Students will participate fully in the life of a contemporary dance company with exposure to a range of creative processes, rehearsals, teaching and/or touring periods. The module emphasises how all elements of company life combine and overlap to form a holistic experience in which the student is constantly involved in ‘process’.
Students will experience the need to sustain creative engagement with work whilst on tour, the need to be flexible and responsive in order to cope with the unpredictable situations, the need to throw themselves into new and unfamiliar circumstances, and the need to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to build and sustain relationships with a small group of people.
The module will emphasise the transferable skills needed by a professional dance artist in the current ecology, applying those skills across a range of challenging contexts. Students will develop the self-awareness and physical, mental and emotional resilience to enable them to support the cohesion of a group, whilst recognising and negotiating their own individual needs.
Students will participate in daily classes/workshops as a method of developing their technical and performance skills in studio-based sessions. Students will experience a range of sessions developed to extend their interpretive abilities, enhance their physical execution of technical material and also to provide strategies for movement observation and analysis which are key in supporting all-round continual development, a key indicator of employability. Classes will be led by a range of tutors and will ensure that students experience relevant styles and approaches which are current in the dance community
There will be a focus on individual personal practice, enhancing skills of reflection to ensure that students are able to identify and apply their skills in a range of contexts, thus ensuring the versatility required of dance artists in the employment landscape.
Students will also be supported to develop their ability to give and receive feedback, to maintain high levels of personal commitment and motivation and to interact in a productive manner within group settings. Skills of self-awareness gained through reflection and analysis should support students in developing an autonomous approach to their work, supporting their progression into the professional world and emphasising the importance of life-long learning.
Technical practice sessions are a bridge between all other modules on the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance, supporting students to find ways to access the skills required by their performance work, through consistent, high level, daily practice.
Students will participate in live performance opportunities throughout their time on this MA programme and reflection on these experiences will provide a platform for continuing professional development. Emphasis is placed on adapting acquired skills to meet the demands of the company’s performance repertoire.
Students will work with professional choreographers on the creation of new works and/or the restaging of existing works, engaging with and participating in rehearsal situations through which they experience a variety of choreographic approaches and methods offered by the different choreographers. In the development of performance skills, the emphasis is placed on the integration of students’ own definitive strengths and performance qualities into the work or works, whilst continuing to realise the artistic vision of the choreographer. Students will develop the skills to research choreographers’ ideas and find their own way through the works they perform, developing the versatility necessary to support their progression into the professional world.
There will be a variety of performance opportunities, providing exposure
to a broad range of dance audiences, professional directors, agents and dance
commentators and exposing students to the practicalities of small to mid-scale
touring. Students are expected to respond in a professional way to challenges
presented by a range of situations and environments, in order to work
effectively and in a professional manne
Students will learn experientially about the demands of life in a contemporary dance company. The activities will depend upon the focus of the host company (which will be known and discussed through interview at audition) and may range from teaching, to creative, managerial or performative tasks. For example, the student may be asked to develop and deliver a course of creative workshops for the community, or become involved with the design and marketing of an upcoming tour, or choreograph a piece for a local youth group. Whatever the activity, there will be opportunity for reflection, problem-identification and resolution in order to support future development.
Students will be encouraged to take initiative, identify what needs to be done in any given situation and find creative solutions to challenges that arise. Students may be assigned tasks by their host company which will involve managing deadlines and timeframes, the analysis of information from multiple sources in order to take appropriate action, developing creative ways to deliver information to particular groups of people.
The content of any activity will be discussed by the Company Mentor and in-house tutor to ensure the student is supported in their learning and is being appropriately challenged. The aim of this approach is to support students in understanding the myriad opportunities that currently present themselves within a career as a professional dance artist, and also enable them to shape the future of the sector with an informed and well-rounded perspective and skill-set.