A Working Class Dancer- When should you dance for free?

For a dancer anywhere in the world, there are certain places and opportunities that come along in your career that may sound like a dream come true, only to find out there is little or no compensation. It is dramatically important to ask the choreographer or director contacting you about the compensation before committing to a project. Not balancing your dancers happiness to work with you will lead to resentment, and  them feeling like their time is not respected.

Fair or not, most dancers, like many other artists will inevitable work for free or very little pay in their careers. When you are first starting out, an unpaid apprenticeship or placement in a company with a distinguished choreographer can give you valuable experience and knowledge that could lead you to other jobs; projects with friends that can offer a rehearsal cup of coffee could lead you to creative fulfillment; a voluntary gig at a well-known venue could enhance your resume. All of these are still great gains to your career, the key word to keep in mind is balance, because we all still have bills to pay at the end of the day.

All of the Chace Dance Company dancers have other work outlets where they receive their main income, usually through teaching or managing their own dance studios. This gives all of them a window of a regular salary, and still an oppertunity to be creatively challenged through  company rehearsals. Since this company is still so young and in its planting phase, CDC offers a rotating rehearsal stipend between dancers, a long with endorsements of clothing from TamTam Dancewear, and free classes and workshops. “South Africa is a country with so many more important issues to deal with, there is just no funding available for arts.. Or they invest it in youth dance programs, but where do these dancers go for work there after? Leading company’s to fend for themselves.” It is extremely hard to survive as a dance company in a third world country. Dancers have to work all day every day just to make enough money to survive, and we can’t help but love what we do and only want to do it more. It’s hard to find people with that obsession and passion for their craft, and all dancers have that intanse drive in them.

Having a side job whether it is teaching, waitressing, or secretary work, gives dancers the chance to work on projects and come together as artists. But always make sure when doing so, that the project benefits you as a dancer and a person in some other amazing way as mentioned above. You end up building such great relationships when working together in a creative environment.

If you are interested in becoming a company donor to help keep our talented dance company alive in South Africa. Please see our donations tab on the website on how you can donate. Or simply contact the artist director at TamraLChace@gmail.com

Tamra Chace: secrets of a family portrait’s upcoming debut

As a choreographer; and a conversationalist Tamra Chace likes to show the bottom of the iceberg when it comes to her work. In this interview she shares some of her thoughts on dancemaking, and lets us in on Chace Dance Company’s new work “Moments of Impact: Secrets of a Family Portrait,” debuting end of 2014 around Guateng and Northwest Provinces. 

Tell us about the different approaches you took to making Secrets of a Family Portrait. 

First I started by creating the characters and casting dancers into the roles.  While actually setting the dance on the company I have left the beginnings and endings of sections open… creating all the movement phrases and dance breaks first, then well go back to build the connections and piece the story line together.

For this production at the moment I have generated all the movement on my own. In the future I would like to call in on some improvisation work, pull from movement that is more raw and organic versus planned and constructed. Improving is still a rather new skill in this area, so I’m introducing it more slowly when choreographing.

 

Just explain to us what is “Moments of Impact: Secrets of a Family Portrait” exactly?

When you look at a  family portrait, you always see smiles, nice clothes, and predictable body language. But you wonder, is that family really that happy? What really goes on behind that photo surrounded by those walls? We all know every family has its drama and it’s imperfections. This show exposes just that, what really goes on in families that we don’t always share with our friends or the general public.

When we were brainstorming for the show I brought pens and paper to the first rehearsal and had all the dancers write down as many answers as possible to the following question, “What has been the biggest impact in your life?” Didn’t have to be family related at the time, because we can make it family related in the story. They came up with a lot of good scenarios in which are being used to write the show this year.

 

Should the audience expect anything in particular when coming to this show?

The audience should expect to see contemporary at its absolute best! This show is filled with both athletic and sensual movements, the audience will be emotionally on edge at the end of this performance. There are a lot of dark stories to tell, but also a lot of happiness as well, so it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster!

 

So where will we be able to catch wind of this amazing new production?

