Wednesday 12 December 2012

Judging a book by it's cover

The dance industry is a fickle environment. This is a fact. The dancer whom one day is the favourite for a job, could find themselves rejected and forgotten by the following week. The dancer who holds the technique most dancers would die for, can find themselves dismissed rapidly from an audition purely based on what she chose to wear that day. This is the way of it, and the way it will inevitably remain. 

This week has been a huge learning curve for me as a person, and as a professional of this industry. In the last few days, I have been spending some time helping the company I currently work to choose girls for casting for the next upcoming show contract. This involves hunting through hundreds of online applications from casting websites, and weighing up suitability based on the first few seconds of looking at their profile. In seconds, a girl can be put in the 'no pile' before a show reel is even seen! She might not have the right look, her first loaded photo might come out grainy, her hair colour may not suit, or similar issues. The experience has definately encouraged me to analyse my own professional profile and portfolio more carefully! 



On the flipside, I had a very humbling experience in correlation with this concept of 'judging a book by its cover' when teaching this week....

On Monday I taught my regular class of 'Baby Ballet' followed immediately by 'Body Flow' for older teenagers. As my ballet class was coming to an end, one of the Mums who had been watching approached me to ask whether she could join in with Body Flow. As the class is aimed at teenagers with some technique already established, I was somewhat hesitant. I am ashamed to say, that I assumed from appearance that she would struggle in the class. However, it is an open class and so I invited her to join us, reassuring her that I would help her if she got stuck in any of the exercises or choreography. 

After the warm up section of the class, I asked the group to go to the corner, so that we could work on the travelling turns we had already been working on in previous weeks. They all paired up, as usual, leaving my new member alone. I advised her to go last, and that if she found the turns too difficult, that I could step in and help her. She politely smiled, and joined the queue of giggling teenage girls. 
As it came to her turn, I stepped forward, ready to help her. The whole class, who had already completed the turns duo by duo, also stood by watching. And to everyone's surprise, this new member of the group proceeded to perform the most elegant, most controlled, and most technically correct turns I have seen since I began teaching here in Marrakech! 

This new dancer continued to demonstrate her beautiful technique and poise in everything from that point forward. Not only that, but this woman was in full Muslim covered dress. Instead of the usual leotard and tights combination, this dancer not only danced to her full and able ability, but did it all completely covered, including her hair and half of her face. I went home in awe, and entirely humbled by the entire experience. In its truest sense, a lesson in not judging a book by its cover. Or any dancer that you do not know. 

Perhaps those casting files are worth a second look now....

HV.
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Sunday 25 November 2012

When Does Dance Stop Being Dancing?

It's Sunday morning. It's early. I'm currently sitting on the roof of one of the Riads where I'm staying whilst my family are visiting. It's quiet at the moment aside from the prayer calls from the mosques, as we're in the Medina area. Perfect writing time!

Last night I performed at the show venue, Lotus Club, as usual. The only difference being that we spent the daytime yesterday doing a photo shoot of the show, which implicated performing each set several times for action shots, and so by the time of doing the real show, it felt rather strange! It really highlighted to me the importance of an audience presence, as it was an entirely different feeling performing to an almost empty room, compared with a booked out venue. The atmosphere of a full audience can be electric, and can also prove to be the make or break of any particular show. 




The idea of this concept has provoked quite a lot of thought for me, regarding how dance performance, particularly my own, can alter dependant on the setting. I have often felt that I dance for more to the best of my abilities when I am alone in a studio. Although I absolutely love to perform on a live stage, or in front of a camera (hence my current career path) I feel more true to myself when I am alone with music. 

A musician friend from our show said to me recently that he feels sometimes as if he is paid to be a performer, but that when he is alone, he is truly is himself as a musician and an artist. I feel I agree with him on some level. That is not to say that I am not being truthful on the stage, or that I am not being creative. I apply a huge amount of myself to my work, and make every effort when on a stage to connect my emotional and intellectual self to the shapes and moves I have been choreographed to perform. However, I never lose that sense of self consciousness, of my awareness of staging, of time limitations, of costume glitches - all the considerations that come with stepping on to a stage. 




Ultimately, I am paid to be there, to entertain a paying crowd for a company. But does this make the experience any less of an artistic one? At what point does private creativity and inspiration become lost in the hustle and bustle of a professional show? Would it be deemed as more artistic if it were an unpaid show piece, or if the audience hadn't paid to see it? 

I chose dance as my specific art form, after many years of experimentation. I played with photography, I toyed with ceramics, I sketched, I drew, I painted, I made a mess with pastels.......until I found dance. After intensive training, I am now a paid, employed dancer in a professional show in Marrakech. I have been trained in many techniques, and have the discipline of a dancer as a result. But am I still an artist?




I am happiest in life when I am learning, and when I am creating. The two often marry up in my life. For the benefit of my overall wellbeing, I am acutely aware that I must endeavour to balance and include these elements as much as possible for the benefit of my artistic development, in preparation for the creative challenges that Liberty's will present to me. 

