Thursday, 28 June 2012
Cats- A Dollar Academy Production
Dollar Academy took on one of my favourite shows and I will admit, I was worried! I knew that the school had some fantastic vocalists but, as a dance show, I had the suspicion that Cats would be too big a challenge.
I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did those amazing vocals find their way perfectly though Lloyd Webber's score, there was some beautiful pieces of movement too.
On the whole I felt that it needed more dance as there was too many moments of stillness on stage during the big songs, but there were a few girls in particular who absolutely nailed it. They moved like felines, whether waiting at the side of the stage, sitting posed, walking or dancing, every muscle movement was thought out. It was a pleasure to watch these few girls who had clearly looked for inspiration from their nearest pussy cat.
I had hoped to see more choreography from Cats, which is so famous as a dance show. The school has the talent, it just needs to be nurtured, polished up and choreographed.....if these things had been done this show could have been outstanding.
I can't believe some of the kids were only in 4th year....what a magical show. This school delivers once again with stunning scenery and costumes.... I went to the dress rehearsal so that really says something! The sound was spot on and the band sounded great....all done by school pupils. I heard the rest of the show week was a great success- congratulations!
Dance Moms
So I've discovered the TV show 'Dance Moms' online and all I can say is WOW-those kids can dance! The girls in the competition team have lovely technique, great poise and the fighting spirit that will help them make it in the dance world. As for the teacher.....well apparantly she produces 'employable' dancers but she needs to be more professional and stop starting arguments with the mums in front of the children. It's horrible to see adults behaving in this way and they should be setting an example for these young girls so that they grow up to be polite but confident in their dance careers.
I love watching this for the dance as the girls do a competition every week. The rest of the chat and drama-rama that goes on with the mums is irritating and at times I skip to the dances and put my laptop on mute.
Try it....it's addictive!
I love watching this for the dance as the girls do a competition every week. The rest of the chat and drama-rama that goes on with the mums is irritating and at times I skip to the dances and put my laptop on mute.
Try it....it's addictive!
Monday, 4 July 2011
ARENA: RSAMD CPP2 Students 24th June 2011
ARENA: an explicit expose of process, generated by the body and from the practice and study of movement.
As with each piece from the contemporary performance practice students of the RSAMD, I had no idea what was in store as I entered the Chandler Studio Theatre. Arranged in the centre of the floor, the performers explored the space around them, keeping in contact with the floor and transferring weight slowly between themselves.
A fun-filled, exciting performance piece followed, including exciting extracts of dance, physical theatre, art, parkour and acrobalance. I was inspired by CPP2's use of contact and improvisation and enjoyed seeing the progress of these amazing young artists from their performance the previous year. Particularly, duets between Aby Watson and Kim Donohoe, Emma Nutland and Amy McLahlan Sayer stand out for me, their strength and beauty stealing my attention from everything else that was happening in the space. I must commend Ellie Dubois and David Banks on their work with contact and parkour. The control in their movements had me holding my breath, I was completely captivated.
As with each piece from the contemporary performance practice students of the RSAMD, I had no idea what was in store as I entered the Chandler Studio Theatre. Arranged in the centre of the floor, the performers explored the space around them, keeping in contact with the floor and transferring weight slowly between themselves.
A fun-filled, exciting performance piece followed, including exciting extracts of dance, physical theatre, art, parkour and acrobalance. I was inspired by CPP2's use of contact and improvisation and enjoyed seeing the progress of these amazing young artists from their performance the previous year. Particularly, duets between Aby Watson and Kim Donohoe, Emma Nutland and Amy McLahlan Sayer stand out for me, their strength and beauty stealing my attention from everything else that was happening in the space. I must commend Ellie Dubois and David Banks on their work with contact and parkour. The control in their movements had me holding my breath, I was completely captivated.
CPP students are more than the much talked-about 'triple threat'...they use voice, dance, physical theatre, parkour, yoga, contact, acting, improvisation, art and more to create innovative relevant performances that everyone could relate to on some level. They capture the essence of every individual, personality and natural charisma oozes from every performer.
Congratulations on a fantastic end of year show CPP2. Your performances are real, engaging and inspiring.
