August 2022 - Dance Gazette

As we age, all generations seem to reflect that things were different in their youth. Indeed the speed of technological advances has allowed our world to move much faster, but human achievement and creativity still need to work on a human time scale. Great ideas do not develop overnight nor can they be fully expressed in 280 characters.

Art encourages freedom to make choices, to bring ideas to the fore, to stimulate debate, to challenge and rechallenge and to present alternate views, providing options but not absolutes. This leads to creativity and progress, but can be uncomfortable and scares those who wish to control free thought. Sadly so much art has become co-opted for profit, and original works have become a commodity with skyrocketing prices and reduced accessibility.

As people we have become more conformist: you see the same fashion choices predominate on all continents, our personal expression dictated by what we are told we should look like. Even those who desire to show their individuality tend to follow the same worldwide trends of rebellion.

Coincidently, arts education is disappearing from mainstream schooling, whether in the name of priorities, financial restraint or puritanism, a range of intelligences are now missing opportunities to develop. As a result we produce students who can pass tests in narrow areas of expertise without being able to put that knowledge into context, to really question and develop the ability to think creatively, and to put what they have learnt into practice.

‘As teachers we must inspire the next generation onwards and remain creative. The rewards can be priceless’

We can celebrate that access to arts education has been helped by a rise in programmes in dance, music, visual arts and more, offered by large arts institutions. But for many these are also helpful profit centres to bolster the finances of the parent entity with healthy fee structures that can prove to be a barrier to access. Artistic integrity can also be subordinated by the need to attract and retain students.

Falling government support of arts institutions means that those institutions are ever more pre-occupied with the preservation of their organisation leaving less time and resources to deliver the art they are there to promote.

In order to preserve earned income safer artistic choices often have to be made. The charge that the arts should act more like a business is a scary one to me, who has for my entire life seen creative and affordable solutions grow from artistic necessity.

We all have it in our power to give space for the creative mind to develop, to set aside commercial concerns and reap the rewards of seeing an inspired young mind blossom. To not teach to the test but to teach the person to be the best that they can be, and to express themselves in their voice and not ours. The future of art is literally in our control. As teachers we must inspire the next generation and thus refresh ourselves as to our purpose and to remain creative. The rewards can be priceless.

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Dance Gazette Art of the matter Issue 5 - Oct 2022

REST OF Issue 5 - Oct 2022

Toshima is a ward of the Tokyo Metropolitan area, to the north of the city. It faced the challenges of a negative reputation and a declining population, and had become known as the ‘ward at risk of disappearing.’ The International City of Arts and Culture Vision was created to improve the image of Toshima, using arts and culture to help spread the word about the area’s appeal.

The programme includes a collaboration with RAD Japan on a project by photographer Yoshitaka Ueno called RAD Meets Toshima!. Several photos are based around Hareza Ikebukuro, the cultural venue which is the driving force of the International City of Arts and Culture. Ikebukuro is creating new opportunities for artists from all over the world and becoming a hub for arts and culture, including musicals, kabuki, opera, Japanese traditional performing arts, and dance.

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Dance Gazette Big Picture Issue 5 - Oct 2022

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Step Live Festival, Step into Dance’s annual celebration of dance, returned for the first time in three years on 12 July. The event, which took place at London’s Cadogan Hall, saw over 350 students perform for family, friends, and invited guests.

Delivered by professional dancers, Step into Dance supports young dancers to progress, excel, and realise their creative potential. A Royal Academy of Dance programme in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation, Step into Dance reaches secondary school students across London and Essex offering a broad dance programme. Schools and students benefit from opportunities to get involved in a wider programme of workshops and performances.

All of the participating dancers were involved in the Step into Dance programme, which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary. Audiences got a taste of hip hop, contemporary, commercial styles and afro across two performances. 23 schools were selected to perform, from a total of 49 applicants.

Because of the pandemic, this was many students’ first experience of performing in a professional venue, and the atmosphere was electric. Dancers cheered on their fellow schools from the hall’s circle, which allowed them to see what their peers had been working on and experience a range of different dance styles. Natasha Beuselinck, a sports coach and drama teacher at Swiss Cottage School, said, ‘the students enjoyed it and the parents absolutely loved it, they were very emotional!’

LOOK

Foteini Christofilopoulou’s photos of Step Live at Cadogan Hall

‘I was incredibly proud of each and every one of the dancers who took part in the stunning Step Live performance,’ said Tim Arthur, CEO of the RAD. ‘Each one radiated creativity, commitment and joy. It was a wonderful and moving event and it’s such a privilege for the RAD to be working so closely with the Jack Petchey Foundation and with our wonderful dancers.’

After a busy day of rehearsal and performance, the dancers received a standing ovation from an excited audience.

RESOURCES

More information about Step into Dance

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Dance Gazette Inside RAD Issue 5 - Oct 2022

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The best advice I ever received Learning to say NO with the same conviction as YES is moving forward.