Always dancing. 

H.
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Friday 2 November 2012

Teaching + Things


My first room. 

The first room I thought of when I originally came up with the first ideas of my centre, and what it could be. 

The dance studio. 

Hopefully, in an ideal world and with the right financial situation, I would like to think there would be several dance studio spaces within Liberty's. Numerous spaces for teaching, practice, and rehearsals to take place. But for now, these rooms still only exist in other people's centres. 

I have been lucky enough to have taught in a wide variety of settings and surroundings. Currently, I am teaching at 'Art Academy', in Marrakech, which I love! The brainchild of Mounia Dadi, a wonderful and well established dancer and artist in Marrakech, Art Academy is a space for dance classes as well as arts and music. It is one of a kind within the city, and has many qualities that I so hope Liberty's will be proud to hold in the future. Altogether, a very positive and creative space to be in. 


http://www.artacademy.ma

This week, I taught three classes at Art Academy. One of which was my regular class for teenagers - 'Body Flow' which is balletic/lyrical technique & choreo. I really love teaching this class - they are a lovely class, and very committed. It's proving to be somewhat of a challenge to explain and demonstrate on some occasions, as most don't speak English. However I have adapted to using as much French as I can manage, along with plenty of gesture and physical corrections!

I  am filming new class choreo every two weeks. I will post the YouTube link up on the 'Links' page of this blog - feel free to have a watch! For now, this weeks class is posted below.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYp4X7urMYk&feature=youtu.be


This week, I also had the pleasure of cover teaching two children's ballet classes. Both groups proved to be wonderfully behaved, despite the fact the first class were only aged between 4 and 5, the second of which being 6-10, and each class lasting an hour! 

Both groups found my sketchy use of French very entertaining! But they were wonderfully open, and amazingly quick at picking up the ballet exercises I taught them. In addition, both classes finished with lots of huge cuddles from them all, and lots of french exclamations of seeing me soon, as they skipped (I.S.T.D style!) out of the studio! No better feeling. 

In fact, it is this exact feeling, when I teach, that I cannot wait to develop and share within Liberty's. As you may be able to tell, I love to teach. But this is not enough for me. I want others to have this feeling of pure enjoyment, through teaching and learning. 

I have had some of the happiest and absolute worst times of my life in studios, learning how to dance. It is a process. A process which is unpredictable and unique to each dancer. This will be the founding philosophy of my dance studios - to treat every dancer as an individual, and for them to be appreciated and encouraged as such. With some beautiful big spaces, barres, and equipment thrown in!

Every dance studio I have taught in so far has taught me something or given me a new idea or perspective on what I would like my future studios to be like. I have taught in some pretty gritty places, as well as some very polished, brightly lit, beautiful places. But aesthetics are only one set of considerations. Considerations that I look forward to at some point in my future. 

For now, I want to keep teaching as I have done this week. To keep collecting up my ideas. I'm more than happy to do so!

Rooms of possibility...

HV. 
X

Tuesday 23 October 2012

New Front Doors


 
The heart of my centre.


This is a sentence I used today, when trying to describe my thoughts and plans for Liberty's. I realised it has a great deal of meaning. The heart of my future centre will inevitably be the actual heart of my own centre. My own centre of ideas, thoughts, plans, and inspiration. The very central concept of the project will be based upon foundations of my own experiences and interests.


The only problem is - how on Earth do I explain all of this, or begin to document my plans in a format that anyone might understand or relate to, within this blog? Even to make sense to myself?


And so, after many conversations with some very important people in the last few days, I have come up with an infrastructure for my writing.


I will write each entry based around an idea, or a specific room or studio of Liberty's. A front door to each idea. In this way, I will visit each room of my centre, and explore a story, experience, or idea of my own within each chapter. Think of it like an advent calendar! 



Hopefully, this will help me match up a future idea, with what is happening in my own, current life. The life that's happening right now!


Any ideas, feel free to contribute! All my ideas are ever changing - join in...

HV. 
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Saturday 20 October 2012

And so it begins...


Here begins my journey towards the dream that I have been working and walking towards without even knowing it yet, for all of my life. Following several rather significant life experiences, I have become extremely aware of myself and my true aspirations - I am now tunnel vision focused. 

'Liberty's - Centre for Wellness & Creativity'. 

I have my title. The name for the Centre I am now working towards opening. A studio centre, a centre for dance and arts, a centre for therapies, for counselling, and for so many other creative and holistic opportunities and facilities. All inspired by my own experiences. This is is where I'm headed, and where I'm coming from. 

But I am not ready quite yet! I cannot open Liberty's without a stronger base foundation of experience, education and several significant others. I am still yet to come across so many experiences, so many significant people, to be educated in so many areas. 

And so, here is my journey! Follow me! Come with me, follow my travels and experiences, read my stories and ideas. 

All of the connectors, that will eventually lead to the front door of my centre - wherever and whenever that might be.


HV. 
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