| Theatre
Faculties Irish Congress 2004
Saturday 23rd
& Sunday 24th October 2004
The Grand Hotel
Malohide
Ireland
Saturday
23rd October Reports>>
Children’s classes>>
Teacher’s classes>>
Sunday
24th October Reports>>
Children’s classes>>
Teacher’s classes>>
Saturday
23rd October
Children’s
classes
Modern
Theatre Faculty
‘New Grade 5’
Sarah Wilson
The first morning kicked off with the new Grade 5 Modern work
for children. Many eager young faces waited anxiously for
Sarah Wilson to guide them through the warm-up and the isolations.
Despite the early start, they were alert and eager to please.
National
Dance Faculty
‘A Selection of Dances from the new National Graded
Examination Syllabus’
Marion Roberts
The second session of the morning saw the children
don their character skirts and shoes for a selection of dances
from the National Graded Examination syllabus. Marion Roberts
guided them through dances from different levels of the newly
restructured Graded Syllabus from countries including Denmark
and Austria.
Tap Dance Faculty
‘Free Tap Class’
Nick French
We were then treated to an excellent Tap class for the children
with Nick French. His class was based on the work from the
Bronze Tap Award, and the children obviously enjoyed his class,
responding to the variety of music and style included in this
syllabus.
Imperial Classical Ballet Faculty ‘Posture,
Placement and Port de Bras’
Andrew Wilson
Andrew Wilson’s class was on ‘Posture, Placement
and Port de Bras’. It is always a pleasure to have Andrew’s
teaching at home. His aim was to raise awareness of correct
posture and placement and good use of arms.
Having talked the students through correct alignment of body
and arms, he encouraged them to maintain this placement while
executing port de bras, pirouettes and allegro enchainements.
It was gratifying to see the children concentrating, and under
Andrew’s constant reminders and encouragement, improving
posture and placement and giving a better understanding of
port de bras.
 |
| ‘Posture,
Placement and Port de Bras’, Andrew Wilson |
South
Asian Dance Faculty
‘Fun with Rhythms’
Pushkala Gopal
A special treat for the children in the afternoon was Fun
with Rhythms given by South Asian dance teacher Pushkala Gopal,
who had also guided the teachers through Steps and Syllables
earlier on. Pushkala was assisted by her excellent student
Sunita and this class proved very popular with all those who
participated.
 |
| ‘Fun
with Rhythms’, Pushkala Gopal |
Classical Greek Dance Faculty
‘Aspects and Development of the Medal Tests’
Carol Vasko
The rest of Saturday was taken up with aspects and developments
of the medal tests by Carol Vasko. A class appreciated by
both those participating and watching.
Cecchetti
Classical Ballet Faculty
‘Open Class Repertoire’
Graham Fletcher
The Open Class Repertoire, given by Graham Fletcher, probably
provided the most fun of the day. Dreams of learning the ‘Sleeping
Beauty pas de deux’, or the ‘Dance of the Cygnets’
were firmly quashed when Graham announced that they were going
to learn the ‘chicken dance’ from ‘La Fille
Mal Gardee’. The class was bursting at the seams but
nevertheless, inspired by his ‘squawking’ sounds
and ‘fowl’ movements, the children rose to the
occasion and learned the complete dance in forty minutes.
Their antics were hilarious and both audience and children
had a wonderful time.
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Teacher’s
classes
Classical
Greek Dance Faculty
‘Grade 6 Demonstration’
Karen Collings
The day of teacher’s classes began with the Classical
Greek, Grade 6, demonstration presented by Karen Collins.
Students from Cork, Down and Dublin gave a confident presentation
of the work, showing freedom of movement with strong technical
accuracy. The sequence with a small ball showed excellent
eye co-ordination, while the arm positions were immediately
evocative of the figures of Greek urns and vases.
Especially
interesting was the athletic sequence - conveying a sense
of freedom, strength and power - a wonderful contrast to the
softer lines of the earlier sequences. The vivid royal blue
and scarlet costumes were very attractive. This was an excellent
start to the day.
Modern
Theatre Faculty
‘New Primary’
Sarah Wilson
The new Primary Modern Theatre class examinations work was
taught by Sarah Wilson. This syllabus encourages a strong
use of imagery, designed to assist the childs thought process,
and to encourage development of the brain as well as movement
and works really well for this stage of the child’s
development.
