, the report shows that in 2012/13, a total of £619 million was spent on theatre tickets by 22 million people in London – up from an estimated £609 million in 2011/12. The report also reveals that at any one time, London’s professional theatres are engaging 3,141 performers, with more than 6,600 people working full-time in offstage or backstage roles. Only 20% of performers are paid national minimum wage in the fringe sector, with around a third being paid nothing at all.

It is hoped the data from within London Theatre Report will be used to conduct meaningful conversations with arts policymakers, so the value of London theatre can be properly reflected, as well as becoming an annual publication. The report maps venues’ size, range and engagement, and considers the activity of all professional theatres across London.

There are 241 professional theatre spaces in London, with more than 110,000 seats. The largest space used for theatre is the Coliseum, with 2,359 seats, while the smallest professional theatre is the Lord Stanley pub in Camden, with 30 seats. Commercial theatre accounts for more than half of all capacity in London, with 56,000 seats in 59 venues. 12 of the largest London venues engage more than 900 performers, equating to almost a third of performers across the capital.

Richard Alston Dance Company’s Autumn 2014 Tour

This autumn acclaimed choreographer Richard Alston is reviving his classic piece Overdrive, exhilarating non-stop dance to the pulsating rhythms of Californian minimalist Terry Riley. The ten dancers of Richard Alston Dance Company will perform to Riley’s relentless musical patterning, in intricate movements and sounds.

Overdrive is one of 12 prescribed professional works for GCSE Dance on the AQA syllabus: Richard Alston Dance Company has produced a teacher’s resource pack to accompany this which can be downloaded from the beginning of the school autumn term at www.richardalstondance.com. Launched in 1994, Richard Alston Dance Company is one of the UK’s leading choreographer-led companies, for which its founder Artistic Director Richard Alston has created over 40 dance-works. Richard Alston is also Artistic Director of The Place, London’s leading centre for contemporary dance, where the company is based. The company focuses on Alston’s new choreography but combines this with the re-creation of past works from Alston’s career.

The company’s upcoming tour opens on 26 September with the world premiere of Martin Lawrance’s brand new commission from the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. This new dance is inspired by the passionately intense Dante Sonata of Franz Liszt, which will be played live by pianist Jason Ridgway. Lawrance is rapidly becoming known for his musically alert and inventive choreography, including last season’s immensely successful Madcap for Richard Alston Dance Company. Alongside Overdrive, the programme is completed by Alston’s most recent work Rejoice in the Lamb.

Another highpoint of the season will be the company’s return to Peak Performances, Montclair State University, New Jersey in that the company has been selected to celebrate Peak Performances’ tenth anniversary. An all-live music evening includes Rejoice in the Lamb, to the music of Benjamin Britten, sung live by Vocal Accord. This is only the third time it has been performed with a live choir. Also performed live will be Hölderlin Fragments, an intimate cycle of Britten songs for voice and piano, and Illuminations, Alston’s 1993 choreography of Britten’s masterpiece.

Xander Parish

Mariinsky Logo Xander Parish is the first and only British ballet dancer to have joined the Mariinsky Ballet: he was scouted and consequently taken to Russia in 2009 by Artistic Director Yuri Fateyev, due to his desire to work hard and push beyond his limits. As a former Royal Ballet dancer Xander has now had the opportunity to dance principal roles as a soloist, recently making his principal debut in Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake in London recently in the company’s tour to the UK.

As a British dancer, Xander trained at the Royal Ballet School and then joined the Royal Ballet. After five years he was invited to join the Mariinsky, with Fateyev impressed by his artistic potential. At the Mariinsky Xander now has more chance to perform as a soloist, as Russian ballet rank determines the number of shows danced. His work ethic also places him in good stead, as with many other dancers at the Mariinksy, welcoming invites to learn principal roles to expand their talent and learn new things about performing.

Being part of the Mariinsky Ballet means Xander has lots of opportunities to tour and also perform as a guest with other ballet companies. The level of opportunity at the company in Russia appears fantastic for any young dancer: in 2012, for example, Xander danced 11 principal, 35 soloist and 21 corps de ballet performances which included 9 debuts. Parish has since toured to Germany, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Italy and the United Arab Emirates with the Mariinsky Ballet, and Fateyev has given Xander many more exciting opportunities as a result of his desire to work hard and achieve.