How did you get into choreography?
Romeo and Juliet rehearsing their dance.
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I always liked to make up dances, as soon as I started training to dance when I was a child. When I went to college, part of our course was the opportunity to mount choreographic nights, where you could put on something. So I got into it that way. At college, I trained in what they called ‘Historical Dance’, but I’d never expected to use that in my choreography. so it was a wonderful opportunity when I came here and found that it was a requirement to know about that. But of course you also learn more as you are doing it, finding out more about how it works, so it’s been great to be encouraged to create new jigs here.
There can be quite different paths that make you find that you want to choreograph.There are well-known choreographers who have been architects or designers originally and been interested in art; then they’ve actually got interested in the physical work of choreography and decided to go for it. In those cases, if you haven’t danced and don’t have the vocabulary, you just find your own vocabulary to get your visions to happen. There is nothing that is absolutely necessary ... except a love of dance.
