Chichester
Imperial Ballet Course 2005
An Unforgettable Experience
The week I spent in Chichester was an amazing
experience unlike anything I had ever done before but
something I would definitely love to do again.
As this year was my first time on the Imperial Ballet
course I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Although
I had been told by past Chichester go-ers the ins and
outs, do’s and don’ts, good points and bad
points, these were all their own personal memories of
Chichester, and no amount of prior information could
have led me to fully understand exactly what I was getting
myself into…
The journey began on a warm summer day, Saturday 6th
August. Myself and two others were packed up and driven
down by our dance teacher Sammi Dennard. While she tried
to think up ways to get around a true example of a Sunday
driver (never mind the fact that it was a Saturday)
down a narrow countryside lane, I sat in the back (apprehensive,
yet) enjoying the scenic drive from London to Chichester;
D-Day had arrived!
Although each day had a structure much like the day
before, no two days were ever the same. Starting with
the Pre-primary syllabus, namely ponies and farmers,
late Saturday evening was a fun introduction but couldn’t
really compare to what was in store for the week ahead.
Let’s just say that by day three I took up a piece
of advice given by Miss Fish previously; walking down
the stairs backwards definitely eased the pain in my
legs, by day four I couldn’t feel my legs at all,
never mind the pain!
As the week went on, the days grew longer and the learning
became more intense I think for the first time ever
I realised that my brain had a point of saturation where
no more information had even the slightest chance of
being held, luckily enough this was towards the end
of the week.
Despite all of this the thing that in my eyes made the
course an extremely memorable experience was the staff.
Thank-you so much to Miss Fish, Miss Swain, Mrs Prime
and last but definitely not least the pianists Carolyn
Parker and Kate Dickson. Simply being surrounded by
these people would have been enough but to have received
an endless amount of enjoyment and knowledge, not to
mention an amazing amount of inspiration completely
tipped it over the scale.
I’m sure that my memories of Chichester will stay
with me for a very long time, or at least until the
next time I go, for the whole journey to start all over
again!
Jocelyn Prah, Dennard Theatre Arts
I think for many of us one of the great things
about Dance is that it is a never ending learning process.
There are always new ways of approaching things, more
layers to uncover, of understanding and exploring.
The Ballet residency at Chichester this summer was a
feast of knowledge which we all ate up quickly and to
our satisfaction. The classes were a fantastic balance
of practical, technical, musical, analytical and discussion
based sessions that successfully facilitated the needs
of the diverse group that was present.
Before going to Chichester I had that horrifying feeling
of being packed off to boarding school (which I was
at 12 years old). There is always that moment when your
trunk is packed and your mum is just doing those last
few things before all getting into the train to speed
off. So there I was at thirty two years old sitting
on the train to Chichester thinking ‘oh no...what
it is going to be like?..what are THEY going to be like?..will
they like me?..eeh!’
Feeling rather daunted and not knowing what the ISTD
examiners or teachers were going to be like I ventured
to the first session. Well what can I say? The first
class was pre-primary with Mrs Prime and it was a hoot!
What a brilliant ice-breaker.
The room was filled with a multitude of nationalities,
ages and body shapes, it was marvellous. Quickly, it
became clear that everyone was warm, friendly and helpful
with a common goal. To develop and better ourselves
as practicing Ballet teachers.
The week was incredible. After leaving a class with
Carolyn Parker one evening one of my co-students said
to me, "This is like having,..you know..what is
it called in English when footballers play in the first
team?" "You mean the premiere league?"
I replied "Yes, this is like having a premiere
league team of teachers" she said. I could not
have agreed more.
The first two days our group was with Mrs Prime. What
a glorious teacher; showing, deciphering and breaking
down information so that it was crystal clear. We then
had Miss Fish with her insightful articulation and brilliant
explanations of the building up of the ballet training.
Then Miss Swain arrived. At this arrival I had to look
twice! In walked this groovy, hip babe. "Hello
is she a Ballet teacher?" Oh mighty yes. Doing
Advanced One with Miss Swain was a joy. Not only did
we get the chance to hurtle ourselves around the room
(which always makes my heart sing, oh yes that is what
dancing feels like!), we also witnessed her incredible
approach to common faults (in students) and ways in
which to correct them. And oh Carolyn Parker... We love
you! I have never had such profoundly brilliant music
classes in my life.
What more can I say? Except that I had a wonderful week,
met great people, my knowledge has grown ten fold and
my students are going to have a much better year for
it!
Bim Malcomson
Here
I was, I had arrived at Chichester and after having
left my luggage in the room I had been assigned, nicely
decorated with a modern style, I briefly walked around
the premises of the Bishops Otter campus college –
as big as an entire village! It was already 6.15pm.
So, together with my teacher, I headed to the dinner
room where dinner (delicious and of various flavours!)
was about to be served
A few people were seated on the benches of the piazza.The
piazza was the meeting point where everybody gathered
for the coffee break or when the restaurant opened.
Everybody was looking around with curiosity, trying
to guess how many of us were there …five or maybe
more! We even joked about the fact that at the Advanced
1 Class there would be only two of us! Finally, with
great pleasure, we concluded that it would be at least
almost 30 people.
The same night of my arrival we had a Pre-primary class
examination class at the Dance studio one - the most
beautiful studio according to many - with the Chairman
and teacher of the faculty of Imperial Ballet, Mrs Patricia
Prime. It was delightful..I felt like a little girl
again!
The classes were organised day by day and according
to our needs. This way everybody was able to follow
all the grades and the majors.
The teachers, Miss Heather Fish, Vice Chairman, and
Miss Swain, together with the fantastic pianists, followed
us and taught us in a professional manner. Although
my knowledge of English is minimal I was able to understand
the explanations and the discussions, as the examiners
spoke in a clear manner. Every day we had five lessons
of one hour and thirty minutes each.There were four
of them during the day and one after dinner.
At 9.30 pm, ‘let’s go to the bar!’.
In the college’s premises there is a big pub (Student
Union) where we all gathered to talk, laugh and make
jokes with each other.
It has been a great experience, one where apart from
learning the ISTD method you had the opportunity to
meet so many new people and exchange opinions and ideas
and where also many friendships were made.
A big thank you to all the teachers and the persons
that participated, because thanks to you, this was for
me a great experience for life.
Federica Chiarpotto (Italy)
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