If you are not sure where to start with all the safety and good dance practise advice, these three videos on You Tube produced by Power Dance System. They maybe the answer to your prayers if you want quick basic advice and ideas! Follow the links below and you have the basics covered – enjoy!
Warm Up and Cool Down in Dance Practice – Power Dance System
Hello again! ! 
First of all let me apologise for being sooo lame in the latter part of 2009. I was extremely busy with two main projects which took most of my time up and I barely had time to breath! 2009 was a great year for me personally and the people I was working with. Fortunately now I have some time to reflect and review the projects I was involved in and I will post them up on the website as soon as possible.
Secondly, I would love to start posting some articles or reviews from you guys…. what you have seen, been to, tips on up and coming artists, interesting facts etc etc. If you have any ideas please email me (info@rebeccadalby.co.uk) and send me your thoughts.
I have quite a few ideas for the website which I am going to explore in 2010 so please keep coming back and visit/comment/email. If you have your own website or blog space which would link up well with mine (within the arts/sport/nutrition/health/therapy) then please also contact me as I am looking to expand my network.
Thank you once again for all your support in 2009 and hope that 2010 is an interessting, exciting and prosperous year for you all!
The International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) have now published a brand new teachers journal which disseminates the current dance science and health research in a way which directly relates to teachers. I have read the first one and it is great! Incredibly useful and very clear/easy to understand.
The journal is broken down into sections which give you a summary of the research, what they found, then how to practically apply this information in class and as part of your teaching. It includes pictures photos and I believe there is even a question and answer section being developed.
If you are a teacher or dancer this would be a fantatsic tool!!
Go to the IADMS website and click on the teachers bulletin section. You can sign up for their mailing list and download the journals from the site!!
Levantes Dance Theatre are performing their piece ‘Room Temperature Romance’ at the Barbican in October as part of Bite 09. They will be performing for a week beginning on the 14th of October 2009.
Tickets are already selling quickly so make sure you book your place. Levantes Dance Theatre is the company I work for and it’s their debut on the Barbican stage! The piece is set to be bright, entertaining and breath taking as I see it developing in rehearsals. I am extremely proud of what they do and the dedication they have for their work.
This company have great attitudes routed at their heart, as they incorporate health and fitness within their rehearsals, schedules and finance. A great model which will put them in good stead for their future both as individual performers and as a company.
Have a look at their promotion video: Room Temperature Romance
Follow the link to book your ticket: http://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre
This year’s International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) is being held in The Hague!
This is a great conference which I presented and attended last year. It is full to the brim of the latest information, scientific information, ground breaking workshops and a great bunch of people from around the world!!
This conference is open to dance students, performers, teachers, practitioners etc etc. Who ever you are you will come away with a weath of practical information to enhance your career or life in dance!
Follow the link to their website and get your place booked! I will be attending this year so if you have any questions or wish to meet me there please feel free to contact me.
Pina Bausch sadly died on the 30th of June 2009 aged 63. I went to her sell out performance in Sadlers Wells last year which was incredible. As all dance students I was taught about her work and the way she introduced the world to dance theatre, fusing humour and strong power messages. Unfortunately I did not get to see her company Tanztheatre Wuppertal (founded in 1973) until 2008. I am so glad I witnessed such an epic occasion. We were hoping that she would be there but could not make it in the end as she was unwell. Apparently she had only just hung up her dancing shoes two weeks before the stint at Sadlers Wells! 
Seeing her company in the flesh was an amazing experience. With a standing applaud, looking around at the audience, there was not one person in the theatre who was not blown away by the two pieces (Cafe Muller and Rite of Spring). My favourite was the Rite of Spring which totally blew me away. The power of the choreography and energy of the dancers was quite literally tangible! I have never felt that kind of all encompassing atmosphere in a theatre before and can still feel it now as I look back.
A great artistic mind, a great dancer, a great pioneer and a great lady. Her influence has shaped what we see at the theatre and I am very grateful for that! Watch the below videos on some of her most epic pieces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXVuVQuMvgA
www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/jul/01/pina-bausch-clip-dance-guide
Have YOU got the Bone Factor? 
The National Osteoporosis Society and Craig Revel Horwood launch national dance competition for primary school children.
