4dancers would like to introduce a new feature–Student Spotlight. In this column, we’ll be sharing some information about students from all over–a little glimpse inside their world as they work to move into a career in dance. Today is our first….

1. Can you tell readers how you became involved with dance?

I was first exposed to dance through the Physical Education curriculum at my local state school. All of the students at my school had to take dance on rota like all the other sports, such as rugby and football. At that time I was playing rugby at a very high level. After breaking my wrist twice in the same year I was forced to spend more time off the pitch, and coincidentally ended up heading to the dance studio for refuge.

The ball just started rolling from there. I was intrigued by what I saw and the dancing I experienced. Even though I was a sportsman as a child, I was always interested in theatre, dance appeared to be the natural and obvious way that both my interests found harmony; it was physically and theatrically exciting.

From there I started joining local youth dance companies and then regional youth companies, eventually I was dancing every day after school with a different group in a different place. Then I decided to pursue it as a career and continued my training at London Contemporary Dance School.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class?

There are countless positive experiences that dance brings me every day, and that truly is the joy of following an art form you are passionate about. But if I were to just consider class, which is a different environment to rehearsal let’s say, it would have to be the simple physical satisfaction the movement brings.

Class is evidently a repetitious process that any dancer endures through their career; the satisfaction of movement keeps me curious. I value being able to step into class, and no matter what challenges and dramas you face in the outside world, the class becomes a time for you to leave it all at the door and bask in the enjoyment of movement. Even though a lot of the time classes present their own challenges, it can become almost a meditation allowing the body and mind to physically and artistically release.

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you? [Read more…]