Rambert Intensive: Day 5|Dreams That Glitter

Final day!!

We started with contemporary with Kate again this morning; it was nice to have her back, all the phrases came flooding back…kind of!! We did all the phrases we’d learnt with her on the right and left in smaller groups once we’d done some warm up exercises. Trying to get energy out of us was proving to be a bit tricky by this point of the week… but once we warmed up we got back into it I think! We then learnt another new phrase and did a mini task – to take 12 movements from anything we’d done in her classes over the week and put them together to make our own phrases in groups of 2 or 3 which we then performed to each other. Fantastic way to start the day!

After our break we had rehearsals for the sharing that was this afternoon. We had half an hour on each – both pieces of repertoire and then choreography. We recapped and cleaned everything and set formations and ran everything start to finish with a few minor changes here and there. Estela changed a bit of the piece so that I didn’t have to do the section that hurt my foot yesterday, even though it felt a lot better today she said it was better not to take the risk which was the best idea.

At lunch there was a few nerves going around in preparation for the sharing, I went over to the National Theatre area to meet my friend Willa who I met at Bluewater 2 years ago (!!) and it was so great to see her! Even if I was extremely gross and sweaty! It was again finding the challenge of eating enough to fill my stomach without feeling like I would throw up when I starting moving again, I think I’ve just about got the hang of it! Plenty of smaller snacks throughout the day works much better than trying to eat a ‘meal’ with only 1 hour off dancing.

So before the sharing began we had about half an hour to do some final preparations do everything one more time. We performed The Strange Charm of Mother Nature rep first, then Terra Incognita, and finally our choreography piece which has a really happy, chilled vibe and is just really about enjoying ourselves, the music was quite upbeat and fun as well, I certainly enjoyed it (I hope that came across). I wasn’t really nervous at all as it didn’t feel like a ‘show’ as such, it was just sharing what we’d been working on over the week and considering we’d achieved all of that in just a few days was enough of an accomplishment, it didn’t need to be perfect.

We then had the opportunity to watch the Advanced group’s work, which was absolutely amazing. I will have to try and look up which pieces they studied because I really liked the phrases they did, and they seemed to have put a lot more together than we did I think! There were a lot of dancers who were either in the middle of their training or had dance degrees etc in that group so the standard was pretty high, they all did really well. *claps*

So that’s it!! The week has gone so quickly and I think I’ve just got used to the routines of everything and settled in, I think today everyone started talking to each other a lot more and seemed more relaxed and like we knew each other. I didn’t even ache that much today! I could definitely get used to doing that all the time! And I definitely want to do more Rambert Intensives.

Tomorrow I think I’ll do a general review post of the whole course and everything I’ve learnt!

Review: Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man|Dreams That Glitter

The Car Man – Matthew Bourne – New Adventures – Sadlers Wells – 2nd August 2015

Cast List

Last Sunday I went to see Matthew Bourne’s production of The Car Man at Sadler’s Wells. I went with a friend and we got the tickets fairly last minute, we took a bit of a risk opting for the cheapest seats going, but I have to say first of all I was very impressed with our view from the back of the second circle! So basically, don’t be put off by going to theatre because you can’t afford £50 tickets. 😉

Inspiration for The Car Man came from Bizet’s Carmen and the 40s film The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Matthew Bourne has a reputation for producing insanely creative, imaginative works from classic pieces; others include Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker. The main themes of the show are lust, passion and revenge, all of which are associated with the original story of Carmen, however Bourne’s production is different and refreshing.

The show debuted in 2000, was revived in 2007 and has now returned for its third run.

I’m not going to lie, I’d never heard of the show before but when I saw the trailer a few months ago I knew I wanted to see it.

Not being at all familiar with the story line of Carmen and knowing basically nothing about The Car Man other than recognising some of the music (which I absolutely love, by the way), I have to say I found the first act a little difficult to follow, I think this also had to do with the fact that it wasn’t always 100% clear who the characters were due to being so far away from the stage. After quickly googling a synopsis in the interval it all made a bit more sense and the second act was easier to follow the plot.