The
children are encouraged to explore different themes within
a controlled context and to respond to the different qualities
and aspects of music. Sarah’s enthusiasm for the work
is infectious. Her ideas offer inspiration, especially to
teachers who find imaginative work difficult. The teachers
were delighted with the syllabus and many felt that they would
use it for both Ballet and Modern classes for young children.
Modern Theatre Faculty
‘New Syllabus work, Grades 5 and 6’
Development Team
Sarah Wilson continued with the New Syllabus, Grades 5 and
6. Teachers worked with Sarah on some of the excerpts from
the new Grade 5 Modern syllabus. The teachers responded well
to the clear instructions and advice on line and rhythm. The
new work is exciting and challenging, and teachers were happy
to sit and watch the next lecture.
South
Asian Dance Faculty
‘Steps and Syllables’
Pushkala Gopal
As mentioned in the children’s classes, this class was
conducted by Pushkala Gopal. The class gave the teachers present
an opportunity to learn work from a totally new dance genre
for most.
Imperial
Classical Ballet Faculty
‘The Art of Terre à Terre Work’
Andrew Wilson
After lunch Andrew Wilson taught the art of Terre à
Terre work. Once so important, it has sadly lost favour in
recent years to more athletic work, so it was really wonderful
to watch teachers performing a series of enchainements, designed
by Andrew to encourage a ‘feel’ for the floor
- glissades, pas de bourrees, temps de cuesses, pas de basques,
skimming jetes - all combined to make intricate enchainements.
It
was a joy to watch footwork combined with changes of body
alignment and weight. Movements so fast as to demand absolute
accuracy in execution - is this a lost art? Again, under Andrew’s
emphases on good
use of floor and feet, much was accomplished by the end of
the class.
Tap
Dance Faculty
‘Bronze Tap Award’
Nick French
Nick French is a member of the team teaching this work. He
was delighted
to be bringing the syllabus to this class of enthusiastic
students and teachers. His rhythmic approach and attention
to detail was obviously appreciated throughout the day.
National
Dance Faculty
‘An introduction to the new National Vocational Graded
Examination Syllabus’
Marion Roberts
In this session, Marion Roberts introduced teachers to a selection
of dances from the restructured Vocational Graded Syllabus,
representing a variety of countries including Russia, Rumania
and Austria. Students of Paddy Hurlings acted as a demonstration
set and partnered teachers who took the floor.
 |
| ‘An
introduction to the new National Vocational Graded Examination
Syllabus’, Marion Roberts |
National
Dance Faculty
‘Irish Dancing’
Brenda Bastable
Finally we had a lovely surprise, a demonstration of Irish
Dancing by the Bastable Warren School, introduced by the Principal
of the School, Brenda Bastable. The dancers executed a traditional
‘Hornpipe’, the three tunes choreographed in 1924.
A more modern ‘Rhythmic Ructions’ followed, a
reel in couples, and a ‘Brush Dance’. The last
goes back 200 years, when only the men danced and impromptu
performances took place in kitchens to the accompaniment of
accordion and fiddle. The girls wore traditional Irish Dancing
costumes, embroidered in the five Celtic colours, with illustration
from the Book of Kells. This was a wonderful finish to the
day and a treat for the overseas visitors.
 |
| ‘Irish
Dancing’, Brenda Bastable |
Report
by:
Anne Tighe and Louise Belahan
Additional
contributions:
Paddy Hurlings, Gaynor Owen, Patricia Prime and Jacky Ferguson
Photographs: Elaine Mayson (except those above)
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Sunday
24th October
Children’s
classes
Imperial
Classical Ballet Faculty
‘Warm Up and Grade 3 Dance - A Day at the Races’
Lorraine Swain
On Sunday morning, while the sun sparkled on the marina in
Malahide, Lorraine Swain took the children thorough the Grade
3 dance ‘A
Day at the Races’. The whole class responded enthusiastically.
 |
| ‘Warm
Up and Grade 3 Dance - A Day at the Races’, Lorraine
Swain |
Tap
Dance Faculty
‘Tap Class’
Emma Rogers
Emma gave an excellent class, she captured the imagination
of the children and they responded by dancing with confidence,
style and enthusiasm.
 |
| ‘Tap
Class’, Emma Rogers |
Modern
Theatre Faculty
‘Modern Class’
Barbara Evans
The floor was crowded with enthusiastic dancers. The pace
and energy expected from a Barbara Evans class was evident
from the first beat. So much was learnt from this talented
teacher.
