Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling- Matthew Bourne

My mum and I went to see Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling performed by the Scottish Ballet in the Theatre Royal, Glasgow. I am still very excited when Scottish Ballet do contemporary ballets as I think it has really brought the company on in the past few years and attracted more people back to the theatre which is great!

Highland Fling was a lovely "wee ballet" with a plot to rival an episode of Jeremy Kyle, set in the east end of Glasgow. Beautifully danced, particularly by the lead male on the night we went, Owen Thorne, who seemed completely natural as the part of James. When dancing with The Sylph (Bethany Kingsley-Garner), they drew me into their weird, sometimes grotty world and transformed the classical ballet expected from this company into Bourne's vision of La Sylphide, Scottish style.

At times it was gory, inelegant, truthful, dirty and rough...but wow it was striking. Go see it if you have the chance. A great job done by Scottish Ballet, bring on the next one!

Ruth Mills Dance Spring Intensive

This wasn't my first experience of dancing with Ruth, but it was my first time at one of her intensives...and my girls weren't telling me lies...it was everything I needed and more!

The technique classes were exhilarating  exhausting, inspiring, energising, demon-butt-building, side-stretching hours of bliss. Starting with Mills' own technique and then moving onto release gave a great start to each day, my body soon remembered where those muscles were that I only use when I dance.

The afternoons were themed on duets and partnering, and this is where I felt out of my depth. I have danced my whole life, but apart from rock n roll, I have always been alone. Working with someone else, with my eyes closed, feeling them move with and against me was a strange but amazing experience. At times it really didn't feel like we were dancing at all, I worried that I was moving awkwardly and nothing felt like it flowed. I believe that the satisfaction of contact will come with time, I just need to relax into it and respond creatively as I feel.

At the end of the intensive, Ruth gave a lecture on some things that have been interesting her, one being the Fibonacci sequence of numbers. My two worlds felt like they were colliding...finally someone who was living in dance was also saying they were fascinated by maths and physics. I get fed up defending myself to people who don't understand how you can be creative and scientific all in the one brain. So now I won't...if they don't find both intriguing and don't want to believe that they are interconnected then it is their loss.

The dance/science lecture set me up for the sharing which followed. Having missed the final morning, I didn't have a lot to share, but everything I had learned technically and mentally during the intensive allowed me to enjoy every second. I felt connected to the material myself and my partner had created and I felt confident that if one of us forgot what came next that we had each other to explore and figure out where to go next. I have never had that feeling before, in any previous sharing or performance.

The final icing on the cake was that a friend actually came to see the performance. None of the friends I have known for years seem interested in dance, so when my lovely artist friend Sarah said she would love to come I was so so excited. Having her there was amazing, and I learned about how she can work as an artist while I danced, using gesture drawing as her focus. The drawings were nothing like anything I've seen before. They were dynamic and intricate and I felt like they radiated the energy we gave when dancing.

This intensive opened my eyes to a new way of moving, thinking and feeling. I can't wait for more.

Class with Errol White

This morning and yesterday morning I attended class with Errol White. Both involved 2 hours of technique, with a solid focus on alignment, clarity of movement, space and moving with the music. The technique was somewhat based in Cunningham with a Graham-esque feel too (my spine hurts... A LOT!). It was so lovely to focus on technique and moving each part of my body both in isolation and as one. Never have I ever concentrated so hard on knitting my rib cage to my abdominal muscles and dropping my pelvis. I feel that I danced with more power than I thought I was capable of, and developed trust in my body that I could relax and throw myself into the space whilst being safe and held by my centre.

Sadly, I can't make it tomorrow morning, so thank you very very much to Errol White, you have really inspired me to work hard at my core strength, now that I really see how it feels when everything is engaged. Tortured fun......

The Barrowlands Project- 8th September 2012

I went to see Michael Clark's Barrowlands Project as I knew I few people in the community cast and I'd heard wonderful things about the choreography.

I wasn't disappointed. The performance was stunning, shocking, technically brilliant and visually spectacular. The community cast were a highlight for me, I'm not sure if it was because I knew people in it or not, though I do love mass choreography. Just seeing everyone moving together, crossing patterns, making geometric shapes and coming on and off the ballroom floor with speed and accuracy was really really exciting! The Barrowland ballroom made for an atmospheric back drop, perfect for Michael Clark's work as it has a sort of dark, slightly dingy-vintage appeal.

The music really suited the choreography, and the company made use of the space, creating depth and height to otherwise simple but effective movements. Female dancer Kate was a favourite of mine, her feminine strength and height (ok, I'm bias as a fellow tall person) were mesmerising, and she performed with such ferocity and control. All of the company had amazing strength, particularly core strength which was obvious from Michael's use of floor work and suspension. The hanged man had me holding my breath while the community section had me out of breath, trying to keep a track of what was coming next.

Wonderful setting, wonderful choreography, wonderful dancers....just wonderful!

Casus' "Knee Deep"- Edinburgh Fringe 2012

Casus are an Australian circus company, specialising in work containing acrobalance, aerial, dance and physical theatre. I had been recommended their Fringe show "Knee Deep"by my Dad who had read a 5* review a few weeks previous.

The venue was the Spiegeltent Teatro in Assembly George Square. A combination between a big top and a cabaret club, it had a great atmosphere for this intimate show. The venue was packed and although Casus were nearing the end of a sold out run, they seemd anything but tired.

