Joy of motion
To break away from mediocrity is the ethos behind Dance Beyond
As the sun rises over yet another closing week, a group of 12- to 16- year-old dancers are just about to warm up for this evening's and tomorrow's performance combining a multi-disciplinary programme. So get ready for much more than a bite of Tchaikovsky.
It's the culmination of an intense week of workshops which delved into classical, modern and contemporary dance. These young dancers have been hand-picked from 15 local ballet schools to imbibe the energy, the discipline, the zest and the vision of three widely different pedagogies, namely La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, the Hungarian Dance Academy and the London Contemporary Dance School. Anyone attending the show will also be able to feast their eyes on numbers choreographed and danced by these world-acclaimed dance academies.
Straddling the continent, together they span the rich legacy and intriguing evolution of dance from its classical roots right up to what is hip and happening at the very moment.
The synergy of Dance Beyond projects a year of unstinting efforts by the Dance Council of Malta to bring together prestigious dance academies to Malta with the specific aim of enriching budding dancers. But dump any notion of platitudes.
The stirring of personal/professional development demands a stance of no compromise. A mix of pride and humility in reaching a goal only to discover that it is a mere step in an ongoing journey. An awareness that physical limitations constrain and inspire as they respond (or fail to respond) to chained hearts and manacled minds. And that the very artistry of dance (like any artistic expression) encompasses a social statement.
Yes a stunning performance is all for the taking. It is wonderful too to glimpse the depth of aching joints galvanising brain power. And that's why the Dance Council team is striving to raise standards of dance in Malta. No easy task. Yet speaking to Tanya Bayona, Dance Council president, offers a ray of hope. For starters, Dance Beyond builds on years of taking the initiative to have students interact with top-notch dancers and choreographers. This event is also envisaged as a regular meeting between the varied synergies of several leading international dance schools. For the way forward is to open up to different techniques, different ways of thinking. This is the mantra of an artistic soul; of people who have been born and bred in tradition but eventually moved on to the contemporary idiom if not outright avant-garde. A point that recurred and recurred when talking to Ms Bayona.
Ms Bayona is more than the doyenne of ballet in Malta. She is one of those rare birds that soar above both self-set and life-shaping challenges with typical ballerina grace underlined by a true artistic spirit - meaning a relentless feeding upon the mesh of personal ambitions and personal demons. With a lifetime of achievements under her belt, you would think that hanging her dancing shoes has led to a well deserved rest. In actual fact her vision of ever aspiring to the highest standards continues to propel the Dance Council. However, she is quick to affirm and reiterate the sweat of the whole team; a collaborative effort even in the naming of the event.
Now Dance Beyond immediately connotes a breaking of barriers and of course it makes a catchy slogan. But what does the name chosen for this pan-European meeting of dance really signify?
"Beyond our shores! Beyond our horizons! As a team the Dance Council has always believed in the importance of tapping and tasting the energy of foreign artistes here and not merely of going away to seek this energy. It's also a spatial experience."
At this point we discuss the rigour of classical ballet and the demands of keeping its legacy alive through our interpretations. The breakthroughs of modern dance and its evocative inspiration came next. However, Ms Bayona's face really lights up at the mention of today's dance fusion.
"Contemporary dance is intriguing, exciting because it fuses a classical base with a limitless exploration of body movement. There are no set rules, no boundaries, no conformity. Therefore dancers are spurred to discover and keep on discovering physical expression at its most extreme... a whole new vocabulary without ever letting go of the essentials of line, balance and harmony."
Visions of perfectly fluid bodies, expressive lightness, remarkable sinuousness, wrestlings and dislocations all conjure a cry for freedom. Yet the line between capture and escape is not completely clear particularly in the context of today's paradoxical social fabric making it all the more fascinating.
There is however no doubting the vibrancy radiating the lush repertoire of the three participating foreign academies. La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo breathes the glories of classical ballet and opera like no other since the splendid Neapolitan theatre is the oldest of the historical Italian opera houses and strives to live up to its status of living legend. Incorporating the Cecchetti and Vaganova methods, its curriculum now embraces modern dance technique. The fiery Magyar character is a visibly inspiring force in the students trained in several dance genres at the Hungarian Dance Academy, while the blast of cosmopolitan influences and a vast corpus of incessant research motivate the London Contemporary Dance School to express today's dance vocabulary with all the punch of living in today's world. Significantly, one of their numbers will feature the Bharata Natyam dance from the south of India which is no surprise given the tidal wave of Indian dance and music hitting the UK.
