Dane Hurst Weblog

Money, Madness & Happiness

They say house prices in London are falling by at least £500 on average a week. Well it is about bloody time. Just the other day I tried to book a flight back to South Africa realising that a return flight costs more than what I receive in a month’s wage. The cost of living just seems to be soaring out of control and still we just keep finding new ways to spend that hard-earned cash. Just after they announced the U.K credit -crunch I received a letter stating that my credit limit was to be increased, 'piss- off' I thought, and yes, moments later, like a fish, I was “hooked”. I leave for South Africa on the 7th July. It becomes like a continuous downward spiral into the dark sewers of ATM excrement and online billing. Yes, the concept of saving is seemingly encouraged and the ease of borrowing providing a quick fix similar to that of a starved smoker waking from an afternoon siesta to find he still has at least 2 drags left until the end of the month. The former of which to me seems rather impossible judging by our current mental state and our love affair of all things bright and glossy.
Rises in oil, fuel, flights and petrol has resulted in my recent electricity bill being close to £300,no not really but I’d like to blame it on that. Blame George Bush for subsidising agriculture to produce bio-fuels and hiking up food prices in Africa and using gallons of oil to produce ethanol.It makes no sense. Why am I clambering on about money? Surely I should be hippie-fied and gleaming from our recent success at the Sadlers Wells in London, I will get to that shortly. It is that now above trying to live comfortably here in U.K, I am aware of certain shortages and inadequacies of people in Africa, members of my family included. I know that money is one thing that would ease many a sleepless night. Therefore, lottery tickets and scratch cards have been flying out my hands only to be recycled, reprinted and reclaimed by the next victim. Easy option many would say but hey, I know I mentioned it the last time round, I am only just a dancer.
It has crossed my mind many times, a question about how I will sustain a comfortable livelihood by just being a dancer and then crossing over to something else in my mid-thirties and honestly the spaces of its re-occurrence are rare these days. Reason being, we have just had 2 days of performances at the Sadlers Wells, still fresh from a completely different full-length programme of Cattle Call at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.This time it was two works by Director Javier de Frutos and two by the legendary Jose’ Limon. A programme so delicately woven and cared for, spearheaded by two amazingly gifted women in the studio at opposite ends of the age spectrum but at one with their artistic visions, Spanish Ana Lujan Sanchez and American guest Sarah Stockhouse brought together by the venezualen mastermind,Javier. A heady brew of creativity and passion all anxiously absorbed by a great motley crew of a company handpicked from who knows where. This is where it all pays off, not in pounds but in life, laughter, maturity and some otherworldly sort of connection.
This is the Stage. A place where reality does not exist and troubles become a thing of the past, even if only for a moment. It is just awe-inspiring when months of work, sweat and tears transform into something so magical that it transcends the mundane of everyday turmoil. When it works it works, when it doesn't it becomes a job. Money cannot buy such pleasures. I might not be able to buy a house or afford a ticket home or even lend a few quid but let me tell you, the poorest of men can have the richest of rewards within. Sharing that with a few people is priceless.
London was great, is great, but the truth is you step out the door and you spend 40 quid. Oh yes, before I forget,” Congratulations Boris and Good Luck Mate you gonna need it.” Do I miss London? Most certainly but that enthusiasm escapes me as soon as I step onto platform 3, waiting for the District Line to Chiswick. The joys of public transportation, leaves very little to envy. I walk to work now. Definitely, a step in the right direction providing the weather holds up.

Allow me to introduce myself:

I am South African and have been in the U.K for 5 years now. I started out at The Rambert School in 2003, and went on to join The Rambert Dance Company in 2004. I left Rambert and joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in Nov 2007.
What I've learnt in my brief career so far is that dance or more importantly the dance industry is not always as rosy and beautiful as is usually assumed. I've seen dancers used, neglected, abused(creatively that is), sucked dry and spit-out.On the other hand, I have seen the rebirth of personalities within the industry, an awakening of the senses towards the reality of the arts and an acceptance of a more humanistic side to the performer/artist. I won't go on preaching about the philosophy behind the arts and its place within society but something has recently come to my attention that I think needs debating.
I filled out a questionnaire the other day questioning the similarities between dance and sport and whether or not dance could be included into the olympic arena and be judged accordingly. The big worry for me was what type of image people are recieving to even propose such a ridiculous notion.I am very much aware of the virtuoso athletic tendencies of dance today, but can we really judge dance according to athleticism and technique. As I filled out the questionnaire I reflected on what I'm usually aware of when I sit in the auditorium, and the truth is that today a lot of emphasis goes into the physicality of dance and very little else into what the driving force behind the movement is.All you're left with is the memory of how good the dancers were and nothing much after that.There are very few exceptions in contrast to this. Going back to dance in competition. This is an already flourishing institution for young dancers trying to put their foot into the professional door of the dance world and in most cases is fundamental in securing the livelihood and employment of this generation. This survives within a closed circuit and is understood for it's purpose. If we open up this circuit to the world I can see only the negative effect it would have on the industry. People would go to the theatre and judge the contents of the show according to how they've been educated through seeing dance in the Olympic Games. Will it happen, who knows. All I know is that I'm against it.
So what else has been going on? We've just come back from our tour to Cremona, Italy, performed to a packed auditourium and two standing ovations later returned to Leeds. Thats one of the perks of this job, you get to escape reality a bit, eat some fabulous food, get lost in translation, enjoy some amazing sunshine and then come back to the North..... It was pissing down with rain when we returned,not far from the norm I guess. Oh the sacrifices we make heh! What next - we have about a week left until we premier our brand new full length work, I have to confess, this is unlike anything I've done before. Just today I found myself in a sound recording studio singing the lyrics to our different movements in the piece. Thats right- singing. We've collaborated with Richard Thomas and are having a ball with the opera singers. It's called "Cattle Call" and it's got everything in it.Any more news on that issue I'm afraid I cannot give.
Aside from that we're also rehearsing current repetoire for our normal touring season which we perform almost directly after our Cattle Call opening week, so it might seem like a walk in the park, being a dancer and all, on the flipside, it's exhausting stuff. Not just physically, mentally it's a nightmare. It's hard to maintain sanity after a while. No wonder we turn to alcohol and nicotine for some sort of mental break. Lame excuse, probably, The truth, most certainly.It's the only effective sedative that prevents nervous breakdown without the need of prescription.....

Other than that we're 3 months closer to summer(bring on the heat) and Robert Mugabe has finally been kicked the hell out! Well almost, it seems more likely than not. I still can't believe that he's been left alone after all those years of corruption and stupidity.I mean, Saddam Hussein got hanged in the blink of an eye, well that is also questionable but this is probably not the best time or place to get into foreign affairs.
Speaking of foreign affairs, one thing that recently put a smile on my face was the success of the first ever international dance competition in South Africa. It's quite a step forward I think, considering the weight of dance and where it stands on the political agenda of the country.Five stars to the organisers, money is hard to come by these days, as we know how recently a large percentage of arts funding was diverted to aid the Olympics and similarly in S.A towards the Soccer World Cup. It seems everybody is fighting for funding these days and that not much has changed over the years. The bitter-sweet truth still lays bare the fact that dancers and all present on the canvas are still ,"The hardest working and most underpaid in the Arts".