Theatres and dates have not been booked but we are planning to hit Pretoria East, Hartbeespoort Dam, and Roodepoort for 2014. Keep your eyes open for dates and tickets to be released soon!

A Choreographer’s Dream Dancer

When creating a dance, work of art, routine, or production; choreographer’s have a very specific picture in their minds. Most imagine so distinctly to the final details of performance space, costumes, hair and makeup, dance style, and interpretations. But most importantly, the outcome of such events narrow down to one variable. It is up to them whether or not that vision comes to life, AKA: The Dancers…

So what is it that choreographers want? Who are the chosen ones painted in that priceless picture? I was lucky enough to interview a few local South African and International choreographers to help raise your awareness, on how to become every choreographers dream dancer!

Nicola Brosnihan is the choreographer for the Vodacom Bulls Babes at Loftus, and has recently choreographed for the Men’s Health Fashion Show and Cover Boy Launch at Melrose Arch.

Tamra Chace is the Artistic Director of Chace Dance Company choreographing contemporary productions, has choreographed at The University of the Arts, and an astounding competition choreographer.

Leighanna Kennett is the assistant choreographer with Paul David (LA Based) with the most recent project of Sarah Silverman’s new video release.

As a professional dancer before going on an audition or honing in on a project always be sure to research the choreographer, how they work, and what they stand for. This will be your first step into passing that audition and booking future work. Each teacher and choreographer works in a completely different way. Some choreographer’s such as Kennett searches for what the song means to her before beginning her movement phrases. “Throughout being a choreographer I have learned when I let the music take my body where it feels naturally it always has the best results visually” says Kennett. Where as others such as Chace prefers to “planning and researching the theme or story of a piece to create movement that is interpreted from my notes and text.”

The most important part after the time consuming task of googling the choreographer you are either auditioning for or following, is of course the dreaded auditioning process! So what is it that these dance professionals look for in their audition process?

Kennett: “I look for passion. You can always teach someone the steps, but if there isn’t a connection with the dance, it won’t come across on stage. I love expressive dancers!”

Brosnihan: “After I have had my meeting with the client and they have expressed what their event will be, I then cast my dancers accordingly.” 

Chace: “I want the X-Factor, the dancer who has something but no one knows how to describe it. I also look for someone who can mimic my style well, and pick up choreography quickly. Also I make sure to try and find out about the people I bring into my company, I am looking to hire a person… not always just the dancer. If they have an amazing talent but an arrogant personality, I’ll just say Thank you for your time.” 

Overall a choreographer’s dream dancer is the whole package, versatile and well rounded in numerous genres of both dance and personality. Brosnihan’s ideal dancer is “committed, professional, reliable, passionate, confident, humble, and respectful.” This just shows again how choreographers are looking to hire people, not necessarily the one with the highest leg line!  Kennett’s dream dancer is “someone whose worked on their craft, whose technique is already there allowing them to focus on their interpretation of the piece.” So someone who has a bit more experience as a dancer so the expressions can really shine through while they dance. As for Chace’s dream dancer, “someone you just can’t take your eyes off, someone who can own the stage in a solo but pull together and dance in group as well. Also super versatile, must be adaptable to all styles now a days.”

Before ending this article the choreographers were asked one last question; What advice would you like to give to the younger upcoming future professional dancers?

Chace: “Just be yourself, if you didn’t get the job or the part you wanted right away don’t get discouraged. The right work will come along for you. As cheesy as it is, one door closes and another one opens. Work hard in your classes and training and you will get what you put into the universe.” 

Kennett: “Never stay limited to your dance knowledge. Take as much as you can from every dancer and choreographer you interact with. Meet as many people as you can, take class, never give up on broadening your dance vocabulary. In every class take atleast one thing home to work on and it will be worth your time. Push past every obstacle, remain humble, and work hard!” 

Brosnihan: “Be professional in and out of a job contract or performance, how you behave outside will determine how you behave when hired.  You will get to experience, meet, greet, and travel the world. Do it with dignity, humility, and a smile!!”

-CDC