A Dunedin dance showcase celebrates trust and teamwork as well as individuality, writes Shane Gilchrist.
Dance teachers Jenny Newstead (MBE) and Hahna Briggs might enjoy challenging their pupils, but they also welcome their charges challenging them.
‘‘I love the classes when dancers have blown away my expectations. I think it's easy to underestimate people, especially people with disabilities,'' Briggs says of those involved in GASP! Dance Collective, an inclusive class in which people with and without disability can explore movement, learn basic contemporary dance techniques and explore their own creativity.
The Dunedin group is celebrating its collaborative approach with an end-of-year showcase, Able As Anything. Comprising four works, it will be performed at the University of Otago's Allen Hall Theatre on Monday, and will mark the group's first performance in a theatre setting.
Newstead and Briggs believe the showcase not only celebrates dance, but also the importance of acceptance and individuality.
‘‘Everyone is excited about showing their friends and family what they have been learning this year,'' Briggs says.‘‘We encourage our dancers to move in a way that feels good for them and we strive to celebrate the individuality and talents that our dancers bring to the class.
‘‘I like to think we challenge our dancers. We have expectations that the dancers will remember the structure of each dance and what group they are with, and remember their cues for entering and exiting the stage. This is difficult stuff and takes a lot of practice.
‘‘Jenny, myself and a couple of other dancers are there to support performers if we notice they are struggling and need some help,'' Briggs says.
‘‘This kind of engagement has benefited the show because, rather than witnessing performers on stage trying to outperform one another, you will see a group of dancers connected to one another, working together, trusting and supporting one another.
‘‘This level of support on stage means we can perform quite complex movement phrases that have multiple layers.''
Before each term begins, Newstead, Briggs and their two assistants, David King and William Luskie, get together to create goals for the term.
These goals then guide how lessons are planned; and the ideas expressed by the dancers throughout the year inform the showcase.
A former New Zealand Paralympic swimming representative, Newstead says anyone can dance, regardless of their ability or disability.
‘‘All of the choreography was created through a collaborative process between teachers and dancers.
‘‘There is a piece choreographed by Hahna, utilising duets and trios and our students' own creative movement qualities and ideas.
‘‘As well, there is an improvisation directed by myself that calls upon the dancers' on-the-spot movement,'' Newstead says.
‘‘I will be crafting a choreography in front of the audience, much like a conductor of an orchestra but unrehearsed. It's a little scary but I have full confidence in the varied and creative abilities of our dancers.''
Briggs says each dance focuses on different ideas and skills the group has been working on during the year. These include, ‘‘improvisation, dancing with props - such as towels and suitcases - counterbalance, travelling, shapes, group work, and generally just being super-creative''.
‘‘We encourage our dancers to come up with movements and ideas for each dance,'' Briggs explains. ‘‘For instance, one dancer has a lot of experience in gymnastics so we encourage her to utilise these skills in class.''
As well as the three dances performed by the members of the class, Newstead and Briggs will be performing an excerpt from their duet, From Conversation: Difference is Our Strength, which they took to the Undercover Artists Festival in Brisbane earlier this year.
‘‘My work, From Conversation, was based on inspection and surveillance. My original dancers spent time out in public ‘spying' on other pedestrians, picking up on their gestures and parts of their conversations,'' Briggs explains.
The movements and ideas were then incorporated into Newstead's Difference Is Our Strength to form a new duet work.
‘‘It often utilises Jenny's crutches to create movement and shapes that extend past our physical bodies.
‘‘I find this quite exciting. It is visually stunning.''
Briggs and Newstead agree their shared leadership roles provide challenges and benefits.
‘‘We are both strong people with strong ideas,'' Briggs says. ‘‘There are times we agree on a certain idea or aesthetic and other times we really don't agree.
‘‘One strategy we have employed this year is to take turns at leading. So I run one half of each term and Jenny runs the other half. Sometimes, I have to suppress my controlling side and stop myself from jumping in too much when Jenny is leading the class. I guess I'm learning the art of patience.''
Newstead: ‘‘Hahna really challenged me by asking me to co-teach this year instead of just assisting.
‘‘It has been exciting and challenging ... it was a good step up. It also helps having two teachers bring different ideas and techniques to the class.''
The dance
GASP! Dance Collective performs Able As Anything at Allen Hall Theatre, University of Otago, on Monday at 6.30pm.