Win an exclusive dance lesson from Craig Revel Horwood to help children prevent bone problems in later life.
Celebrity dance judge Craig Revel Horwood is calling all primary school teachers and children to enter a national dance competition and win their place on the first ever Bone Factor Tour in October! Winning schools receive an action packed day to help build stronger bones, with a dance lesson from Craig and exciting nutritional activities.
Craig Revel Horwood comments, “I’ve teamed up with the National Osteoporosis Society for the second year because dance is a great form of exercise, and a fun way to teach children the importance of keeping their bones healthy. We are inviting primary schools from across the country to join the Bone Factor challenge and compete for a chance to Boogie for their Bones on tour with me. So if you think you’ve got the Bone Factor then get dancing, because the search is on!”
The dance judge has teamed up with the National Osteoporosis Society once again as part of the charity’s Bones4Life programme. The initiative encourages primary school children to learn how to look after their bones from a young age, which is vital in ensuring they remain strong and healthy later in life. Last year, Craig worked with the charity to get dance schools to Boogie for their Bones. This year, Craig Revel Horwood and the Bone Factor Tour are targeting primary schools with their health messages and fun dance routine.
The Bone Factor Tour encourages children to get dancing from a young age, and Craig has created fantastic Boogie for your Bones dance steps and a dance plan and video to help explain the moves! Dance is a great form of weight-bearing exercise that builds bone strength from a young age. It’s also great fun!
Entering the Bone Factor Tour competition is easy. Schools simply send in a recording of their own Boogie for Your Bones dance that uses some of the steps available on www.bones4life.org/bonefactor. The entries can be a few photographs or a video and will be judged by Craig. Six lucky primary schools will earn their place on the tour for an unforgettable day about bone health. The Bone Factor Tour team will be visiting schools during the week of World Osteoporosis Day, on 20th October 2009. Entries will be judged regionally and chosen according to strict judging criteria.
All entries must be received by Friday 25th September 2009 and sent to: boogieforyourbones@goodrelations.co.uk, or post to: Bone Factor Tour competition, Good Relations, 26 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1PQ.
ISTD 
Theatre Faculties Congress @ Laban
This year the Theatre Faculties Congress was held at Laban (London) which, following the success of last year, the ISTD felt it was a well suited venue and had great adaptability for the needs of this diverse and large scale Congress.
Once again the Congress was a huge success and the variety of the lectures, demonstrations and workshops were impressive. The day was run with a high level of professionalism but also offering a lovely open and personal approach as the presenters and lecturers created a fun and welcoming atmosphere to all.
I attended five sessions on the day which included:
Tap class by Douglas Mills – Excellent, great fun! Amazing tapper and choreographer. (Tap Faculty)
Classical Greek: A Musical Approach – Ancient to Modern by Amanda Wilkins and Carol Vasko – Fantastic! Incredibly informative, well presented and beautiful dancing! (Classical Greek Faculty)
Classical Ballet: Demonstration Class Year 11 Girls from White Lodge with Diane Von Schoor – Talented young dancers taught by an incredible and entertaining teacher. An eye opener into the training of young ballet professionals. (Imperial Ballet and Cecchetti Faculty)
National Dance: A Polish Experience by Wlodek Lesiecki – Two words describe the presenter ….. interesting and crazy! This was a lot of fun to watch, mainly because of the way it was presented and taught. Not perhaps the most conventional way of teaching, but a nice change from the norm! (National Dance Faculty)
Kathak Workshop by Urja Desai Thakore – Excellent as we got chance to have one on one tution with Urja Desai Thakore! She was also very articulate in answering the questions the audience threw at her. (South Asian Faculty)
Classical Greek
My personal favourite from the day was the Classical Greek lecture and demonstration. I had never atcually seen any Classical Greek dance before then and was totally blown away! Four styles of Classical Greek was shown and explained. The first being Lyrical which was very exspressive, worshipful and elegant. The movements were heavily linked with the music and orginally back in Accient Greece, the dance would have been accompinied by live singers. The physicality was incredible. Clearly strength, balance and great flexibilty is needed to perform this style well. Alot of back work and spinal curves were involved in the chorerograhy. You could also see Balletic and Release style qualities (Release technique from the Contemporary Dance).