Modern
Theatre Faculty
‘Junior Jazz Class’
Carole Mosely
The class was conducted with high energy and great enthusiasm
by both Carole and the children. The room was full of eager
young dancers who attained a good standard of Jazz technique.
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Teacher’s
classes
Modern
Theatre Faculty
‘New work Grades 5 and 6’ (A continuation from
Saturday)
Development Team
The new syllabus work was taught with care and Sarah Wilson’s
eye for detail ensured a good standard was achieved in the
exercises.
Imperial
Classical Ballet Faculty
‘New Grade 5 and 6 Variations’
Francesca Filpi and Vanessa Palmer
Meanwhile, the teachers were totally enthralled by the beautiful
style and technique of Royal Ballet star Francesca Filpi,
who taught them her Grade 5 Ballet variation.
This
was immediately followed by Vanessa Palmer’s Grade 6
variation which she described as her ‘tribute to Sir
Frederick Ashton’.
 |
| Francesca
Filpi and Vanessa Palmer with Patricia Prime |
Demonstration of Ballet, Tap and New Modern Work Variations
The highlight of the weekend took place at noon on Sunday
with the demonstration of Ballet, Tap and new Modern work.
Paddy Hurlings introduced the Tap presentation, brilliantly
performed by her students, who travelled from the UK. It was
enthusiastically received by the audience. Next came the Imperial
Ballet demonstrations - a selection of work from Primary to
Advanced I. The performance was excellent with the youngest
children showing that a good interpretation of the simpler
steps can make them as exciting to watch as the advanced work.
Finally Sarah Wilson presented the Modern Theatre work from
Grade 5 and 6 - this work is riveting - the girls performances
were excellent, thanks to the rehearsal teachers, Debbie Allen,
Paddi Mulholland, Sinéad Murphy, Nadia Quick and Leon
Reynolds. If applause is anything to go by, the demonstrations
delighted all in a very packed room.
 |
 |
| |
Demonstration
of Ballet, Tap & New Modern Work Variations |
The
demonstrators were:
Zoe Ashe-Browne
Louise Bell
Kate Buckley
Emily Cave
Shannon Coghlan
Eimear Digney
Deidre Duggan
Anna Feeney
Grace Flynn
Melissa Greenwood
Grace O’Hara
Rebecca Haughton
Claire Hegarty
Rebecca Hickey
Maeve Kelly
Roisin Laffan
Gillian Fenton Leogue
Mary Lucey
Fiona Mahon
Nicola McConnell
Ailsa McCullagh
Lauren McEvoy
Elspeth McKeever
Jenny McKeever
Kate McLoughlin
Anna McNicholas
Emma Melvin
Grace Morgan
Naoimh Morgan
Kelly Ann Murphy
Sinéad O’Connor
Clíodna O’Connor
Emma O’Donovan
Margaret O’Doherty
Emma Oliver
Lauren Oliver
Naoimh Reilly
Katya Solovyova
Jessica Stokes
Jean Syme
Dori Tallent
Kathryn Teehan
Rachel Tracey
Leonne Walshe
Laura Jane Ward
Molly Ward
Sarah Wiseman
Modern Theatre Faculty
‘Open Jazz Class for teachers and students’
Barbara Evans
After lunch on Sunday came not one treat, but two, for dancers
and audience alike. First was Barbara Evans’ Open Jazz
Class for students and teachers - what a challenge! - but
all rose to the occasion and responded so well to Barbara’s
untiring directions and enthusiasm.
 |
| ‘Open
Jazz Class for teachers and students’, Barbara Evans |
Guest teacher for Masterclass
Steven Paling
Without pausing for breath, dancers immediately filled the
floor for Steven Paling’s Master Class - Steven, who
has starred in Mamma Mia had chosen to teach the original
Fosse choreography of the last dance in ‘Chicago’
and the dancers’ response was fantastic.
 |
‘Open
Jazz Class for teachers and students’, Barbara Evans |
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