the place

Student Spotlight: Lizzie Croucher

September 24, 2013 by 4dancers

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

I’ve always been dancing – I began with baby ballet aged two! I suppose the age in which I became serious about dance as a career path would be when I was 16 – I was offered a place on the CAT Scheme at Laban. I had originally auditioned on order from my dance teacher who insisted I give it a go – and now I look back I can’t thank her enough for it! The CAT Scheme inspired me to be more inquisitive in my creativity and gave me the drive to push my technique further and as a result I have recently completed my degree at Laban.

2. What do you find you like best about dance class? [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: André Fabien Francis

April 22, 2013 by Ashley David

Here’s our latest student spotlight–André Fabien Francis…

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

I first became seriously involved in dance while I was auditioning for the Aspire Dance Mentoring Programme – which is run by the Council for Dance Education and Training. On the Panel was Vanessa LeFrançois who is the Director of Prevocational & Recreational Dance at The Place: London Contemporary Dance School and while auditioning for Aspire she scouted me to join the Centre for Advanced Training at The Place – which I joined in January 2009 – before graduating to accept a fully Funded Place at London Studio Centre in September 2011 where I’m currently in my 2^nd Year.

student spotlight

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

I’d have to say one of the best things about dance classes is being somewhere you want to be. Then to add to that; being taught by a teacher who loves what they do and therefore encourages you to go beyond your limits each every time is something I love. Being surrounded by other individuals who want to be there and want to work hard to achieve their goals too is always a bonus!

3. What is the hardest part about dance for you?

Honestly one of the hardest parts of dance for me would have to be: having to push myself constantly to achieve things… it’s hard work! Some people can turn well, others can jump like a kangaroo, some are more flexible than a rubber band and others have to work on all three.

The hardest part is having to work on the things that don’t come naturally and the things you’re working on that often really annoyingly do not come straight away, while knowing if you want to achieve them you have to keep working and pushing for that bit extra as if you keep doing what you always do you can’t really expect to see change!

4. What advice would you give to other dancers?

While I was at CAT one of my teachers Raymond Chai –who is Chief Ballet Master for Ballet Black – said something that has ALWAYS stuck with me: “Dancers never reach their 10 out of 10, when they reach what they thought was their 10 that then becomes their 9”

5. How has dance changed your life?

The amount of people who I have had the pleasure of meeting through my dancing experiences is honestly second to none. Dancing has given me so many opportunities to travel nationally and internationally and experience some of the Best Experiences of My Life so far which I am so thankful for! E.g. Performing in The Lion King West End as Young Simba, being the face of Move It 2013, representing Youth Dance England in Leeds as a National Young Dance Ambassador, performing at the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony and the next exciting opportunity is going to New York this Summer to take part in the Alvin Ailey Summer School – I CANNOT wait!

UK Dance Festival: Resolution!

February 2, 2013 by 4dancers

dancer on stage — Resolution! 2013, courtesy The Place, Photo Ben Johnson

by Jessica Wilson

Returning for its 24th edition, Resolution! at The Place is in the process of showcasing the work of 81 dance companies in nightly triple bills, in the biggest festival for new dance in the UK. Running from 8 January to 15 February, Resolution! is one of the best loved seasons for short new dance due to the sheer quantity and diversity of the pieces included over the 27 nights.

Emerging choreographers will have the chance to present their new productions, following in the footsteps of previous applicants such as the renowned choreographers Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter, Kate Prince, and more recently James Wilton and James Cousins, Cousins being the winner of the inaugural New Adventures Choreographer Award. Cousins received in excess of £15,000 to create his own showcase, as well as being mentored by Matthew Bourne. This is just to name a few dance artists who have begun their choreographic careers during Resolution!

a dance performance — Hack Ballet, Photo by Francis Western-Smith

The festival, which was created in 1990 by The Place’s former Theatre Director John Ashford, is one of the main platforms in the UK facilitating the difficult transition from vocational dance training to the professional performance world. Supported by The Place’s professional team, Resolution! choreographers not only receive technical support, but are enrolled in a series of workshops designed to provide a comprehensive insight into all aspects of the profession, from lighting and design, to press, marketing and social media. In addition to this support of emerging artists, a further element is Resolution! Review, a scheme to support aspiring writers passionate about communicating dance. The scheme has paired these dance writers with six leading dance critics who mentor them throughout the season, contributing valuable experience to the writers’ undeterred enthusiasm. Each work included in Resolution! is reviewed by both a professional and an aspiring writer, and then posted on The Place’s website.

