I have an imaginary friend - she's sometimes known as "competition"

I have recently been taking open ballet and contemporary classes at Dance North. Adding to my extra-curricular activities during the working week I'm afraid it's beginning to appear vaguely similar to a "school week", I'm already referring to Sunday nights as "school night". But I digress...

I think it's wonderful when professional dance companies offer something to their communities in the way of workshops, public forums or open days. Not only does it give a chance for dance enthusiasts to interact with a professional company but it also opens the company up to members of the general public. The Australian Ballet for example, offers a vast array of "education programs" which range from post-matinée information sessions to tours of their production department, to even week long intensive vacation schools for budding ballet students. Dance North, like the Sydney Dance Company offer open and beginner dance classes of varying styles to the public at very affordable rates, on their company's premises often utilizing company dancers as teachers. Whilst classes do not run throughout the entire year, rather they are offered in "blocks" of approximately 4-5 weeks in duration. I was asked to check out a class by a friend of mine and so rather excitedly I trotted along to my first beginner's contemporary class about three weeks ago! After thoroughly enjoying myself (and I think going with a friend for the first time is a very good idea - sharing that experience makes it all the more enjoyable) I have continued to turn up to contemporary and even their open ballet classes. 

Dancing has always had a dramatic effect in my life, whether it be from experiencing intense emotions on stage or battling it out in the studio rehearsing - whenever I have put on those canvas ballet shoes it's almost like I get an unconscious electrifying feeling. 

With that.... it becomes animalistic. So much so it's primal as I completely become overwhelmed by the id (quite Freudian really)....

In so many words, I become incredibly competitive.

I don't know where it comes from? Maybe we are all born with differing levels of competitiveness because I know for a fact that my level can sometimes reach astronomical proportions dependent upon what the catalyst is. Dancing for me has always had an element of competition. It did not have to be competition against other dancers, safe to say the older I have gotten, the more I tend to compete with myself (as opposed with others - more often than not, I get bored of competing with others). However, there is always one person, or there will always be a situation where suddenly my competitive radar hits into overdrive and suddenly all bets are off (all I want to do is be the better dancer). Sounds primal does it not?? (If we were all cavemen I would be the most ruthless cave woman around). In terms of work ethic this attitude has always benefited me as I would stop at nothing to achieve what I considered to be acceptable. So that meant working hard - very very hard.

If that meant jumping higher than the other person, so be it; if that meant holding my leg up higher and for longer, so be it; if that meant being the last one to recover from a balance, so be it; if it meant I had to be the most flexible, so be it; if it meant I had to be the sweatiest most worn out rung out dancer by the end of class - then so be it. 

What has this got to do with taking casual classes at Dance North you might wonder?

That spark of competitiveness (my imaginary friend) suddenly flared up just over a week ago....

And suddenly I've turned into this green competitive monster in the studio that has to "get" the exercises before everyone else does, that has to have the cleanest technique, that has to have the highest jump (or at least strive to because there are some very very tall people in my class and how can you compete with aesthetics?). 

Do you think prolonged exposure to competitive-monster will render a human being into something troll-like in resemblance? Gosh I hope not because that will not do me any favours if I want to look good in a tutu...

In short, whilst competition is healthy....it can also be unhealthy and I guess its down to the individual's capacity to manage that and not lose a grip on reality!!!! So yes, I will feed off this intoxicating elixir called "competition" but will endeavour not to overdose and become completely irrational.

I will keep you posted on my progress...

Any green-monsters in this ballet corps? They must all have their imaginary friend's  under "control"...

First Look

Here is some footage from Graeme Murphy's  upcoming reinvention of "Romeo & Juliet" created on the dancers of the Australian Ballet.

Enjoy! 

A little bit of Sunday sweetness...

"Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me."

~ Audrey Hepburn

Rebel or Revolutionary?

