Original Interview

…And so the holidays for the summer came and went. My wife had decide that she had to play catch up at Summer School which meant that it was time for me to catch up on the little DIY jobs around our home. We have also recently acquired a little companion for our older dog Gemma, namely Magi. Same breed, West highland, but she has a few more ideas on the home improvement front than I had first imagined… Like her adopted parents the furnishings in our home have taken on that distressed look. Oh …the trials and tribulations of Parenthood.

Angela and my self have yet to get around to proper parenting. We both decided that we wanted our careers to have priority at an early age. That's not to say that we don't want children now, it's just that it all seems a little harder now that were a little older. We have had all the tests and that's ok, but somehow things just do not seem to be happening. Relax I hear people cry. How and when I cry! The turmoil of the past year, with Angela changing her course, and now my self looking at the prospect of unemployment in the coming year are not exactly the most relaxing of situations to be in… If I'm starting to sound like a househusband just give me a bottle of Australian Wolf Blass 96 and I'll quietly go to sleep.

I was recently invited to give class for the company Re-animators. From my understanding they provide out of work dancers with the daily classes that are needed to keep in shape. They also have lists of all the companies that are auditioning for dancers in need of work. Thanks to the indisposition of Tim Almas (Currently teaching for Peter Schaufuss), I was able to let loose my verbal ranting to some 15 or so needy dancers. As well as this I was able to take a little trip up to Cambridge at the invitation of BodyWork, who were in the middle of their summer school, to give class to 10 students of various shapes and ages. There could perhaps be a return to BodyWork in the near future, providing we can work out a timetable.

I have never thought of myself as a teacher of Ballet. To take a body at an early age and sculpt it into a piece of artwork requires a very special technique and a lot of responsibility. How many times have we heard…? " I used to do ballet, but…" and out come a whole list of reasons as to why they're not doing it now, and invariably it was because they didn't have the right sculptor. No I don't believe that Teaching (with a capital 'T') is for me. On the other hand if you asked me to 'Give class or rather, take class', then that's a different thing all together, at least in my book.

For many years now I have been fortunate enough to have very good teachers who have also been involved with the production of ballets for the Company. To name but a few, Elizabeth Anderton, Woytek Lowski(1),Vassilie Trunoff, and of course Peter Schaufuss the latter being the Director/Teacher/Dancer with the Company. If I am able to take just one percent, of the energy and encouragement that they were able to give, and pass it on to new dancers/ students, then perhaps there is an open door?

It is at this point that I feel I must congratulate Dance UK and their splendid lecture demonstrations that related to the healthier dancer program. On returning to the new season with the company we were given two weeks of gentle rehabilitation and initiation, all of which I would have appreciated more had it been given 20yrs ago. Nutrition, Psychology, Cardiovascular work outs, Warm Up/Cool down, Pilate's, Injury Prevention and Assertivness were just a few of the subjects that were covered in the two week program. I would strongly recommend that any ballet company director consider the benefits that these lectures would have on his/her company, especially to a young and inexperienced flock. Keep up the good work!

A recent invitation from Kim Braunstrap & ARC Dance Company has given me food for thought during the long, day to day, periods of waiting for my next rehearsal…

(1) See, The Art of Teaching Classical Ballet. Lowski. Published Dance Books Ltd 1998