The advice I would pass on When you ask for advice, you are in a collaboration that informs your instinct.

*Show Of Hands* by Freddie Opoku-Addaie. Photo: Benedict Johnson

*The Big Pink Ball* at Shoreditch Town Hall in in Dance Umbrella, 2019. Photo: Leila Jones

RESOURCES

Dance Umbrella takes place from 7–23 October.

Dance Umbrella 2022 trailer

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Dance Gazette Advice Bureau Issue 5 - Oct 2022

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1 Set and Reset by Laurie Anderson

Candoco’s reimagining of Trisha Brown’s seminal work Set and Reset/Reset has become something of a signature work for Candoco with new iterations being created and performed by the company in 2011, 2016, 2021 and again this year when we performed the work at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York for the first time, and at Tate Modern in London.

Hearing Laurie Anderson’s playful looped score and seeing the dancers perform this seminal work, always gives me a thrill and reminds me of the contribution Candoco has made to dance history.

Long Time No See (Set and Reset score) by Laurie Anderson

Candoco in *Set and Reset Reset* at Tate Modern. Photo: Camilla Greenwell

2 Life on Mars by David Bowie

A classic from the genius mind of David Bowie and a track that Arlene Phillips used when she choreographed Candoco’s performance on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018. This was a real moment for Candoco – almost as epic as Bowie’s sound track!?

Over 10 million viewers saw us performing with the Strictly professionals that night, making us the first contemporary dance company ever to perform on the show and the first time that same-sex couples were visible in the choreography. Arlene has always been a great fan and advocate for our work and it felt right that she would support our incredible dancers to be seen and valued on TV and beyond the contemporary dance world.

3 Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra

This familiar and well-loved song was the closing track for Back to Front with Sideshows, choreographed by Emilyn Claid in the first few years of Candoco’s existence. Every time I hear it, I takes me back to those raucous and radical early years when we toured this work to audiences all over the world. This work captured the bold, sexy and mischievous spirit of the founding members, and particularly the deep and playful friendship between David Toole and Kuldip Singh-Barmi. David sadly passed away in 2020 and I cannot hear this song without picturing the closing image of Kuldip and Dave wheeling off together side by side into the distance with ridiculous hats on. It always makes me smile.

Candoco rehearsing a new work by Seke Chimutengwende. Photo: Camilla Greenwell

4 Noyalain (Burn) by Lisa Gerrard and Jules Maxwell

I have loved the work of Dead Can Dance since I was a student at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in the early 1990s. The first time I came across this evocative and expansive world music was in the opening scene of Strange Fish by Lloyd Newson. Since then their music has provided many a rich sound score for contemporary dance performance and I have now had the good fortune to get to know the lead singer, Lisa Gerrard. This song is from the recent album Burn, Gerrard’s 2021 collaboration with Jules Maxwell. It is a piece which seems to soar high whilst diving deep at the same time. An amazing cinematic experience.

5 Hurricane by Grace Jones

I’ve had the deep pleasure of seeing Grace Jones in concert numerous times over the years and her music and live performance is still such an inspiration to me. This song is one of my favourites; a wonderful evocation of life, womanhood and the dramatic power of music.

Candoco Dance Company is celebrating its 30th anniversary season. It will perform at Sadler’s Wells, London, from 16–18 November. candoco.co.uk

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Dance Gazette Playlist Issue 5 - Oct 2022

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What is the biggest misconception people have about dance?

People are finally understanding that ballet dancers are human beings too. We’re actual people! For a long time everybody thought of dancers as unattainable and so glamorous – but actually, we’re just like everybody else. To be relatable is a huge thing in today’s world. Any time you can follow a dancer on social media or see their daily life, you feel: they’re like me, but they’re just a ballet dancer. That’s been a huge thing I’ve seen through my YouTube channel.

How did ballet get its hooks into you??

I started dancing as soon as I could walk. Anytime my parents had classical music playing, I was completely transfixed. My mom tells me that I said, ‘Mommy, I want to be the music.’ Ballet was the only thing I ever wanted to do. The story goes that when I was 18 months old, the Bolshoi Nutcracker was on television. I had a teddy bear with a tutu on, I took the tutu off the teddy bear, put it on me and started dancing. That was it from day one. They tried to put me in other activities at school, but ballet was the only thing that stuck. And it’s still stuck.

You went public about the body shaming you experienced at Miami City Ballet. What does that do to a dancer?

Every ballet dancer has something about their body they don’t like. Oftentimes, your weight is criticised, and it’s very difficult to come out of that without some sort of mental struggle or eating disorder. I’ve heard people say to dancers, that was great, if you lost five pounds it would be even better. I don’t know even how this started – because if you look at much earlier dancers like Anna Pavlova, they were never that thin. We’ve switched over into thinking that you have to look like a prepubescent child in order to have the proper lines in ballet. One of the hard things about being a woman is so many of us looked quote, ‘perfect’ when we were 14, 15, 16. You go through puberty and these natural changes and suddenly it’s like, ‘Ooh, now you’re too big.’ I’m just becoming a woman, yet you want me to fight against that? It’s a very worrisome issue in the ballet world.