Congratulations on a fantastic end of year show CPP2. Your performances are real, engaging and inspiring.
Dollar Will Rock You, Macrobert Arts Centre, 23rd June 2011
Aptly performed at Macrobert, where Queen themselves played in the 1970s, Dollar Will Rock You (presented by permission of schools will rock you) was a fantastic tribute to an iconic band and brilliant Ben Elton musical.
I will admit that I am bias due to the extremely talented Fraser Jackson putting together the band, however, having a band made up of school pupils, I was expecting much less than the polished Queen classics I had heard twice from the professional tour. Bias aside, the music was ELECTRIC! I beamed with pride from the audience, Brian May would have been over the moon with the quality of sound from the Dollar Academy pit (he did, in fact, send them good luck wishes before their run).
As with many school and am-dram productions, the choreography did lack the accuracy and impact needed to deliver the themes of this musical, however, the show was led by outstanding singers and enthusiastic chorus work.
Both lead female dancers were sharp with great timing and energy, adding in characterisation and expression in their movements. Such talent is usually only seen in musical theatre students and I wish every success to the dancer going onto pursue musical theatre as a career. A well-deserved place as a performing arts student awaits her come September.
Highlights for me included the mind-blowing visual effects, on a par with the professional show these were technically and artistically perfect. I felt that I would be very critical of technicalities such as the graphics and communication videos but they stood up to my high expectations, an outstanding piece of work by Sally Herbert. The pupils playing Killer Queen and Scaramouche stood out from the rest with their characterisation and vocal abilities. Both girls were a treat to watch, Killer Queen out-doing the role I saw on tour this January.
Congratulations to the pupils of Dollar Academy, you exceeded my expectations and put on a fabulously energetic, polished and technically exhilirating production.
I will admit that I am bias due to the extremely talented Fraser Jackson putting together the band, however, having a band made up of school pupils, I was expecting much less than the polished Queen classics I had heard twice from the professional tour. Bias aside, the music was ELECTRIC! I beamed with pride from the audience, Brian May would have been over the moon with the quality of sound from the Dollar Academy pit (he did, in fact, send them good luck wishes before their run).
As with many school and am-dram productions, the choreography did lack the accuracy and impact needed to deliver the themes of this musical, however, the show was led by outstanding singers and enthusiastic chorus work.
Both lead female dancers were sharp with great timing and energy, adding in characterisation and expression in their movements. Such talent is usually only seen in musical theatre students and I wish every success to the dancer going onto pursue musical theatre as a career. A well-deserved place as a performing arts student awaits her come September.
Highlights for me included the mind-blowing visual effects, on a par with the professional show these were technically and artistically perfect. I felt that I would be very critical of technicalities such as the graphics and communication videos but they stood up to my high expectations, an outstanding piece of work by Sally Herbert. The pupils playing Killer Queen and Scaramouche stood out from the rest with their characterisation and vocal abilities. Both girls were a treat to watch, Killer Queen out-doing the role I saw on tour this January.
Congratulations to the pupils of Dollar Academy, you exceeded my expectations and put on a fabulously energetic, polished and technically exhilirating production.
Richard Alston Theatre Royal 26th May 2011
This was the second time I had seen the Richard Alston Dance Company on stage at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow and this time I took my mum with me.
As expected, the music really made the dance, starting with 4 movements from Prokofiev's 6th Piano Sonata. 'Out of the Strong' featured most of the company and lead me through different emotions, from anger to apathy, joy and excitement. Each movement was different and the dancers' movements expressed every feeling with a fabulous synchronicity during the company piece.
'Lie of the Land' 's movement to Rorem's 4th String Quartet was a lovely contrast to the first piece, sweet and sassy with lots of surprise encounters between dancers, keeping me on my toes and not knowing who to watch next.
Finally 'Roughcut' ended this diverse show, a lovely selection for the final piece by the Theatre Royal. With a wealth of dancers, increased stage size and subtle lighting, I felt like I was a fly on the wall of a theatre, getting a sneak-peek of a private movement conversation or rehearsal. The exuberance of the dancers portrayed the 'young performers' roles perfectly, as Alston describes in the programme as youthful and articulate raw talent.