Dance Beyond also promises the thrill of watching young dancers do wonders though they have not yet reached the peak of their prowess. Hopefully, the talented dancers who have been singled out to participate in this round of workshops and performances will go well beyond their present capabilities, their future dreams.
• Dance Beyond is being presented at the Mediterranean Conference Centre today at 7.30 p.m. and tomorrow at 6.30 p.m.
The participating schools are: Alison White Dance Studio, Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet, Central Academy of Ballet, College of Jazz Dance, Creative Dance Studio, Sance Academy, Dance Conservatoire, Deborah McNamara School of Dance, Millroom Studio, Pauleen's Dance Studio, St Michael Foundation for Education, The Dance Workshop, the School of Dance, YADA Dance Academy Gozo and a guest appearance by dancers from the Pippa Gee Dance Studio.
On the synergy of international workshops and performances...
Veronica Lewis, director, London Contemporary School of Dance
I believe the project in Malta is a very important initiative to enable leading dance conservatoires from Europe to come together and share their work. We are very much hoping that the project will enrich the creative and artistic life of young dancers in Malta, as well as give students from a range of international cultures the chance to share each other's work. My aim in the session I shall lead will be to find ways of enabling the students from Hungary, Italy, England and Malta to work closely together and learn from each other. I hope that my workshop will give all the students an introduction to the work we will each be sharing in performance and an insight into the creative process.
Anna Razzi, director, La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli
I think there will be a great synergy between the work we're having during the classes and the performance because the students will step onto the stage enriched by the international ambience of those days. This will give them more strength and motivation to do the best of themselves in their performance.
I regard this international dance meeting as an extremely positive opportunity that the Dance Council of Malta has given to all of us. Dancing in an international context will be a great experience for the students and working with foreign people from other prestigious schools will be an amazing source of growth. I mean that after my performance, my students will receive the benefits of viewing and trying different school methods and styles during classes outside mine. And I hope it will be so for the students coming from the other participating guest academies we'll have the pleasure to work with. A meeting among different cultures is always an excellent prospect.
Nora Szönyi, college professor Hungarian Dance Academy
I'm always very pleased to participate, together with our students, at international dance gatherings. It is always eye- and mind-opening to see how other schools work. It's our pleasure and honour to be invited by the Dance Council of Malta. Dance life and dance education need strong personal commitment from both the professional and the civil society. Without dance lovers and good audiences, schools would not survive. On the other hand, we know from experience that professional dance education also helps in educating the public to acknowledge dance among the art disciplines.
It's the culmination of an intense week of workshops which delved into classical, modern and contemporary dance. These young dancers have been hand-picked from 15 local ballet schools to imbibe the energy, the discipline, the zest and the vision of three widely different pedagogies, namely La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, the Hungarian Dance Academy and the London Contemporary Dance School. Anyone attending the show will also be able to feast their eyes on numbers choreographed and danced by these world-acclaimed dance academies.
Straddling the continent, together they span the rich legacy and intriguing evolution of dance from its classical roots right up to what is hip and happening at the very moment.
The synergy of Dance Beyond projects a year of unstinting efforts by the Dance Council of Malta to bring together prestigious dance academies to Malta with the specific aim of enriching budding dancers. But dump any notion of platitudes.
The stirring of personal/professional development demands a stance of no compromise. A mix of pride and humility in reaching a goal only to discover that it is a mere step in an ongoing journey. An awareness that physical limitations constrain and inspire as they respond (or fail to respond) to chained hearts and manacled minds. And that the very artistry of dance (like any artistic expression) encompasses a social statement.
Yes a stunning performance is all for the taking. It is wonderful too to glimpse the depth of aching joints galvanising brain power. And that's why the Dance Council team is striving to raise standards of dance in Malta. No easy task. Yet speaking to Tanya Bayona, Dance Council president, offers a ray of hope. For starters, Dance Beyond builds on years of taking the initiative to have students interact with top-notch dancers and choreographers. This event is also envisaged as a regular meeting between the varied synergies of several leading international dance schools. For the way forward is to open up to different techniques, different ways of thinking. This is the mantra of an artistic soul; of people who have been born and bred in tradition but eventually moved on to the contemporary idiom if not outright avant-garde. A point that recurred and recurred when talking to Ms Bayona.
Ms Bayona is more than the doyenne of ballet in Malta. She is one of those rare birds that soar above both self-set and life-shaping challenges with typical ballerina grace underlined by a true artistic spirit - meaning a relentless feeding upon the mesh of personal ambitions and personal demons. With a lifetime of achievements under her belt, you would think that hanging her dancing shoes has led to a well deserved rest. In actual fact her vision of ever aspiring to the highest standards continues to propel the Dance Council. However, she is quick to affirm and reiterate the sweat of the whole team; a collaborative effort even in the naming of the event.
