So I've been busy graduating, now I am a free lancer, the world is my oyster, standing on the shoulder of giants, the world is my stage, the world is at my feet. And all the other clishe's!

But with a 1st class degree in Contemporary dance, surely one of the most unemployable subject in the world, I'm kind of stuck for options and to be honest a little anxious about my future.

I'm in a lucky position where I have options to continue dancing with well known artists who I both like and admire.

But to be honest, I just dont feel like dancing at the moment, after 3 years hard slog, having to obey by the constraints set by the school, being so tired I barely remember half of my student life and trying to create a name for myself (I realize the irony of me being anonymous).

I feel kinda, wiped. This cant be case surely, having working so hard to be in the position I am now? Do I want to spend the rest of my life tired and saw? I'm happy to be part of other peoples artistic visions, but at some stage I would like to create my own as well.

Maybe that's what I feel like doing, doing what I want to do, create what I want to create!

...

Ah I have no money.

So After my early life crisis I've come to the conclusion that I'm young, only 21 in fact. There a lot to learn about the inner workings of companies and artists, the management side of things, the touring, the networking.

Then perhaps I'll be in a better position to create my own ideas, which by the way, I have many of!

So its a months holiday then back to the grill again. I'm sure in that time I'll be ready to dance again.

John Ashford (ex-Director of The Place theater) talking about British dance in Time Out.

John Ashford talking to Lyndsey Winship in Time Out

He's right, he's so right, righter than right, completely right. Oh my god.

Does make you wonder why he brings it up now once he's left his position? His position in which he was actually in power to change things? Maybe that's harsh, been around the Place for a few years now and there's been some very interesting stuff. Apart of course from the Place Prize which, oh my god, was awful. A final of not very good pieces, and the worst one won! (Who was on the panel again?)

Anyway at least there's someone in power with the balls to say something, even if it is over his shoulder as the door is shutting!

Farewell John Ashford!

Before I start, yes I am officially the worst/most irregular blogger in the world. Apologese, been very busy and actually working on a few interviews where I ask awkward questions to lovely people, watch this space.

Now then...teaching.

Its the done thing, every dancer says "have to teach at some point" or "I'm gonna dance for a few years then go into teaching" or "I need some money so have to bloody teach"

All I can say is poor students

hundreds maybe even thousands of students being taught by people who just do it because its the done thing, or want a regular income (which there is nothing wrong with).

But do these people have anything useful to teach? Or just doing it because, well, its teaching, its what dancers do.

In my experience the best teachers are the ones who either really really love what they do, and are a complete Adonis when it comes to their certain subject, or have an approach to their subject which is original and interesting and they want to show other people that it can be approached differently.

For example if your learning Cunningham, you know what your going to learn before you enter the studio, anyone can make up a Cunningham phrase and teach it with little to no passion or skill themselves.( God the tediousness of generic contemporary dance classes. )But if you have ex-rehearsal director of the company who is a goddess of the technique and really loves what she does, and wants to obliterate the perception that Cunningham is dull (that so many generations of generic teachers before her have battered into our heads...
)
Then dam Cunningham the most interesting subject in the world!

Or when it comes to floor work or release technique, you don't want a teacher to come in and do swings followed by generic phrases that the contemporary dance world has repelled young audiences by boring them to death with.

You want some one who has not only discovered a way of approaching their subject with an originality and individuality that only that person can bring into the studio. But have discovered an effective way of teaching/transferring their approach to the rest of the students.

I've experienced many a phenomenal dancer, fall over their words and reduced to trembling wrecks at the hands of 10 year olds. Just because someone is a good dancer, it most definitely doesn't mean that their a good teacher.

Dancers of the world, make this pledge with me if you would.

I (insert name) Pledge to the youth of the world, that I will try my up most not to teach (unless in complete financial hardship), until I have mastered and loved completely my chosen subject or have discovered my own special way of approaching my art, and found a way to teach it effectively. If I ever do teach swings of a generic Cunningham class, let my dance clothes become ridden with moth, and my bunions become so enormously large, that I'll never be able to set foot in a dance studio ever again.

It rolls off the tongue, the dancers Grottocratic oath.

What makes a good performer?

I don't know.

I recently watched a film that asked many different types of dancers, what makes the ultimate dancer? Everyone went straight to performance. There was a mixture of dancers, from commercial to contemporary and some pretty well known faces...

The commercial dancers went straight for the cliche's

Passion
Talent
Love
Determination
Simon Cowell

All responded through fake tan, eyeliner and glowing white teeth (think appearance has anything to do with it guys?!)

The contemporary dancers

Um,
er,
Technique? ('no shut up' from the background)
no?
well,
er,
creativity?
Contacts?
hhmm,
Space?

No one knows.

But this is the point!!

This is why someone is interesting to watch, is a special performer. Its nothing to do with flexibility, technique, strength. I mean don't get me wrong these things help a lot.

In the video one of our lecturers, Rick Nodine (massive name drop, I hate doing those, but i guess he deserves the credit!) mentioned something about the mystery of a performer.

That's it! That's the point!

When someone can stand out from a crowd in a unison section, can stand still and still hold your attention, can do anything and still look pretty damn good.

It's the fact that its a complete mystery why! No one knows and can put there finger on it, it's just there and everyone knows it is but no one knows what it is.

This mysterious stage presence wish I could help in terms of how to achieve it but, I think it comes down to being very very comfortable with everything.

There I solved it.

Be comfortably mysterious.

Repertoire...