Below is an excerpt from a recent interview with Sylvie Guillem and I chose this excerpt because it highlights one of the main reasons why I have loved and favoured this ballerina above all others (and still do). There is no one out there that thinks quite like her. Her intelligence is what fascinates me - equal to her dancing. The ballet world largely labelled Ms. Guillem at the height of her ballet career "Mademoiselle Non" and as a result branded her the rebel of the ballet world. What is interesting however, is the differing in perception and Ms. Guillem makes a strong point below regarding what constitutes a rebel. To her, she was following her own individual path - therefore forging ahead like a revolutionary and I believe that is rightly so.

Why do you think society so readily applies the term rebel to people who do their own thing?

It’s a very easy sticker to put on someone. In the field I was involved in when I was young the discipline is so hard and there is a kind of a code, and everything has its role inside the box, but to be able to follow that and to be happy within those constraints – those rules – you need to be driven by your dream. I was never driven by a dream. I was never driven by being a ballerina and that gave me a wider opportunity of choices. The Paris Opera Ballet became an open door for me – it was not an arrival point, it was the departure point. The rules that were ruling that system were not for me – what was important to me was that I was experimenting. I had a strong instinct, and was kind of animal in my reaction when someone was telling me: ‘You have to do that!’ If for me it was not relevant or had no purpose I was like, ‘No. I’m sorry. If you want me to do that only then take someone else because I won’t be happy.’ It was already the start of me making a choice. That’s when I started to have problems because a dancer is usually a quite disciplined person and when you ask her to do something she does it. But  I realised very early that I did not have a lot of time and I didn’t want to lose time doing things that didn’t matter to me. That’s why I started to say no to things, and for the classically minded people it’s not the way to do things – so, to them you are a rebel.






Credit:
Interview conducted by John-Paul Pryor (Arts & Culture Editor at Dazed Digital and writes for Dazed & Confused, TANK, AnOther and The Quietus)

10 Questions ~

...with Danielle Rowe
                          First Soloist, Houston Ballet

I was very privileged to be given the opportunity to quiz Australian ballerina, Danielle Rowe on her career and life abroad following her leap from the Australian Ballet Company to the acclaimed Houston Ballet in the US! 

