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Students'
Summer Course
Before I arrived at Tring I was quite nervous. This was my first dance
summer school; I didn't know what to expect and I was worried that everyone
else would be from full time schools and I wouldn't cope with so many
hours of dance.
But
from the beginning we were made to feel at home. There were only 16
people (13 girls and 3 boys) on the course (though we were split into
smaller groups for a lot of classes), with several overseas students
from Italy and America. People had ambitions in different directions,
some were interested in Ballet, others in Contemporary or Jazz, and
for some dance was just a hobby. Throughout the week the atmosphere
created by students and teachers was friendly and non-competitive. Everyone
had individual strengths and weaknesses and this was never a problem.
Pilates,
taught by Sara Gallie, began each day. This was a great warm-up, helping
us get our aching muscles working properly. Syllabus and non-syllabus
Ballet classes followed, taught by Cara Drower, David Yow, Sara Gallie,
Vincent Redmon and Gillian Hurst. Each teacher had a very individual
style and gave their lessons different emphases. All sessions were good
fun, with a balance between hard academic work and chances to really
dance!
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| Students
& staff at the Cecchetti Students Summer Course in Tring. Photograph
by Mike Bass |
After
lunch came various disciplines such as solos, pas de deux, pointe work
or men's work. These were quite tough, but we did learn a lot. During
the week we had Contemporary, Spanish and choreography. Contemporary
with Nikki Ellis gave us a chance to really move - though of course
we were reminded that we had to use techniques just as much as we would
in a ballet class!
Choreography
with Vincent Redmon was a wonderful afternoon. We had to work hard to
create a piece in three hours, but it was a really good experience to
see a dance taking shape from nothing. We also all had the opportunity
to make up short duets of our own, and it was interesting to see how
our ideas developed from the earlier sections of the dance.
Spanish
with Gillian Hurst was also good fun. Several people were complete beginners,
most had only limited experience, but by the performance everyone was
looking truly flamenco. The show on the last day went well, opening
with a Cecchetti demonstration of Advanced 1 and 2 work. This was followed
by a short pas de deux, a demonstration of some Contemporary exercises,
Vincent Redmon's piece and finally the Spanish dance we had learnt.
We all enjoyed it, everyone really throwing themselves into dancing
and showing how much they had learnt during the week.
It
was sad saying goodbye. There were some tears and we all exchanged numbers.
Hopefully we'll all meet up again - maybe next year?
In
all, the week was a huge success. All credit and thanks to those who
organised, taught, played and helped on the course.
Rachel
Birch
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