I've always thought that learning rep for dancers is like reading a script for actors.

Its something already made, with clear parameters. Some authors allow artistic interpretation but I think its fair to say that most don't.

Repertoire, is quite a conservative word.

Well it has to be! In order to learn it the piece/script must have already been shown/read, to some critical acclaim (otherwise, why do it again?). With either a video or someone who's already experienced it for teaching purposes. So its probably been around a while.

However when performing actors have an advantage we dancers do not. I'm not in anyway undermining the talent/skill of an actor but actors spend a long time training to perform something that is not happening.

When a script is read, its not actually happening on stage. They are not in a living room or on the street or in 18th century Russia. Their skill is making us believe that what their saying is happening, right now, in front of us (when in actual fact its not). Which I guess leaves room for interpretation. Depending on the strictness of the director can be interpreted through set,movement,voice etc

As dancers we dont have this luxury of interpretation. Because what we're doing is happening, right now, in the moment, with our body's. We cant change the rep, change the setting, the way the movement is done, the music or mood of scene...because then it would not be rep. Although dance evolved from pedestrian movements its now very much a theater based art. Some dance tries to comment on real life but struggles because of the very nature of dance...

Its an exaggeration of everyday movement, it wouldn't actually happen like this in real life. Dance never had its realism faze like acting did. We can't try and replicate real life through dance, that's how musicales happen, and no one wants that

So I guess rep is the closest we get to realism, to try and make it seem like the performance is as real and close as in can be to the original.

Bellyflop is a soon to be published (I think) arts magazine that is based a lot on user/public orientated content. So I guess if anyone has any interesting photography/stories/reviews/sounds its a mag by people for people, which makes sense, I think. Its just started out, and its nice to help, I think.

BellyFlop

For using youtube, tried many-a-time to upload this video to vimeo but it didn't seem to like it very much.

Enjoy, click on HQ to get better quality...not high quality but better quality.

OOHHHH its purple.

I've been performing a lot recently, almost daily in fact, in many different kinds of work. Hence why my entries have begun to slow a bit.

Anyway I would write about my experiences of performing at different venues with a variety of pieces, but it would be long, boring, and only relevant to me so no one would read it. So here are some similes to describe what I think performing the same pieces repeatedly is like.

1st Show: Like a meal you've been slaving over for a very long time, put your heart and soul into it...and your staving...A lot of anticipation, some times it lives up to your anticipation and sometimes it doesn't. However, its whoever eats the food is what the chef judges them self on!

2nd Show: So you made a little too much of your meal and you have to eat the same thing twice in a row. You have already experienced it so the anticipation and excitement have gone. We start putting other random ingredients in to make it taste different, little more salt, bit of cheese...Tabasco maybe, so it never tastes quite like the 1st time.

3rd Show: Either your tired of eating the same thing and it dramatically affects your experience of it, or you've found extra ingredients which actually work very well with the original recipe, in which case your laughing all the way to receive your compliments from the fat people who ate everything.

4th/5th Meh, you've gotta make food to survive,

I haven't had dinner yet...

Back by popular demand. Grotto Presents 'The Tate Modern Turbine Hall Improvisation Jam 09' on Saturday the 27th of June at 1pm, Turbine Hall Tate Modern

The last time was a complete success, for all of you who couldn't make it, we managed to get a good 60/70 people improvising in the turbine hall...

But it wasn't enough, still think we can fit more in! Especially as its more than likely that they wont be doing anything of use in the space anyway. It'll start at 1pm sharp, a designated group will start flocking to signal the start. It'll begin with a technique called flocking to bring everyone together (e-mail or go to facebook group if you don't know flocking)...then just go nuts.

Come one, Come all and bring a friend.

Lets take it over!

For more info you can e-mail someone @ [email protected]

Or if your a bit more normal check out the event/group on facebook for all the info. Group and Event

I do think of myself slightly lower now for advertising on a blog, apologese

I'm going to write some short entries on performance ideas, this is the first.

After watching people perform and then meeting them after, I often visualized their personality off stage, very different to how they actually are off stage. Then I ask myself, is this because there a good performer? or a bad one?

I'd like to think the person I see on stage is the same person you see in the pub, on the tube or looking desperately nihilistic in technique class. (Happens to the best)

I think being in "performance mode" shouldn't mean having separating our "normal" self from our "performance self". There's a large amount of performance done offstage, fashion for example could be seen as a performance, personality, music, anything could be a performance. So why cant we transfer this part of our self on "stage" without feeling the need to become someone else?

I have a theory (bare with me comments!).

I find the most naturalistic performers the most interesting/intriguing to watch, I think because when we stay natural on stage we are still communicating through none-verbal communication all of the time (posture, head position, focus etc). If we block off these basic human communications to "perform", the performer becomes just a body, just a tool with no intention behind them, which is fine for some people, but for me this dehumanization of performers is horrible to watch. Its just plain...not real, and very obviously so, because there not communicating with me on any meaningful level. We're all experts in NVC, you cant teach it, but you can feel it as a performer/audience member.

Being expressive is being very natural. This I think is one of the differences between modern and post-modern dance. A conscious decision by the choreographer or performer to include or ignore this element of performance.

It seems to me really good performers are either very good at hiding these signs...or very good at showing them. But we're not actors, so I'm always skeptical about hiding them.

It can be a bad thing too, transferring our off stage self to our on stage self.

For example, trying to be natural to myself when performing is hard when I'm asked to be angry/violent...I'm not an angry or violent person? So...

I dunno. Faking time I guess.