I was overwhelmed by the delicate strenght of the sole female performer (Emma Serjeant), who stood out as a strong technical artist. I was excited to see such a powerful female presence in Casus' work as it contrasted with the over-use of females in circus as the elegant, vulnerable assistant, spending her time on the top of balances or being passed between male performers. The male cast members were equally as powerful (and elegant!) making Casus' performance refreshingly genderless, showing each performer for their individual strengths without stereotyping or making the obvious choices according to gender or looks.

"Knee Deep" lasted an hour, but not one second was wasted, with the highlights for me including the head balance on the static trapeze and delicate work on top of eggs. The range of skills mastered by these 4 performers seemed unlimited, and it is definitely one of the most captivating performances I have seen. I will definitely buy a ticket for a Casus show again if they return to Scotland in the future.

Great Scottish Run for Ruth and 'It's Good 2 Give'

The first time I met Ruth Sandison I knew we were going to be great friends. She is kind, considerate, generous, intelligent and most importantly, completely nuts. When I found out she had cancer as a teenager it really put a whole new perspective on my own life. Ruth is an inspiration. She embraces life, works hard and helps everyone around her. She is a normal girl, doing extraordinary fundraising and campaigning after a significant life-altering illness. She never looks for sympathy and always puts others first. She is the perfect ambassador for the survival of cancer which sadly affects so many of us.


When she told me she'd signed up to climb Mount Kilimanjaro I wasn't surprised. Ruth does so much great work for charity, I knew it was only a matter of time before she chose to do something BIG! She told me about 'It's Good 2 Give', how she found out about them and how she wants to raise as much as she can for them. This tiny but ambitious charity (direct quote from founder Lynne) aims to raise money  to support young people affected by cancer and their families, and in the long term for a purpose-built respite house. Based in the east of Scotland and being a small friendly charity, Ruth has chosen well for her spectacular challenge. I really wish her, and the rest of the team from It's Good 2 Give, all the very best in October 2013!

As Ruth and I know each other form University, we both know how difficult it can be to find money to support a charity. Because of this, we both enjoy helping charities in other ways through volunteering, campaigning and sponsored events. When I decided to enter the Great Scottish Run 10k, I knew that I wanted to raise money to help Ruth in her Kilimanjaro challenge, and support 'It's Good 2 Give'. Training for the 10k was tough at times but the steady flow of sponsors and supportive texts from Ruth kept me on track and I felt good (but nervous) when I headed into Glasgow city centre this morning.

The run went really really well. The crowd were fantastic and the runners all looked out for each other. A member of the public actually caught me when I tripped on an uneven section of pavement saving me from a fall close to the 9k mark! I was buzzing from the atmosphere and loved having my parents, boyfriend, Ruth and her mum Shirley at the end to celebrate with. I can't thank them all enough for coming out this morning to support me. Seeing Ruth to share my excitement for the event and the money I had raised for 'It's Good 2 Give' made all the sweat, blisters and aching muscles worth it!

So far (I still have a few donations to collect), I have raised just over £300 which is way more than I could have donated to Ruth's hike on my own so I am very grateful for all my friends and family for their donations. It has been an honour to run for my brave and wonderful friend Ruth and I am so thankful that I have been able to help 'It's Good 2 Give'.

Smallpetitklein Kick Start

Last week I attend SPK's Kick Start summer intensive at The Space in Dundee. It was a 4day intensive with fundamental technique and dynamic work in the mornings followed by rep and creative work in the afternoon.

My body went into shock after the first day! I started running this summer and haven't been in the studio for months so my body wasn't best pleased by the range of movement I was expecting it to attempt. I am sure I looked anything but elegant but wow I felt like an angel dancing on clouds. That is the fantastic thing about dance, it can make you really FEEL. I can't describe how dance does it, but I feel alive as I move, and nothing else matters.

Ruth Mills took the first day and the first class (Graham-based and a dash of Beyonce) of each following day. I know Ruth's classes though I haven't been for a long time so it was wonderful to be back in the studio with her, her wit and fantastically encouraging way of giving corrections. Never have I known a dance teacher to inspire strength and energy like she does. Her classes are truly invigorating.

Tommy's Cunningham-based  classes were dynamic, challenging, exhausting but wonderful! Cunningham has a way of making me feel like I am moving freely, giving into gravity and letting my body take me where it wants to naturally. Even though I don't think have ever felt so much discomfort in my quads, moving felt amazing. Tommy's music choices really helped bring out my energy too, I couldn't stop smiling.

After I seized up and attempted to eat through the tiredness over lunchtime, creative work at times felt like a chore. The initial challenges of working with someone you don't know anything about dance-wise (or otherwise) were soon put aside and I found myself moving with and against my partner and creating work reflecting characters from SPK's production 'CUT'. I won't tell you much about it, you have to go and see it at the 2013 Fringe! I worked alone on character choreography and involved voice and physical theatre elements which I enjoyed too. Bringing everyone together to share their material was great as some pieces had similarities where others couldn't have been more different. Everyone I worked with this week was encouraging, friendly and very talented, I couldn't have asked for a better group of students to share in the intensive.

The finale of the week was our sharing, which members of the company, friends and staff from The Space attended. I wasn't sure at first how it would all look to them, and I am still none the wiser, however I look forward to seeing the film footage! It felt great getting so close to the audience and making direct eye contact, ensuring that they were sucked into the atmosphere we had created inside the studio. They seemed really engaged and joined in with the sections of the piece where we wanted some interaction and audience participation. The addition of props, pigs, cellophane and a huge red dress made the piece exciting, complex and (now I've lost all modesty), a bit of a spectacle for a studio sharing!

I now proudly wear my 'I love SPK ' t-shirt knowing I worked hard for it, and really do love the company! I can't wait until next year, but in the meantime, I'll be back at Graham in 2weeks.