Ballet: The Essential Guide to Technique and Creative Practice, edited by Jennifer Jackson – Maggie Watson reviews

If I had to recommend just one book to a vocational dance student, it would be Ballet: The Essential Guide to Technique and Creative Practice.  In ten chapters, each written by an expert, the book covers the full range of material of which anyone embarking on a career in ballet needs understanding and awareness. 

The structure takes the reader logically from Ginny Brown’s and Anna Meadmore’s opening chapters on  ballet’s founding principles, cultural history and heritage, though the practical aspects of learning to dance, self-care, creativity and musicality, and on to guidance on the professional conduct, conventions and essential activities that all help bring a performance from the studio to the stage.

 

Images Ballet Company at Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot, Thursday 13 June 2019 – Maggie Watson reviews

Images Ballet Company presented a programme of joyful, colourful and musical work at Didcot Cornerstone Theatre on Thursday. Interlacing originality with tradition, the opening work, Interplay by Mikaela Polley, set the tone for the evening as light gradually bathed the backdrop in blue, revealing percussionist and composer Martin Pyne upstage right, and seven dancers stage left, silhouetted in beautifully placed classical ballet poses.

Images is the company of London Studio Centre’s graduating ballet students (six women, two men this year) and it gave the dancers the chance to work with four different choreographers on new works, exploring ballet as a means of expression and communication. The light hearted Interplay, with its changes of direction and use of pointe and swift, darting petit allegro was full of friendly interactions between the dancers.

 

Images Ballet Company: Cornerstone Theatre, Didcot, 13th June 2018 – Maggie Watson reviews

Images Ballet Company is the performing group of the graduating ballet students at London Studio Centre, and their appearance at Cornerstone last night was an exciting opportunity to see new dancers and new (or nearly new) works. Artistic Director Jennifer Jackson presented a programme of dances by four choreographers (Hubert Essakow, Erico Montes, Bim Malcomson, and Morgann Runacre-Temple), which demanded lyricism, attack, humour and acting ability, and the dancers rose to the occasion magnificently.

 

East Oxford School of Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty, Headington Theatre 7th-10th July

A delightful show and a great opportunity to see talented young dancers from Oxford showing what they have learned and what they can do coming up next week. The East Oxford School of Ballet is staging their production of The Sleeping Beauty next week Monday 7 July to Thursday 10 July inclusive at the Theatre at Headington. With a cast of 150 dancers aged from 3 to adult, this is a family-friendly performance of a much loved ballet, condensed into 2 acts, retaining all the favourite characters of the fairy tale within a compact and fast-moving narrative structure.

 

Dance Writers of the Future 2014 competition winner

Following consultation with our judges, David Bellan dance critic of Oxford Times, Penny Cullerne-Bown Principal of East Oxford School of Ballet, Susie Crow of Oxford Dance Writers and this year’s special guest, dance critic of The Times Donald Hutera, Oxford Dance Writers has great pleasure in announcing the result of the third Dance Writers of the Future Competition.  The prize for the 17 to 22 years category has been awarded to Emily Romain, for her vivid and perceptive review of Barak Marshall’s work The Castaways, performed by Rambert at the New Theatre on March 19th.  Emily is a recent graduate of Oxford University and an aspiring choreographer looking to further her studies in dance.  Her winning entry will be posted here on Oxford Dance Writers and on the website of The Dancing Times.  We look forward to bringing you further pieces of her writing here, and wish her much luck in her future career.  The judges also wish to offer a special commendation to Sergei Kundik, the youngest entrant in this category, for his evocative and heartfelt account of the dance piece This Bitter Earth.

Oxford Dance Writers would like to express its gratitude to the judges for giving this their time and expert consideration, and to Dancin’ Oxford, The Dancing Times, Oxford Playhouse, New Theatre and Oxford University Press for their generous support.  But above all thank you to all entrants for your interest; we very much enjoyed reading your thoughts and impressions, and would encourage you all to keep on observing, thinking and writing about dance; Oxford Dance Writers looks forward to welcoming your further comments and contributions about what you see – keep in touch!

 

 

Dancin’ The Years Away – Pegasus Theatre 28th June ’12

Dancin’ the Years Away

In this Gala evening organised by respected Oxford dance artist and teacher Joëlle Pappas, Tac-au-Tac Young Dancers and their friends celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Pegasus Theatre…

As well as talented young dancers from Tac-au-Tac, watch out for performances by some of Oxford’s leading youth dance groups led by Joëlle, Cecilia MacFarlane and Ellie Crowther, including the dynamic Oxford Youth Dance Company, and a first appearance by the new Oxford Youth Ballet led by Penny Cullerne-Bown of East Oxford School of Ballet in new work by Susie Crow.

Proceeds from the Gala will go towards supporting the rich programme of ongoing youth work at the Pegasus.

28th June 2012, 7.00pm

Tickets £15, £10 for under 18s and concessions – selling fast!

Box Office 01865 812150

http://www.pegasustheatre.org.uk

 

Dance Writers of the Future 2012 – the winners

Following the completion of this year’s Dancin’ Oxford Festival, Oxford Dance Writers has great pleasure in announcing the winners of this year’s Dance Writers of the Future competition.  The competition judges were David Bellan, dance critic of the Oxford Times, Susie Crow of Ballet in Small Spaces and Oxford Dance Writers, Penny Cullerne-Bown, Principal of East Oxford School of Ballet, and Miranda Laurence of Dance and Academia. All entrants were in the higher age category and the final winners in a very close contest were as follows:

First Prize: Thomas Stell

Runner-up:  Miranda Frudd

The judges would like to congratulate Thomas for his vibrant account of performance installation Between by Angela Woodhouse and Caroline Broadhead at the Burton Taylor Studio, and Miranda for her thoughtful reflection on Paulette Mae’s A Suitcase for All Occasions at the Old Fire Station.  Both of these winning entries are being posted for you to enjoy.

As part of his prize Thomas received a pair of tickets for Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker at the New Theatre – his review of this successful and popular production will also be posted very shortly… We hope that both winners will be encouraged to contribute further writings on dance to Oxford Dance Writers and look forward to hearing from them again in future.

Well done to all the contestants, and our grateful thanks to the Dancing Times, New Theatre Oxford and Oxford Playhouse for their support of the competition through generous prizes.