The dance style was very different to what you’ve seen in Nutcracker and Swan Lake, it had much more of a contemporary feel with less emphasis on traditional ballet as some of his other works, this suited the score and the themes of the show. I think not being constrained to a classical ballet work as he has been before gave him more freedom with the choreography and ability to add in more flavours and styles rather than sticking to tradition (not that I’d call Bourne’s production of Swan Lake exactly traditional – but you know what I mean).

The set design and general vibe of the performance almost reminded me of West Side Story, I think that comes from it also being set in 1960s America.

The show was able to take the audience through a range of emotions from the powerful, masculine opening to a tender, elegant prison solo in the second Act by Angelo, one of the highlights of the show for me definitely. I was also impressed by the sensual, erotic dances that featured throughout – everything that unfolded on stage was exciting and thrilling from sex to violence and murder.

The show was recorded last week and has been aired on Sky Arts, a repeat is being shown tomorrow at 2pm I think if you happen to be able to catch it! There’s also two more days of shows remaining so if you can get tickets I totally recommend it.

You can find the trailer and more reviews on the Sadler’s Wells website here: http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2015/matthew-bournes-the-car-man/

CAT Scheme Experience|Dreams That Glitter

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know I had my first CAT audition in 2013, for the London CAT scheme. That, of course was unsuccessful and I then auditioned for the Hertfordshire Satellite CAT Scheme in November 2013, which was another unsuccessful occasion… from that audition though, I was invited to attend Propagator Youth Dance Company at Hot House Dance, which I did for about a year and my technique improved pretty quickly, boosting my confidence as the weeks went by.

I auditioned for the London CAT Scheme again last year, and ended up with yet another rejection. However, I continued my training at Hot House Dance every week as well as my ballet classes and hours of dance at school. The Hertfordshire CAT audition came around again pretty quickly and I eventually decided to go for it again with a considerable amount of persuasion… and I was accepted! As of Saturday 1^st August 2015, I have completed the Hertfordshire CAT Satellite Scheme. I auditioned in December last year and attended weekly technique classes/rehearsals since January, and we had our last official rehearsal as a group on Thursday.

I’d like to begin my addressing the fact that the Satellite courses seemed to be looked down on and not as worthy, but I’d just like to share my experiences from the course and why I think they should be treated as equal achievements…

Over the duration of the course, I’d say without a doubt my contemporary technique has improved massively and my understanding of the technique has developed significantly. I would definitely recommend the course to any budding dancers! I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the course and have seen improvements not just in my general technique but other specific areas such as fitness, flexibility, ability to pick up and learn new phrases efficiently, self esteem/confidence and creativity. I think the course has definitely influenced my decision and desire to want to continue dancing and want to apply for vocational training.

On Saturday we had our final performance at the CAT Summer Show at The Place in London, aka the home of contemporary dance in the UK. We were one of the few CAT Satellite schemes that there are based around the country and performed alongside the London CAT scheme who performed pieces choreographed by various choreographers that they had the chance to work with. We rehearsed all day and had two separate performances, at which there were supposedly a few VIPs… It was a wonderful opportunity to perform in such a prestigious location!

Bolero – 30 Years On |Dreams That Glitter

Just a couple of hours ago Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean performed the world famous Bolero routine to celebrate the 30th anniversary of what won them gold at the Winter Olympics in 1984. They arrived in Sarajevo yesterday and performed at a gala tonight, recreating the magic that they initiated 30 years ago.

I managed to catch about 10 seconds of the video on a rather low quality livestream but here’s a video of the whole routine which you can watch over to your hearts content should you wish. They were absolutely breathtaking as always, it was a beautiful rendition of the routine and probably the last we’ll see. Despite what many news articles have said, Jayne and Chris have said themselves that they are not retiring and will continue to work together, they apparently have a few projects planned already. They will perform Bolero on Dancing On Ice like they have done for the past 8 years, and then on tour which I cannot wait to see. It’s a true honor to see it all come together in front of your very eyes, which is something I’m sure people felt today in Sarajevo.

