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One Dancer’s Journey…

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Today I’d like to welcome Todd Fox as our latest contributor to 4dancers. Todd originally was going to complete the interview I sent for “10 Questions With…” the feature I typically use to highlight dancers and dance-related professionals on this site.

Time passed and he found himself answering the questions in depth, and after we talked a bit, we decided we would break them down into monthly posts, so that readers could get a closer look at his journey through the dance world. Today is his first post…answering question 1…stay tuned next month for more!      -Catherine

Todd Fox

1. How did you become involved in dance?

I was born in Miami Florida and from a very early age my mom exposed me to dance.  She taught ballet for a magnet arts school in Miami called PAVAC, Performing and Visual Arts Center, and used to drag me around to all the classes she taught.

As I got old enough she made me learn ballet by taking one of her classes each week with her other students. At that age I wasn’t at all interested in studying ballet, I thought it was boring and I hated wearing tights. All I ever wanted to do was go ride my bike with friends or play video games but my mother was insistent, VERY insistent. She eventually presented me with an effective ultimatum, take one ballet class per week or I wouldn’t receive my weekly allowance.  So, I studied ballet like this on and off for most of my young life, I went through the motions but never really took a serious interest, it was all just to appease my mom and of course get my allowance.

When I was 13 my family moved to New Jersey and in Somerset County where I attended public school there was a Vocational and Technical School (vo-tech) which had a performing arts program offering dance. There were lots of girls in the Vo-Tech dance program from mine and several neighboring schools with no guys at all. At that age the thought of spending my day dancing around with lots of girls and being the only guy had amazing appeal and much to my mom’s complete jaw dropping shock and surprise I begged for her to let me enroll. [Read more…]

Dance In The UK: “The Place” & Dance Education

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Jessica Wilson

by Jessica Wilson

Following the comments made by British Member of Parliament David Willetts, the relationship between dance and education has now been placed under close scrutiny. Dance professionals became increasingly concerned that the position of dance in education was under threat, which consequently sparked the debate. Willetts, Universities and Science Minister, recently remarked that he believed “soft” subjects such as Dance should be of less worth if a student was to apply to attend university. The dance sector strongly rejected this argument. Willetts’s claims were controversially published on the same day in August 2011 as the examination results which precede students’ further studies at university.

At what can only be defined as perfect timing elsewhere in London was the announcement that The Place, the UK’s premier centre for contemporary dance, is to introduce GCSE Dance to their existing teaching schedules. GCSEs are national examinations taken by young people both inside and outside schools; the course offered by The Place is open to students aged 13-18 years old. A parallel to the British school examination system can be observed in the Cecchetti system, used throughout Britain and the United States and enabling students to take exams at different levels and progress to higher grades. GCSE examinations form much of the first preparation for further education and with such promotion by The Place, dance appears to be on the road to recovery. To hear Willetts’s comments on the prospective introduction of this course would be very interesting to say the least. [Read more…]

Classical Roots: Embracing Qualitative Movement Within Classical Form

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Ballet has always been my first dance love. Ever since I first saw a class while waiting for my tap class to begin, I was hooked. I loved the shapes, the grace, and the expressive elegance of its structure.

In early ballet of the twentieth century, the form was drastically different than the precision and technicality of what “classical” ballet is today. Never have I seen such stark differences between these two approaches as with the performance of Fokine’s “The Dying Swan”.

Anna Pavlova, the mistress of the bourree, one of the premier dancers of her time, was legendary for her expressive and emotive performances. Her epic role in “The Dying Swan” was said to have captured the very essence of the struggle for life.

In it’s modern interpretation, it is often used as a malleable piece designed to showcase each dancer at their best. The bourree’s in Fokine’s version were specifically for Pavlova – and to answer some critics who claimed he was only doing dances flat-footed. However, I can’t help but wonder if the difference between these versions has to do with these two divergent schools of thought with regards to the quality of movement and how this shapes performance.

Watch first Pavlova’s interpretation….

Fokine describes the work’s ambition: [Read more…]

Musical Productions: What Brings Success?

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Jessica Wilson

Please join me in welcoming 4dancers new Intern and Contributor Jessica Wilson to the site. Today she’s sharing some thoughts about what brings success in musical productions, based on her experiences in London…and she’ll be joining us from time-to-time with posts here on 4dancers…

by Jessica Wilson

London’s West End is currently in a state of flux. Musical productions continue to close, making way for others to take their place, for sometime only weeks at a time. At first, this local circumstance appears to be one alone; however, it may be that this occurrence extends further outside of London, nationally, and perhaps even internationally.

Focusing on London primarily, it is vital to draw attention to the fact that the shows closing are generally those which are not based on an existing concept such as a book or film, whereas those that survive are based on an existing commercial success.

In September of this year, Alistair Smith in The Guardian online wrote of “home-grown” musicals such as Betty Blue Eyes, featuring a pig that is being illegally reared to ensure the local dignitaries can celebrate the Royal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. As one of the shows to be closing imminently, Smith conversely argues that this is not the beginning of the decline of the British musical, citing many alternative successes as Ghost, Billy Elliot, and Matilda. However, Smith does not identify that all of his examples are based on a previous success – be it a Hollywood film, the story of a British mining town or a popular children’s book – despite the productions’ origins. There are musical productions waiting left, right and centre ready to fill previous show’s shoes and they are less and frequently original conceptions for stage. [Read more…]

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