The second style was Bacchic. This style represents the extremes of human nature. The movements looked animal-esque! The dancers were transformed through the movements into dark and grotesque looking creatures!
The Tragic style was very emotional and perhaps a more maturer way of moving as the dancers had to really engage in what they are dancing for and the story that they were trying to portray. 
Last of all was the Piric style. This movement vocabulary is drawn from the days of war and battle. Props such as swords and sheilds were used to convey the intensity and the physicality of battle.
It is easy to see how Classical Greek can enhance a dancer’s way of movement and control. The technique encompeses many qualities and skills which are crucial for many forms of dance inculding Ballet and Contempory. The performances which were shown were beautiful and totally engaged / connected with the audience throughout.
If you have not seen any Classical Greek or would like to know more about it then visit the ISTD Classical Greek’s website and have a read. There are many ISTD schools which offer lessons in Classical Greek and I would definatly recommend having ago!
One of my tutors at Laban(Dr Matt Wyon) has spent the last 7 years developing this Ballet shoe which not only protects your ankles and consequently your joints, but makes a pionte work comfortable!
Have a look at the below link. If you are a ballet dancer this is definitely something to check out and seriously consider investing in. Not only does it banish the blisters but help to keep your body healthy and perform to your best!
The day was set in the Royal Society of Medicine which was a fantastic back drop. The building and the conference room was laid out beautifully with fantastic portraits of the great figures in medicine. The food was great and refreshments served throughout the day. There was a lovely atmosphere where around 80 people involved or interested in the Dance Science and Medicine industries gathered. I saw some old friends and tutors there which was lovely and met a handful of new experts who hopefully I will be working with at some point.
I thought it would be easier to split this review into seperate posts. So this is the first one ! This first post is a review on the talk by Wayne McGregor (Wayne McGregor / Random Dance and The Royal Ballet). Personally I found the talks from him and Rachel Peppin (Former principle dancer for the Birmingham Royal Ballet) perhaps the most interesting as they were personal accounts of their engagement with dance medicine and science as dance professionals.
Wayne McGregor - Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor / Random Dance and Resident Choreographer of the The Royal Ballet amoungst many other artistic projects and companies.
Wayne is clearly very intelligent and absolutely passionate about what he does. Ever carefully selected word he spoke was said with real authority and demonstrated his wealth of experience and wisdom. As a speaker he was engaging, humorous and you literally had to keep your full attention on him as he spoke pretty fast!
I was very impressed with Wayne’s approach to working with dancers. The focus of his talk was on what is expected from a dancer. His expectation was that dancers have to be ready to work with a good approach and attitude - a “can do” attitude. His creative process demands the dancers to be responsive to his instructions and that requires a “healthy state of mind and body”.If a dancer is not properly taking care of themselves, this can affect the development of the piece. He wants his dancers to walk into the studio prepared and ready to work with him.
What was great to hear was that when his dancers get injured, he works around this and adapts to their current capabilities. This is a great attitude as many dancers continue on through injury as they worry they won’t get paid or they are letting the choreographer/company down. This perhaps is a good time to point out that many artistic directors or choreographers do not have a good appreciation of how injury can affect a dancer and therefore their injury/sick policies and attitudes drive dancers to physical and often mental breakdown. Wayne McGregor is really a role model for these people and I hope that they hear this message in some way!
Wayne looks for dancers who have excellent cognitive and creative capabilities, not just physical. However, flexibility with strength and control is essential in performing his movement vocabulary. He also looks for individual style and signature, ability to distinguish movement between bones and muscles and developed proprioception in motion through time.
It was good to hear that Wayne ensures that his dancers get breaks in schedules, training plans and regular screenings. However Wayne also believes it is down to the dancer to take responsibility for their own bodies and communicate their boundaries to choreographers. He appreciates this is not always easy, however if you don’t you will only get worse and then be injured for a longer period of time. 
I felt that Wayne had a great approach and attitude to what he expects from dancers and how he provides “open communication” with dancers. This has many advantages but most importantly for me, a safe environment for dancers to be honest about their physical limitations and feel properly supported both physically and emotionally.
Random Dance are performing at Sadlers Wells from the 4-6 June 2009. Try and go to see them, they are excellent, have a look at this video (just click on the link) and see for yourself !