It’s been a very Torvill and Dean orientated day for us fans, there’s been numerous interviews which have all been great to hear. There was even some radio coverage when the pair were reunited by the famous flower girl that was clearing the ice before they began their routine, and that was very sweet to hear. Hearing them talk about how emotional Bolero is for them and how much of an amazing experience it has been is wonderful, but it makes your mind wonder to what it feels like to be in their position. Imagine, lying on the ice at the end of the iconic routine, looking into each other’s eyes on their knees at the beginning, the feeling of knowing that you’ve done something so amazing that has inspired thousands of people.

Group Contemporary Dance – Two Pieces |Dreams That Glitter

Had quite a productive day today… Me and Maisie spent just under 4 hours in the studio finishing our piece for a Christmas dance show in December and here’s the results… it still needs a bit of polishing up but we got it done and I’m quite pleased with it! Let me know what you think! X

It’s a Dance Life |Dreams That Glitter

 

Happy Friday everyone!

Thought I’d post a little update on everything dance related I’m doing at the moment. I’d like to start off by saying I don’t think I could be doing much more dance if I tried right now, the amount of choreography in my head is insane, I’m afraid it might explode if much more has to go in there. I’m doing dance on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and some Saturdays extra practice… That includes three different dance clubs at school including dance company which I think I like the most. We’ve pretty much finished our first piece for the show in December based on The Matrix. That’s another thing, I’m currently working towards three different shows at the moment too…There’s the one at school that has a movie theme, which I’m in like half of because of all the clubs I’m doing…

I went to sixth form opportunities evening last night because we have to submit our provisional choices forms so they can make the timetable (I’m going to sixth form at the school I’m at already). Beforehand I knew I was definitely going to take Dance but I went into the department anyway even though I had no questions, and my dance teacher saw me and was like ‘Lauren, I have a question for you!’  and she asked me to do a solo for the christmas show and after a bit of persuasion I agreed, so that’s something else I have to choreograph. It can be anything, but it has to be to a song from a movie. So far my best suggestions seem to be Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Flashdance, but if anyone would like to suggest something else that’s not The Matrix, James Bond or Jai Ho, I’d very much like some more options! 

Then there’s another show which I’m doing and did last year because I’m helping my friend choreograph a contemporary piece for the street dance club which is all good fun. We taught the chorus of the song ‘Two Pieces’ by Demi Lovato last week and it seemed to go down pretty well, and hopefully we’ll have it all choreographed and taught and perfected in time (we haven’t actually finished choreographing yet). 

Finally there’s ballet, but that show isn’t until February so I don’t need to stress about that just yet. I have trouble remembering the choreography for a whole week though so… I’m in two dances at the moment but I think that’s going to go up because I’m in some of the highest level, and the fact we’ve already finished a dance in October, I doubt that’s all we’re going to be doing until February. I’m quite anxious to see whether a pointe dance gets put in, we’ve been doing pointe over a year now… 

This week I had my GCSE set study ‘Find It’ mock exam, and got a B (23-4/30) which I’m okay with but I’m hoping to bump it up to an A for the final exam which I have next Tuesday. I have a video recording of the mock, so I’m tempted to post it on here and see if anyone can give me some constructive criticism to help me improve for next week 🙂 

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I’m going to be quite busy, I’m off to London tomorrow to meet up with some friends and then on Sunday I’m going to an Armageddon fitness event with my mum, which includes me doing about 6 hours exercise and then struggling to walk for the rest of the week. Fun! Somewhere in there I have to make time for art, science and textiles homework as well as learning a 300 word spanish piece for my writing exam on Tuesday… There’s not enough hours in the day!

