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 dance world in 2020, because I’m sure that, like me, you’ve been watching with horror, concern, and hope in equal measure. Theatres have been in trouble. Here in the UK, they were closed to audiences entirely for many long months, finally reopening to socially distanced audiences in October, the ..read more

As you may have already seen if you follow me on Instagram, I recently acknowledged my one-year anniversary of working full-time as a freelance professional dancer. Despite the obvious challenges of starting your arts career in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, I’ve been exceptionally blessed, and I’ve really had some dreams come true this past year. The highlight for me was being selected to undertake my own residency with Sadler’s Wells as one of my first professional jobs, and I really couldn’t have had a better start than that! I’ve also been involved in a very diverse range of other pro ..read more

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 some dancewear brands now offer ballet tights and pointe shoes in a larger variety of skin tones for black and brown dancers. Even though discussions are starting to open up about racial stereotyping in ballet choreography like La Bayadère and The Nutcracker. I ha ..read more

The story behind “Movie”, a 1950s style dance film created in Cape Town, South Africa, will prove to you that it is possible to start where you are, and use what you have, to create beautiful Screendance (or other dance pieces) even without a budget, and you’ll be surprised and inspired by the way that Michelle from The Hideout Collective has forged her professional dance and business career. Any readers who have been around for a while will know that I believe strongly in creating one’s own path. In dance we’re taught that a professional career is limited to either performing in a company or ..read more

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 of 2021, so like many things, dance classes have been moved online under the current advice to stay at home. Professional dance is still allowed to go ahead under the current restrictions, and in January I was supposed to be taking part in the third phase of RESET 2020 (or rather RESET 2021) with Studi ..read more

The process of bringing a dance piece to life is a fascinating one. It begins with the seed of an idea, an inspiration, and is brought to life with discussions, collaboration, rehearsals, research, funding, practice, refinement, changes- so much goes on between the initial idea and the finished piece. As an audience member, all of this is behind-the-scenes. The performance simply bursts into existence, fully-formed in front of our eagerly waiting eyes. As dancers, we are privy to more of this process, involved heavily in the creation. This is one of my favourite parts of working as a dancer. I ..read more

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, events, workshops and intensives cancelled, venues and companies have been struggling to survive, and dancers have been confined to Zoom classes from home. Inspired to help freelance dancers recover from the pandemic, Company Wayne McGregor annou ..read more

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 from the Floral Collection, and then they sent me two more to try from the Floral Collection. I have the videos saved to a highlight if you missed it (@daretodanceblog on Instagram). There is a reason that everyone is going crazy for these leotards. I think what makes them different is that ..read more

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. Photograph of Candoco company dancers in Let’s Talk About Dis. Photo by Amanda Thomas. Let’s Talk About Dis is not your typical dance piece. It presents the dancers in a more personal and intimate way, using voice, narration and sign language as part of the performance. Patel invites the audience to consider how we look at and approach disability and surface appearan ..read more

Hi dancers! 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 p ..read more