Links to work from people I admire.

Links to work from people I admire:

I admire many people within the dance field; I have chosen my 3 favourites from varying dance backgrounds to showcase a broad spectrum of talent from within the industry.

Having come from a very classical background, I have great admiration for ballet dancers in general, however one dancer in particular, Alessandra Ferri shines above them all.

She was born in 1963 in Milan, Italy and trained at both La Scala Theatre Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School respectively. She graduated into the Royal Ballet Company in 1980 aged only 17 years.

I find it hard to believe that she was only with The Royal Ballet Company for less than 5 years, as she made a huge impact, not only within the company but within English ballet as a whole. She continued on to American Ballet Theatre and danced with them from 1985-2007 as well as dancing with La Scala Theatre ballet from 1992-2007 before hanging up her pointe shoes up and retiring on August 10th 2007 aged 44.



Her longevity within the ballet world is a testament to her formidable technique and her phenomenal artistry, just two of the things that make her such an inspiration to me.

In the Royal Ballet Company she was one of Sir Kenneth Macmillan’s muses, and her performance as Juliet is captured on video and this is how I have been able to watch her dance on many occasions. Within my dance career I have always tried to develop the artistic quality in each role that I have performed. If ever I am in need of inspiration I watch the ‘Balcony pas de deux’ from Kenneth Macmillan’s Romeo and Juliet and this never fails to help me improve my artistry.




When I was dancing in midsummer nights Dream, I felt that I needed to develop the ethereal quality of a fairy. Once again I found this in her performance as Titania in The Dream choreographed by Fredrick Ashton.



I am not alone in my admiration for her. She has won countless awards throughout her career including:

•1983 - Olivier Award - Outstanding Individual Performance of the Year in a New Dance Production

•2000 - Prix Benois de la Danse, Moscow

•2005 - Italian Order of Merit of the Republic

•2005 - Dance Magazine Award, New York She has also received critical acclaim from even the most discerning critic Ismene Brown, who describes her Juliet as "full of "dramatic powers" >
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/3596168/Back-to-beguile.html

Ferri continued in inspire critics even in her final perfomance with American Ballet Theatre as Juliet:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/25/arts/dance/25ferr.html




I have also been interested in Musical Teatre from a very young age, one of the leaders in this field is Idina Menzel.
"I've been singing since I was born. It's something I do everywhere I go. In the shower, walking down the street. I don't need any impetus to do it. I just sing." (taken from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0579953/bio)

One of the jewels in the Broadway crown, this is my description of how her performances have set a precedence for modern music theatre artists. Before watching Wicked I was unaware of this star, however in the last few years she has become a huge inspiration to me.
Idina crated the role of Elphaba, the young Wicked Witch of the West in Stephen Schwartz’s musical Wicked, in 2003. The musical based on the acclaimed novel by Gregory Maguire is seen as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. I saw her in this role and she left me speechless. I have heard many wonderful singers throughout my years of visiting the West End but she took my breath away. She has the most phenomenally powerful voice, showcased to superb effect in the song “Defying Gravity”

In Wicked she played the Elphaba, the misunderstood “green girl” the young Wicked Witch of the west. Not only was this role perfect for Menzel’s amazing vocals but it also showcased her acting skills too. After seeing her in Wicked I was bitten by the Menzel bug and went about trying to find out as much about her and see as much of her work as possible.

I stumbled across a DVD of Jonathan Laresen’s “Rent” adapted for film and directed by in which she played the performance artist Maureen Johnson. Once again she was able to showcase her voice to amazing effect.

Her star turn in "Wicked" won her a Tony Award and huge critical acclaim. Other credits include two Drama Desk nominations for her roles in "The Wild Party" and "See What I Wanna See" at the Public Theatre.
Film credits include starring roles in the Disney romantic fable, "Enchanted" and Robert Towne's "Ask The Dust".
The Boston Herald raved, "Menzel need only plant her feet on the ground and sing to make the back of the theatre vibrate with the power of her voice."
I find her inspirational because she has honed her talent to such a superb level and this is something that I strive to do!

The Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries

I admire this organization as it has helped to shape Dance Science within the UK. The centre opened in April 2002 as part of the redeveloped Birmingham Hippodrome. The ‘Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries’ (to give it its full title) is the first centre of its kind to open in the UK and is leading the future of Dance Medicine. Having worked with Birmingham Royal Ballet as a student, I have been lucky enough to use this centre and it really is superb. Not only does it house Birmingham Royal Ballets’ medical team, which includes physiotherapists, masseurs and a body conditioning instructor; it also contains a hydrotherapy pool and state-of-the-art diagnostic and fitness equipment.

http://www.jerwood.org/?lid=29

The Jerwood Centre boasts fantastic on-site facilities, which are superb; but what I really admire about this centre is that it is dedicated to conducting research into the study of Dance Injuries, something that I find incredibly interesting as this is a field that I would like to enter into once I have completed my BA(Hons) Professional Practice. This will benefit the dancers at Birmingham Royal Ballet and throughout the UK, hopefully leading to the improvement of dancer’s fitness and stamina enabling them to cope with the ever increasing demands of dance and lead them on to a long and healthy career.

One of the physiotherapists at the forefront of this project was Sharon Morrison, who was Head Physiotherapist for Birmingham Royal Ballet for many years before moving on and opening up her own practice in Sutton Coldfield. This article: (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/pound1m-step-to-put-the-kick-back-into-britains-unfit-dancers-721594.html) taken from The Independent highlights how Sharon is able to see the future of Dance Science and hopes to contribute to it. This foresight is something that I greatly admire and hope to be able to replicate in my career.