Ms Rowe flew up the ranks garnering much acclaim for her performances in Australia and early this year she made the leap abroad to join the Houston Ballet as a First Soloist.

~~~

Why ballet? 
I don’t really remember a time when ballet has not been part of my life. I began dancing at the age of four and I have never stopped! Ballet quite simply makes me happy. I am at my most comfortable when I am in the rehearsal studio or performing on stage. I feel like ballet was what I was destined to do.


Who was your inspiration when you were a student and is that person still an inspiration to you as a professional?
I was drawn to any dancer who performed with honesty and intelligence and I still am. Possibly my favourite dancer was Darcey Bussell. I loved her length and athleticism but also her ability to portray a range of characters. I will continue to be inspired by the elegant way in which she conducted her career.


As with many young dancers pursuing a career in dance you had to move away from home at a young age to study at the Australian Ballet School - what was it like being so far away from home?
I was fifteen when I moved from Adelaide to Melbourne to join the Australian Ballet School. I was a very driven young girl and honestly all I thought about at that age was ballet! At the time, it was harder for my mum than it was for me. She hated that I was away from her but she knew I was doing something that I loved and she always supported me 100%. It was not until I was a little older that I started to miss the comforts of home and being “looked after”.

What aspects of being at "ballet school" has helped you in your career as a professional ballerina now?
The training at the Australian Ballet School was rigorous and all consuming. I grew up very quickly and learnt how to focus and discipline myself from a young age. My technique, strength and tenacity are products of the training I was fortunate enough to receive at the ballet school. The relentless pursuit of perfection is also an aspect of my training that I have carried with me into my professional career.

What motivates you first thing in the morning?
A big cup of coffee and my dog (Murray) licking me on the face because he wants his morning walk!


When and how did you know it was time to move on from the Australian Ballet and spread your wings abroad?
I had the opportunity to guest with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company in 2009 for three months. This experience ignited a desire in me to work in a new environment around new choreographers and dancers. I was not unhappy at the Australian Ballet and I believe that the dancers there are some of the most talented in the world. I just knew that I wanted my career to be sprinkled with challenges and inspiration, and I felt that moving to America would encourage that.


Why did you choose the Houston Ballet (or was it Houston Ballet choosing you)?
I knew that I wanted to dance in America and Houston Ballet has a great reputation in the ballet world. I was also drawn to Houston Ballet’s diverse and exciting repertoire. The company performs a lot of traditional full length ballets but also works with some of the world’s most exciting choreographers.


Does having a strong Australian connection (through Stanton Welch as AD) at the Houston Ballet help with being so far away from home?
Houston Ballet’s strong Australian connection has made the transition easier but it was the warm welcome I received from all the dancers that made the move really easy. There are a lot of international dancers in the company so they understand what a big transition moving to a new country is. I’m also fortunate to have my partner Luke Ingham with me so if I ever feel home sick, an Australian accent is never far away!


Is there much difference between the Australian and Houston Ballet in terms of a company's "daily routine" (schedule)?
There is not a huge difference in the daily schedule however the company’s performance schedule is completely different. Houston Ballet only does 6-8 performances of one ballet and then quickly moves on to the next ballet. Where as the Australian Ballet sometimes performs a ballet up to 21 times before moving on to the next ballet.


Can you get Vegemite in Houston?
Yes, I believe you can. I did bring a stash of Vegemite with me though, so I haven’t had to buy any yet!

Mass

Townsville needs to get off their arse and get to Dance North. Tonight I was spoiled with athleticism, emotion, drive, pure grit, steely strength and a visual spectacle that was coupled with such incredible audio accompaniment  that I felt not bombarded but engrossed with this piece of theatre. I say theatre because what Dance North presented to me tonight was not just dancing and not just story telling, but a mix of digital art and imagery infused with the talents of these masters of dance. 

Raewyn Hill, Artistic Director of this North Queensland based contemporary company created "Mass" and attributed the theme of the piece to a variety of personal experiences and interests spanning from surrealist art to social observation. Behind "Mass" was the exploration of the notion of what a shared experience can do to a group of people.

As someone whom tends to lean towards the more traditional of art forms, I ventured out of my comfort zone to experience what this company had to offer - and did I get an experience. I have never seen such brute force and power. Five dancers threw themselves over a stage covered in turf and scaled walls like they were spidermen. It was incredible. Everyone will take away something different from a performance and everyone will take away a different opinion or appreciation of a performance. For me, I think I spent more time completely enamoured in these dancers superhuman qualities than I did pondering the theme behind the piece. Yes, I appreciated the concepts of conformity, power and the interplay between the sexes. But what I appreciated the most was the dancers themselves. They were graceful and touching but also forceful, powerful and almost godlike with their strength. Their emotional depth also must be commended. 

The opening of the piece was excellent - immediately my attention was caught when five bodies moved in sync to the rumbling of the music. Brilliant. I enjoyed every second of this piece, but there were particular moments which punctuated the piece for me and they included the tongue-in-cheek dance performed by Jeremy Poi, Cook-island born dancer whom paraded himself across the stage with almost a "posse" of female admirers behind him, they were like groupies and he was the rockstar- he was truly magnificent but also graceful; Jessica Jefferies' "body builder" moment where she emulated movements of a body builder on show whilst spraying herself with black paint was both exhilarating and provoking; the touching solo of Nicola Leahey at the end - her movements were fluid and strikingly beautiful and finally the conclusion to the piece where the digital artwork of many letters and words formed ripples across each dancer's body as they lay on the stage. Nevertheless, the entire piece was thoroughly enjoyable and tonight I was challenged - which as an audience member I thrive on. 

It pains me that the auditorium was not packed tonight - how so many locals are missing out on this talent. Dance is accessible to people and I believe it is something that should be appreciated more. I do hope that more local audiences come to see not just what amazing talent inhabits this town, but to appreciate the efforts  behind this company. The dancers are of such a high calibre and their leader must be commended for the inspiration that she delivers. In addition, Rehearsal Director Bradley Chatfield, ex-Sydney Dance Company dancer must also be recognised for his devotion to the ongoing pursuit of artistry as he is also a driving force behind nurturing and fostering new talent. This dance company is an amazing team and I wish there were more people out there that could appreciate them as much as I did tonight. I look forward to seeing more of Dance North.

See the trailer...