ISTD
Theatre Congress 2005
Sunday
13 March 2005
Royal Lancaster Hotel
London
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Cecchetti
Classical Ballet
Intermediate/Advanced 1 Demonstration
Susan Handy
I was delighted to arrive at the annual congress
to witness such an energetic start to the
morning. Susan Handy wonderfully choreographed
the demonstration, which explored creative
patterning throughout. First we were shown
the Standard 7 port de bras, followed by the
centre practise and adage combining work from
both of the vocational grades. The sissonne
allegro enchainement was performed in a circle,
visually incorporating the entire auditorium.
The batterie was exerted with grand elevation
and precision. |
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Classical
Greek
Demonstration of the new vocational sequences
Karen Collings
Classical Greek encourages relaxation of movement,
musicality, mime and artistry. This was apparent
from the beginning of the demonstration, and
what I found particularly interesting was
the exercise incorporating side and forward
bends and body rotation. In this the dancers
showed continuity of flow and movement, performing
with artistic style and musicality, which
they continued to do throughout.
The straight and curved lines used in Greek
dance were demonstrated well in the intermediate
work, which deals with the 8 freeze lines
and the lyric and athletic aspects. Then the
angled lines were clear in the advanced 1
work, with the new sequence combining angles
with movements. We then saw these angles and
freeze lines developing into 11 triangles
in advanced 2. This section concluded with
a lovely presentation of both the scarf variation
and the dance of the wine press.
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National
Dance
‘A choreographic demonstration
of extracts from the new Vocational
Graded Syllabus’ |
Imperial
Ballet dancers demonstrate a Grade 2
Mock Examination |
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South
Asian Dance
Rhythms and Gestures
Kiran Ratna
We were then treated to a sensational presentation
of work from the inspiring and cultural South
Asian dance genre. All the girls wore bells
around their feet to create the rhythms, with
expressive gestures of the face and hands.
The shivers style was also demonstrated, using
drums to beat out the rhythms of life and
dance. Clearly showing the four aspects of
South Asian dance: body, sound, costume/jewellery
and emotions.
The dancers moved with expression and dynamics,
the rhythms were aural, the costumes were
elaborate, with colourful saris and beautiful
gold jewellery and everything was performed
with true sincerity.
The audience were invited to participate in
clapping the 7/4 rhythms in which the bars
divided into three and four counts, with the
emphasis on the first count. i.e. 123/1234.
We were all given the opportunity to join
in the latter section of the class, which
proved to be very popular. Everyone worked
really hard to pick up the styles and rhythms,
and we all had great fun practising our face
and hand gestures.
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Tap
Dance Medley
• Rap Tap
Choreographed and devised by Chris Baldock
for street dance show ‘Bounce’
This performance by four of Italia Conti’s
male dancers was rhythmical and ingeniously
created, using elements of rap, hip-hop and
street dance.
• 2nd Year Performers College
A collaborative piece presented by Michael
Newman, a student of Deborah Capon. With the
use of a skateboard as a prop he showed a
versatile approach to choreography. This was
a fun and uplifting performance.
• Primary boys
A delightful class of six young tappers from
Jean Marks, Hayley Sexton and The Victoria
School. They were beautifully attired in red
braces and bow ties and performed with confidence
and charisma.
• Solid Feet
Choreographed and fantastically arranged by
Adam Buckley, Jay Hardy and Stuart Coulter
(graduates of Birds College). This was an
amazing collaboration of well-developed and
explored rhythms and their performance was
energetic and exciting.
• Fun with Tap
Choreographed by Jacqui Tapsell. The 12 junior
dancers integrated well and the choreography
demonstrated creative patterning. They wore
a unitard with a piano design on the top half
and white gloves. These were effective throughout
the number, which proved to be fun and enjoyable.
• Solo Performance – ‘Flair
with Astaire’
Adam Burkitt danced with much gracefulness.
His performance was artistic and he showed
good musicality.
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Imperial
Ballet
Grade 2 Mock Examination,
Tracey Warner
Tracey Warner is an Imperial Ballet examiner
and ballet teacher at the Arts Educational
School, Tring Park. She gave clear instructions
and direction throughout the demonstration
and had a delightful manner with the students.
The two girls, who are pupils of Sammi Dennard,
presented the work with technical precision
and performed with artistry and musicality.
They had perfectly co-ordinated port de bras
and beautifully extended arabesques. Accompanied
by pianist Pat Linehan we were treated to
a breathtaking performance of the Grade 2
set dances. This section was very interesting
as it gave teachers an insight into how an
exam is conducted and the requirements of
the pupils during an examination. It was therefore
extremely helpful.
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South
Asian Dance
‘Rhythm and Gestures’ |
Modern
Theatre
‘Grade 5 Demonstration’ |
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Imperial
Ballet
Grade 2 Mock Examination,
Tracey Warner
Tracey Warner is an Imperial Ballet examiner
and ballet teacher at the Arts Educational
School, Tring Park. She gave clear instructions
and direction throughout the demonstration
and had a delightful manner with the students.
The two girls, who are pupils of Sammi Dennard,
presented the work with technical precision
and performed with artistry and musicality.
They had perfectly co-ordinated port de bras
and beautifully extended arabesques. Accompanied
by pianist Pat Linehan we were treated to
a breathtaking performance of the Grade 2
set dances. This section was very interesting
as it gave teachers an insight into how an
exam is conducted and the requirements of
the pupils during an examination. It was therefore
extremely helpful. |
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National
A choreographic demonstration of extracts
from
the new Vocational Graded Syllabus
Robina Smith and Heather Rees
This was a wonderful demonstration of the
national dances from around the world. The
30 dancers showed enthusiasm and enjoyment
in their work and performed with strong expression
and style. There was positive interaction
between them and they covered the entire floor
space with a wonderful variation of speeds.
Both the group pieces and the duets were presented
with confidence. |
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Modern
Theatre
Grade 5 Demonstration
Jacqui Tapsell and Lyn Richardson
This was a dynamic demonstration of the new
Grade 5 and Grade 6 work. Performed by dancers
from Junior Performers School and Performers
College. We saw the warm up, sequence of stretches
and tendus, which now include turned out tendus
with a change of direction. Adaptations were
shown for the boy’s floor, clearly demonstrating
the differences required from male and female
dancers. The new isolations, which can be
done to the teacher’s own choice of
music, were strong, clean, dynamic and showed
line and accuracy of movement. The intensity
of the performance gradually increased as
one, then three, then five, then seven etc
firstly danced it. The new Grade 5 lyrical
amalgamation was a sincere demonstration by
pupils of Sarah Jane Bullock.
The Grade 6 boy’s Jazz arms, which are
optional for girls, were clean and sharp.
In contrast to this was the breathe and release
exercise demonstrating weight and relaxation
and the natural quality of movement required.
Karen King, Modern and Tap examiner and Principal
of The Centre Performing Arts College London
had created a challenging 6/4 foot warm up.
The dancers showed elevation and the dynamic
elements required in this exercise, which
is designed to increase the dancers breathing
and heart rate in preparation for the latter
section of the grade. We then saw a passionate
performance of Barbara Evans’ unique
style in the girl’s Jazz amalgamation. |
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Theatre
Faculty Showcase
The afternoon finished with an entertaining
showcase. It was lovely to see such talented
performers demonstrating their award winning
numbers. This was such a delightful collaboration
of both gifted dancers and amazing choreography.
The day was an educational and fulfilling
experience.
Gemma Louise Wright
Photographs by Elaine Mayson
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