Now Dance Beyond immediately connotes a breaking of barriers and of course it makes a catchy slogan. But what does the name chosen for this pan-European meeting of dance really signify?
"Beyond our shores! Beyond our horizons! As a team the Dance Council has always believed in the importance of tapping and tasting the energy of foreign artistes here and not merely of going away to seek this energy. It's also a spatial experience."
At this point we discuss the rigour of classical ballet and the demands of keeping its legacy alive through our interpretations. The breakthroughs of modern dance and its evocative inspiration came next. However, Ms Bayona's face really lights up at the mention of today's dance fusion.
"Contemporary dance is intriguing, exciting because it fuses a classical base with a limitless exploration of body movement. There are no set rules, no boundaries, no conformity. Therefore dancers are spurred to discover and keep on discovering physical expression at its most extreme... a whole new vocabulary without ever letting go of the essentials of line, balance and harmony."
Visions of perfectly fluid bodies, expressive lightness, remarkable sinuousness, wrestlings and dislocations all conjure a cry for freedom. Yet the line between capture and escape is not completely clear particularly in the context of today's paradoxical social fabric making it all the more fascinating.
There is however no doubting the vibrancy radiating the lush repertoire of the three participating foreign academies. La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo breathes the glories of classical ballet and opera like no other since the splendid Neapolitan theatre is the oldest of the historical Italian opera houses and strives to live up to its status of living legend. Incorporating the Cecchetti and Vaganova methods, its curriculum now embraces modern dance technique. The fiery Magyar character is a visibly inspiring force in the students trained in several dance genres at the Hungarian Dance Academy, while the blast of cosmopolitan influences and a vast corpus of incessant research motivate the London Contemporary Dance School to express today's dance vocabulary with all the punch of living in today's world. Significantly, one of their numbers will feature the Bharata Natyam dance from the south of India which is no surprise given the tidal wave of Indian dance and music hitting the UK.
Dance Beyond also promises the thrill of watching young dancers do wonders though they have not yet reached the peak of their prowess. Hopefully, the talented dancers who have been singled out to participate in this round of workshops and performances will go well beyond their present capabilities, their future dreams.
• Dance Beyond is being presented at the Mediterranean Conference Centre today at 7.30 p.m. and tomorrow at 6.30 p.m.
The participating schools are: Alison White Dance Studio, Brigitte Gauci Borda School of Ballet, Central Academy of Ballet, College of Jazz Dance, Creative Dance Studio, Sance Academy, Dance Conservatoire, Deborah McNamara School of Dance, Millroom Studio, Pauleen's Dance Studio, St Michael Foundation for Education, The Dance Workshop, the School of Dance, YADA Dance Academy Gozo and a guest appearance by dancers from the Pippa Gee Dance Studio.
On the synergy of international workshops and performances...
Veronica Lewis, director, London Contemporary School of Dance
I believe the project in Malta is a very important initiative to enable leading dance conservatoires from Europe to come together and share their work. We are very much hoping that the project will enrich the creative and artistic life of young dancers in Malta, as well as give students from a range of international cultures the chance to share each other's work. My aim in the session I shall lead will be to find ways of enabling the students from Hungary, Italy, England and Malta to work closely together and learn from each other. I hope that my workshop will give all the students an introduction to the work we will each be sharing in performance and an insight into the creative process.
Anna Razzi, director, La Scuola di Ballo del Teatro San Carlo di Napoli
I think there will be a great synergy between the work we're having during the classes and the performance because the students will step onto the stage enriched by the international ambience of those days. This will give them more strength and motivation to do the best of themselves in their performance.
I regard this international dance meeting as an extremely positive opportunity that the Dance Council of Malta has given to all of us. Dancing in an international context will be a great experience for the students and working with foreign people from other prestigious schools will be an amazing source of growth. I mean that after my performance, my students will receive the benefits of viewing and trying different school methods and styles during classes outside mine. And I hope it will be so for the students coming from the other participating guest academies we'll have the pleasure to work with. A meeting among different cultures is always an excellent prospect.
Nora Szönyi, college professor Hungarian Dance Academy
I'm always very pleased to participate, together with our students, at international dance gatherings. It is always eye- and mind-opening to see how other schools work. It's our pleasure and honour to be invited by the Dance Council of Malta. Dance life and dance education need strong personal commitment from both the professional and the civil society. Without dance lovers and good audiences, schools would not survive. On the other hand, we know from experience that professional dance education also helps in educating the public to acknowledge dance among the art disciplines.
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