What is the one thing that teachers could do to break the patterns that you experienced?

It’s not what you say, but how you say it. I think we need to get rid of terms like ‘Why are you doing this?’ or ‘Why are you not putting your feet like that?’ Why don’t you rephrase it and say, ‘make sure you remember to point your feet.’ You can say exactly the same thing, just in a more encouraging, positive way. I remember the teachers who were encouraging – that’s when I improved. Screaming at students, in my opinion, doesn’t work. You’re damaging them and they’re going to feel like failures, to be quite frank. So when I teach, I find the positive thing, even if I’m giving a correction. What I love about teaching is the mentoring aspect. I like students to walk out of my class happier than when they came in.

Why does dance matter to you?

It’s my form of expression. It’s my form of feeling free. I’ve never felt more like myself and free than when I’m dancing. I was a very shy kid growing up, a child that would never say anything. Then I would get in the studio and my teacher would be like, Where’d that come from? It’s my freedom, and it’s something that I love helping other people with, because it’s so many other people’s passion as well. For me, it’s just life.

Why Dance Matters

Why Dance Matters is the RAD’s podcast – a series of conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. We hope these insightful personal conversations – hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette – will delight and inspire you.

The fourth season of Why Dance Matters launches soon. Please do listen and subscribe.

RESOURCES

Hear the full interview with Kathryn Morgan on Why Dance Matters, the RAD’s podcast.

Follow Kathryn Morgan’s YouTube channel

Visit Kathryn Morgan’s website

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Dance Gazette Why Dance Matters Issue 5 - Oct 2022

REST OF Issue 5 - Oct 2022

Lizeth Leonhardt Avalos won the RAD Members’ Photo Competition with a picture of her daughter. She discusses her journey into teaching and leaving Mexico for Canada.

Congratulations on winning the photo competition, Lizeth! How do you feel?

I can’t explain it, I’m still in shock! I’m so happy and thankful. Honestly, the past two years have been full of monumental moments in my life, and this is one of them.

Where did you begin dancing?

I was born in Morelia in Michoacán, Mexico and started dancing ballet at four years old. My mom enrolled me in ballet classes but when it was time to go to university my grandparents said: no more ballet, it’s only a hobby and you have to focus on your career and the family business. So that’s what I did – I used to work in the morning and went to university in the afternoon. I graduated as an accountant and got an MBA, specialising in finance. I was working but still wanted to be a ballet teacher. My grandmother gave me some money to start a business, but instead of using it to open a business I used it to pay for my CBTS.

Who were your most influential teachers?

My first ballet teacher was Lourdes de Alzua who made me fall in love with ballet. When I moved to Queretaro, Julieta Navarro, the RAD’s National Director in Mexico and an amazing lady, recommended me to Consuelo Dueñas. She was tough and extremely honest: when I arrived she told me that my technique was deficient and she would not present me in the exam. I said, wow, this woman is exactly what I need!

Once you know her she is the most amazing person. She was my teacher, my mentor, my friend and I will always be thankful to her. She shared all her knowledge and experience, she really cared about me. With her support I started my CBTS. She taught me to be a teacher.

At the same time, I also worked in a huge school with Asereth Salazar and learned a lot from her too. She has a real gift, making miracles, making things happen, and being honest all the time, no matter what. A pure example to follow.

Lizeth Leonhardt Avalos with her children

When did you qualify as an RAD teacher?

It was in 2016. I went to London seven months pregnant with my daughter Rachel and was in a wheelchair. I had to buy bigger shoes the day before my graduation because my feet were so swollen! When I look at photos from that day, I know that Rachel was in my tummy as I received my certificate from Darcey Bussell [the RAD President] – and now she is in her own picture as the winner of this amazing competition. I couldn’t be happier!

Where do you teach now?

We used to live in Queretaro, Mexico but moved to Canada in December 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. Just before my son’s passport expired we took a flight, leaving our home, our life and our belongings in Queretaro. We went to Canada to start a new life. My husband is Canadian and my children have dual citizenship but I don’t, so for a year and a half I couldn’t return to Mexico or travel abroad until I received my permanent residency in Canada.

Finally I can travel again and right now we are in Mexico, enjoying the perfect weather that I didn’t appreciate until we moved away. That’s why the competition photo has a deeper meaning to me – for someone coming from a country with amazing weather the whole year round, Canada is a big change. Now I appreciate every warm, sunny day.

Teaching is my passion. When life started opening up again and restrictions were removed, I started looking for a ballet school for my daughter and eventually they invited me to teach again. In Mexico I used to teach in Spanish, but now I do it in English – another big change! I have met an amazing new ballet family with my adorable students, my daughter is dancing and loving it – and now I’ve won the photo competition. I feel blessed in every single way.

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Dance Gazette RAD Q&A Issue 5 - Oct 2022