Hi dancers! So, here in London we are back in another national lockdown. I am really hopeful that there is light at the end of the tunnel, because the pandemic has been especially hard for the arts, and for dance and dancers. However, the situation has been quite severe in the UK since the start…
Author: jessicadaretodance
Ballet and Contemporary Dancer in London. Author of Dare to Dance.
Sadler’s Wells Global Gala: Responding to Challenges with Creativity
I feel like I’m starting all of my blog posts the same way in the past few weeks: this is an unbelievably difficult and challenging time for dancers, dance companies, dance venues, the dance industry & indeed the dance world. I won’t detail all of the ways in which the Covid pandemic has rocked the…
Claudia Dean Collections Leotards
Hi dancers! Today I want to show you some of my favourite leotards. Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have seen that last week, I tried on some leotards by Claudia Dean Collections on my stories. I already had two beautiful CDC leotards, the Aurora Peach from the Signature collection and Bluebell…
RESET2020 with Company Wayne McGregor
2020. It’s been a difficult year for the dance industry, and especially for freelance artists, freelance dancers, and recent dance graduates. Thanks to the Covid pandemic and resultant lockdown, there has been very little in the way of dance opportunities both here in London and all over. Theatres have been closed, audiences prohibited, dance classes,…
What does a dancer look like? Let’s Talk About Dis by Candoco
This week, Sadler’s Wells is bringing Candoco to their Digital Stage. Let’s Talk About Dis is a piece created in 2014 by visual artist Hetain Patel for Candoco, a contemporary dance company of disabled and non-disabled performers. Let’s Talk About Dis is not your typical dance piece. It presents the dancers in a more personal…
Racism in Dance
Racism in dance exists. This post is not going to discuss or debate whether racism, discrimination, prejudice, lack of diversity, lack of representation, white supremacy, racial stereotyping and bias exist in the dance world- the answer to all of the above is yes. Even though Misty Copeland is a Principal dancer with ABT. Even though…
At-Home Audition Photoshoot
Being a dance graduate in the class of 2020 has had some unique challenges. Thanks to COVID-19 having had a huge impact on the dance industry, being a new graduate and trying to get hired as a professional dancer is more difficult than ever. Dance jobs- and ballet jobs in particular- have always been highly competitive. However the pandemic and lockdowns have brought entirely new challenges, such as online dance auditions (remember this time last year, when we’d never heard the phrase “audition via Zoom”?!). That’s why certain parts of our online application, such as the audition photographs, have now become even more important, because we often can’t be seen in-person.
Mental Health in Dance: leading the conversation with Hannah Friebel & Sincerely Survivor
2020 has been a strange and challenging year for the dance community. We have faced the closure of theatres, studios, companies and schools. The cancellation of performances, classes, rehearsals, workshops and programmes. The validity of dance as a profession has been called into question. Our industry has been under political and economic threat. Many have…
I Gatecrashed the Royal Ballet School Summer Intensive (and it was one of the best things I’ve done)
Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, SO many things have been cancelled in dance this year, including performances, classes, and of course summer intensives. It’s been super tough, and that’s something I’m going to discuss in more depth in a future post! However, we’re fortunate that some events and programmes were moved online, and one of…
Is this the best unique dance piece to come out of the pandemic? Dancing at Dusk: The Rite of Spring
Whilst I am writing this, I am on day 135 of lockdown. After more than four months of staying at home, taking ballet classes on Zoom, submitting all of my third year university assignments online, and only really leaving the house to do the food shopping and walk the dog, it feels very strange to…