The halls of Accolade East are buzzing as students recover from an exciting and stressful week of performances. The department of dance has just finished presenting their choreographic showcase, Dance Innovations: Strong/Light, displaying the dance and choreography pieces that the students have been working on throughout the semester.
Over an Italian-style all you can eat buffet lunch, I had the opportunity to interview one of the featured choreographers of the show, and dance exchange student, Rosie Kimble.
Rosie is currently an undergraduate student in the dance program at the University of Chichester in West Sussex, in the South of England. She came to York for the fall semester through an exchange program, and explains that it has been one of the best experiences of her life. Rosie has been dancing since she was six years old and although she enjoys choreographing and creating pieces, she says that she prefers dancing a lot more. “Dance has been the best creative outlet for me,” she states. She tells me that the best part about dancing is overcoming a difficult routine.
“That adrenaline rush before you get on stage when you’ve been practicing and anticipating something that’s really challenging, and then you finish and you gain the biggest sense of achievement.” She talked about how she prepares for a performance by jogging on the spot and really psyching herself up. It helps her get ready and gets her excited.
“Dance like nobody’s watching!” She states as the quote she lives by. “Just kidding.” We laugh as we dig into our dessert, or as the British call it, “pudding.” The quote that really inspires her is, “dance is the hidden language of the soul,” a quote said by Martha Graham, an American modern choreographer and dancer. When asked who inspires her the most in dance, she explains that coming to York and meeting all the dancers here, and watching and learning from them has really sparked inspiration in her.
When I asked what the biggest difference between the two dance programs were, she explains that there is more of a focus on technique classes and technical movement at York where as in England, it is much more free movement and improvisation. She enjoys both styles but feels that she has really improved her technique during her time here, and is excited to bring what she’s learned back home.
After she graduates, Rosie plans to become a performer. She hopes to join a dance company in England and tour the country. Rosie is very inspired by music and one of her passions is musical theatre, so it would be her dream to dance on a Broadway stage some day. She also hopes to choreograph again since she really enjoyed creating her piece in the show titled Alone, Together, where she explored the presence of secrecy between people in an intimate relationship. She loved delving into that subject and seeing things from the choreographer’s perspective, even though it was definitely challenging.
“Dancers are athletes. Dance is a sport,” is something that Rosie really wanted to emphasize, “and it’s not as easy as it looks,” she adds. This issue comes up a lot in the dance community.
Many people often overlook an art that devotes so much time and effort into making something look graceful and ultimately, effortless. The amount of hard work and discipline that is put forth into dancing can sometimes be undervalued and underappreciated. No dancer has ever been successful just relying on natural born talent. Performers are constantly working, perfecting their technique, and style. Dancers devote years and countless hours to perfect their craft, sometimes for only a few three-minute dance performances, and rarely get the recognition they deserve.
Another stereotype dancers want to demolish? “We eat!” As I previously mentioned, this interview was conducted at an all you can eat buffet in company of a table of dancers, who can all personally attest that the stereotype that dancers don’t eat is completely false. But she also adds that, “a dancer must maintain their body and their mind.” Dance is obviously physically demanding but keeping calm and focused is an important aspect of performance. That is one of the many lessons that Rosie has come to learn through her exchange to York University. Going back to England she will carry with her all the knowledge she has acquired. She will be greatly missed.