X

Dance is painful! My bruises from ‘Find It’

Dancing With The Stars |Dreams That Glitter

Can I please draw your attention to this incredible woman? This is Amber Riley, best known for playing Mercedes Jones on Glee. She’s currently a contestant in the american reality show ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and doing such an amazing job! I was so excited when I found out she’d be on this show, because Strictly Come Dancing is one of my favourite tv shows and since this is just the american version I was over the moon. It combines two of my favourite things, Glee and dancing. I had a feeling Amber was going to be good on here because of all the choreography they do on Glee, but that has nothing on this choreography. This is her first performance, a cha cha cha to ‘Wings’ which I think is her best so far although the show is now on week three. She completely smashed this performance! I really hope she goes far and I think she will!

You can vote for her online here ~ http://vote-e.abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/vote/season-17

CAT Auditions|Dreams That Glitter

So although this all happened a few months ago, I wanted to keep a record of it here anyways because I feel that it’s relevant to my dance ‘journey’ if you will. Of course it would have been better if I’d written about it back in February/April when it actually happened, but hey ho. Basically, if you don’t know already the National Dance CATs deliver accessible, non-residential, professional training programmes for young people aged 10 to 18 years who demonstrate exceptional potential in dance. The ‘exceptional potential’ part of that sentence I find really intimidating… I found out about the dance CATs on tumblr while scrolling through the dancer tag, and I went on the website (http://www.nationaldancecats.co.uk/) to find out more. The programme is funded by the government depending on your personal financial situation, and how much you pay towards the course depends on what your household income is. I found out that I would qualify for a full grant, and looked into auditions etc.

There was a taster day during February half term, which I told my mum about and she was surprisingly supportive of it and decided it would be a good experience to go and find out what it was all about, and make a decision whether I wanted to audition for the programme or not.

When we got there, after signing in we were led to the lecture theatre and sat through a presentation which gave all the information you needed to know, most of which I’d already found out online, and a chance to ask any questions. We then had a tour of the building (The Place in London). Then there was a two hour contemporary/ballet/creative class which I was a bit nervous about but it wasn’t so hard that I couldn’t do any of it, which was what I was worried about. It was challenging but a really good experience.

I went back to school and told my dance teacher about it, and she knew what it was, and was keen for me to audition for it, and told me to keep her posted on it. I had to submit a second application to The Place for the audition, and I heard back quite quickly saying the audition would be on 3^rd April. There was somewhere between 30-40 girls in the same audition as me, and there was three different dates, and three different auditions on each day, so there was a lot of competition, and there was very few places available. So I wasn’t getting my hopes up too high. Everyone was about 14-15 years old, give or take a year. It was the same process as the taster day, ballet technique class, contemporary where we were taught some repertoire, and then some creative work where we had to make up our own phrase and perform it in groups a few times so they could get a good look at everyone. There was about five different people watching so it felt a bit intimidating, but the main thing was to look as confident as possible even if you were freaking out on the inside. Nobody really spoke to each other when we had a chance to talk and a break, there was just this awkward silence because we all knew we were competing for places against each other. I came out feeling relatively positive, there’s always room for improvement but I didn’t feel like it had gone desperately bad. After that all I could do was wait, and it seemed like an age before I found out anything.

I got a letter back from them on the 2^nd May, which considering we were told 6-8 weeks to wait, was pretty quick I guess. I didn’t get the place (which you probably gathered or I’d have posted about it before now), and the letter went on about how they thought I showed potential and should definitely carry on with what I’m doing, but I apparently wasn’t ready for the scheme. I also got told to build more confidence and performance experience.  I wasn’t really expecting to get the place, even though there was that slight glimmer of hope that I might, but it was my first audition for anything, so I’m not too disappointed. The annoying thing is that there’s nothing really around this area for me to do other than where I’m dancing now, and I guess to look out for the odd audition, and although its super easy to get to London from here, it can be pricey so… I’m not sure. But I’m glad I went to the audition and tried anyway, because it was a good experience and I learnt a lot from it either way.