The works shown so far throughout the Resolution! run have been eclectic, inspiring, reaffirming and decisive, with emerging choreographers paving their way through the sector and making their own mark in the arts world. To see so much up-and-coming work is incredibly inspiring, with the view that today’s dance scene has much to offer, and is continuing to evolve as it adapts to new and rejects old, whilst steadying itself against rooted principals. With choreographers ranging from independent dance artists, to recent graduates, to professional dancers and back again, it is any wonder that the forefront of dance today looks fresh and varied, ready to cater for the audiences who gather with the potential to view the next big thing in dance.

Jessica Wilson

Assistant Editor Jessica Wilson is a final year student at Middlesex university in London, studying Dance Performance. She is also a Marketing and Communications Assistant at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD).

Jessica reviews London shows for the Society of London Theatre’s initiative for 16-25 year olds, TheatreFix, writes features for A Younger Theatre and blogs for Cloud Dance Festival, with additional press responsibilities. She has completed many marketing internships, the most recent at English National Ballet.

Jessica has also previously interned for SOLT, East London Dance and the ISTD dance examination board. Jessica is a National Youth Dance Ambassador for Youth Dance England, focusing on young people’s access to dance. She is extremely passionate about opportunities for young people enabling them to succeed and hopes to continue advocating this in the future through a variety of means.

Jessica writes about dance for 4dancers, contributes to the “Dance in the UK” section, assists with interviews and handles a variety of social media duties for the site.

The opinions expressed here are Jessica’s alone and do not reflect the opinions of RAD.

London Contemporary Dance School’s EDge

September 11, 2012 by Ashley David

by Jessica Wilson

EDge12 - Group performing Tony Adigun's Unleashed — EDge12 – Group performing Tony Adigun’s Unleashed

EDge, the postgraduate performance company of London Contemporary Dance School founded in 2000, completed its annual spring tour earlier this year, coming to a close on 12 July 2012. Under the direction of Artistic Director Jeanne Yasko, the company’s 12 exceptional dancers visited 21 venues nationally and internationally, travelling to places such as Denmark, Austria and Portugal, in addition to performing at their home, The Place’s Robin Howard Theatre in London.

The varied programme was populated by highly stimulating and thought-provoking contemporary dance pieces, choreographed by esteemed dance artists such as leading dance makers Matthias Sperling and James Wilton (winner of the Sadler’s Wells Global Dance Contest in 2010), choreographing Dances With Purpose and Through Shards respectively. In addition to these two new pieces, The Place and Dance Umbrella co-commissioned Rachel Lopez de La Nieta and Tony Adigun’s own version of Richard Alston’s iconic Wildlife (1983) reinterpreted with the choreographers’ own individual artistic voices; both pieces were first seen at The Place in Autumn 2011. Completing the programme, dancer and choreographer Delphine Gaborit restaged The Quartet, a powerful piece set to György Ligeti’s String Quartet Nr.1 by world famous German choreographer Sasha Waltz. Delphine, who has danced in Waltz’s company, was given permission to restage the iconic piece for EDge’s Spring tour, marking the first time a piece of repertoire by Waltz has been re-staged for a postgraduate performance company. [Read more…]

Dance In The UK: Auditions For EDge

December 16, 2011 by 4dancers

by Jessica Wilson

The London School of Contemporary Dance’s postgraduate performance company, EDge, is preparing to invest in auditions in cities across North America for 2012-2013, continuing to widen international dance connections and develop the art form we all know and love.

Additionally, auditions will be taking place for other postgraduate and undergraduate programmes at The Place, extending this investment across the breadth of London Contemporary Dance School and connecting dance further. It is the third year of their holding of auditions in the States, with a number of American students currently company members of EDge, extending dance horizons positively in the direction of further development.

Auditions for EDge have been held yearly in the UK and Europe for both postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, with the transition to incorporate US auditions extending dance even further. As the cultural context of dance continues to widen, the future of dance looks extremely bright indeed.

Throughout dance history – and ballet and modern dance particularly – practitioners have travelled extensively, spreading their dance influence and initiating their own dance strands within distinctly differing countries. From Isadora Duncan to George Balanchine and beyond, dance contexts have gradually developed and flourished beyond conception through choreographic and training work in many different cultural contexts. The investment of London Contemporary Dance School in auditions within North America is a clear symptom of an increasingly global approach to contemporary dance training. EDge, amongst many other dance companies, is continuing this through their international auditions and further through the appointment of American artistic director Jeanne Yasko in September 2010. [Read more…]

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