Richard Alston filled the theatre with promise and hope for the future, giving off an ideally accessible form of contemporary dance that I'm sure everyone could relate to.
As expected, the music really made the dance, starting with 4 movements from Prokofiev's 6th Piano Sonata. 'Out of the Strong' featured most of the company and lead me through different emotions, from anger to apathy, joy and excitement. Each movement was different and the dancers' movements expressed every feeling with a fabulous synchronicity during the company piece.
'Lie of the Land' 's movement to Rorem's 4th String Quartet was a lovely contrast to the first piece, sweet and sassy with lots of surprise encounters between dancers, keeping me on my toes and not knowing who to watch next.
Finally 'Roughcut' ended this diverse show, a lovely selection for the final piece by the Theatre Royal. With a wealth of dancers, increased stage size and subtle lighting, I felt like I was a fly on the wall of a theatre, getting a sneak-peek of a private movement conversation or rehearsal. The exuberance of the dancers portrayed the 'young performers' roles perfectly, as Alston describes in the programme as youthful and articulate raw talent.
Richard Alston filled the theatre with promise and hope for the future, giving off an ideally accessible form of contemporary dance that I'm sure everyone could relate to.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Dance HQ Summer Night 2011 and FLASHMOB
Dance HQ flashmob was a great success, we took Buchanan Street by storm after a morning of rehearsals to Primal Scream's Rocks and Dance to the Music. I particularly loved dancing with my friends and dance family, including Nicole Foster, Dani Shivers, Jen Watt, Rhona Ashwood, Elizabeth Freer and Nikki McLachlan.
What a brilliant, tiring day!!!
The same weekend, I performed in Dance HQ's summer night with the resident performance group Blaze and the night included 3 performances by ourselves as well as some other great dance acts from across Scotland.
Dance HQ Summer night was a success, Blaze performed fantastically and we loved being joined by great dance companies, choreographers and dancers from across the country.
Thursday, 14 April 2011
Dance HQ
I've been terrible at writing this blog so thought I'd pop online to let you know what I've been up to dance-wise. In the last few weeks I've started taking class at the newest studios in town, Dance HQ.
Dance HQ opened in 2010 and was founded by Susan Elena, dancer and choreographer. There are two studios with lovely floors, barres and mirrors and, with huge windows, a lovely New York loft feel about them. They are situated by Glasgow Green and there's plenty of parking as well as being 5minutes from the centre so handy for everyone.
The range of classes is great and they offer a better range of class levels than other Glasgow studios. Classes I'd particularly like to try are advanced contemporary and pilates (strengthen that old back of mine) but unfortunately at the moment the evenings they are on don't suit me.You can try classes from beginners to professional in tap, ballet, street, hip hop, break, jazz, mtv, yoga and many more! Each class runs a block of 6-8weeks or it's around £6.50 for each class as a drop in.
These studios have something to offer everyone, what I'd like to see in Glasgow now is an advanced technical jazz class, advanced tap, body conditioning for dance and daytime classes....I wish there was a buzz for dance here as much as in London, Dance HQ is a much nicer place to be than pineapple!
Dance HQ opened in 2010 and was founded by Susan Elena, dancer and choreographer. There are two studios with lovely floors, barres and mirrors and, with huge windows, a lovely New York loft feel about them. They are situated by Glasgow Green and there's plenty of parking as well as being 5minutes from the centre so handy for everyone.
The range of classes is great and they offer a better range of class levels than other Glasgow studios. Classes I'd particularly like to try are advanced contemporary and pilates (strengthen that old back of mine) but unfortunately at the moment the evenings they are on don't suit me.You can try classes from beginners to professional in tap, ballet, street, hip hop, break, jazz, mtv, yoga and many more! Each class runs a block of 6-8weeks or it's around £6.50 for each class as a drop in.
These studios have something to offer everyone, what I'd like to see in Glasgow now is an advanced technical jazz class, advanced tap, body conditioning for dance and daytime classes....I wish there was a buzz for dance here as much as in London, Dance HQ is a much nicer place to be than pineapple!
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