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By far the best of the student shows I saw this summer was Millennium Dance 2000’s A Voyage Through Space, performed at the Sir Jack Lyons Theatre of the Royal Academy of Music on July 15. This year's students were an exceptionally talented, disciplined and well trained group of dancers, full of personality, vitality, and excellent ensemble work. A Voyage Through Space showcased a wide variety of different dance styles, from an enjoyable and humorous contemporary dance ensemble by Kenneth Tharp called If You See Your Foot Beginning To Twitch, It's a Sign That It Wants To Dance!, to an exhilarating tap number Eight By Seven. Individual students also shone. Amy Reed danced her tap solo, Diva, with style and panache, whilst Daniel Davidson was outstanding in his intense Solo, choreographed by Matthew Hart to music by Shostakovich. The only item I did not enjoy was a lengthy series of extracts from the new American musical Hairspray, unlikely to appeal to anyone who knows and enjoys the irreverent and outrageous film of the same name by John Waters. Too bad that this was the finale of an otherwise totally satisfying evening.
The first week in July is mayhem. This is when most of the vocational schools hold their end of year performances. The weeks leading up to that final Saturday have been spent learning, rehearsing, polishing and getting the students into the right frame of mind to give of their best - agents might be in the audience, certainly family and friends and even the odd critic or two. For most this is not a problem but for those of us who like to see what is happening in these schools - after all these are, hopefully, the stars of tomorrow - we have five or six days to dash from theatre to theatre to view the schools of English National Ballet, The Royal Ballet (Upper and Lower), Central School of Ballet (plus its Ballet Central graduate group), London Studio Centre (plus Images of Dance, Intoto Dance), Rambert Dance, Elmhurst Dance and Millennium Dance 2000. Do the maths! It doesn't add up. Fortunately, this year the performances were split over two weeks. The London bomb blasts caused more than cancellation or postponement; three technicians from LSC were on the Piccadilly Line train bound for the Peacock Theatre, when it blew up. Fortunately they were not hurt, just shocked. And those rehearsing at the Bloomsbury Theatre near Euston station heard the bus explosion. Despite these terrible happenings, the show must go on. Over these days the tap numbers begin to look the same, the voices (for the 'showbiz' schools) blend into one another and did that sexy lady with the husky voice perform with this group or another? Why do we do it? There is the thrill of seeing (and hearing) a future artist about to take off. From this year I shall remember certain people, certain pieces. For example: Millennium Dance 2000 at the Sir Jack Lyons Theatre had Alexandra Gottshall singing from a song cycle - December Songs - in a beautiful, mellifluous manner which soothed the ears; Daniel Davidson danced an extraordinary piece by Matthew Hart - So/o - to Shostakovich' String Quartet in C minor. Davidson is very musical (we saw him in several items) and from the opening stance, leaning forward gripping his right hip, and projected a tortured soul going through a terrible dilemma. Hart's choreography and the dancer's performance were inseparable making this a highlight of the show. In Buddy Beware (from 'Anything Goes') Stephen Mear's choreography was superbly rendered and Sheney Moodie gave us the vocal works. Out of the twenty items performed these were my highlights but there were choreographies from Robert North, Kenneth Tharp, David Fielding, Danny Crossley and others. When Tarisha Rommick appeared through the chorus ranks of Hairspray to sing 'I Know Where I've Been' in a deliciously seductive way with a deep, liquid stream of sound, I couldn't be lieve she was only eighteen. This was a mature performance of quality. A six-piece band gave the backing - so much better than the tinny taped reproduction elsewhere. A word of praise for the booklet which gives comprehensive notes about the items, excellent biographies on all the performers and photos of previous graduates with information on what they are doing now and their past achievements in shows, films and musicals.
MILLENNIUM
ASSESMENTS 2005,
by Mary Clarke The Assessment Show 2005 of the Millennium Dance 2000 Theatre School was held at the Rudolf Steiner Theatre on March 25 and 26. It consisted, in fact, of two shows. As Jacki Mitchell, on behalf of the three directors, explained in the programme, "For the third year running our crop was fantastic". In the second term of the school year students are required to present a solo piece of work - their choice of discipline. Students are also able to present a second piece in a format and discipline of their choice. These offerings are devised, choreographed, staged and costumed by the students. These are then performed in front of a panel of invited luminaries from the profession. This year the panel guests, Steven Brett, Lisa Donmall, Kate Flatt, Graham Gill, Michelle Hodgson, and Ron Howell, represented Musical Theatre, Contemporary Dance and Opera. They are all international choreographers, directors or West End stars. The panel marks and comments on the individual pieces and then employs a grading system in the form of "stars" awarded. All three star pieces make up the Best of Assessments Show. This year no fewer than 70 pieces received three stars, resulting in two shows of 35 items each. Show Two, which I saw on the Friday afternoon, was a marvellous mix of disciplines, strong dancing, good singing, imaginative choreography and all presented with stop watch timing so the afternoon flew past and it was almost with disbelief that we reached the final number, a jolly Musical Bumps, performed by nine dancers with choreography by Stephanie MacDonald to the music of "Saturday Night" by Mcfly Impossible to mention all the talent that was on show but I enjoyed especially the work of Amy Swarbrick, Adam Wong, Stephanie Sen and Mitch Leow, Unni Pullainen, Frances Button, Gemma Fuller, Holly Jayne Brierley, and Alexandra Gottschall.This school attracts mature students, the ages (all given in the programme) ranging from 16 to 23. Many come from overseas with some professional experience but anxious to strengthen certain areas of their techniques. Typical was Hakon Sigemes, a first year student, age 19, from Norway who had had musical theatre experience there as a violinist and who devised a delightful pas de deux in which he fiddled, while Amy Reed tap danced, Morning in Macedonia. Great fun, great talent. |
| Millennium
Dance 2000 is in full preparation for the end-of-year offering
Millennium On The Move. There is a special excitement this year
because MD2000 has been paid a singular honour. They are the first
school outside the United States that has ever been granted permission
to mount an excerpt of a work from Martha Graham Company. Secular
Games mounted by Graham Company member Kirn Jones is a dynamic
all male piece of the finest classic Graham choreography. |
DANCE EXPRESSION, OCTOBER 2004
| Millennium
Dance 2000 has every reason to describe itself as being in seventh
heaven as it enters its seventh year. It has come a long way very
fast and although the directors suffered a sad loss during the year
in the death of Denis Quilley, their dear Consultant to the Musical
Theatre/Acting Department, they have been encouraged by its growth
to divide it into two: Sir Derek Jacobi has consented to become
Consultant to the Drama Department and Stephen Mear has consented
to become Consultant to the Musical Theatre Department. Furthermore,
the school has been given the entire archive and memorabilia of
the late living Davies whose career as dancer and choreog rapher
covered such a long span of West End successes. This material will
form the foundation of the newly enlarged library which has been
equipped with furniture and fittings through the generosity, once
again, of the Miller Trust. And as a bonus to an exciting year, Millennium received permission from Martha Graham Resources to mount a section of Secular Games as part of this year's programme, given in the Sir Jack Lyons Theatre of the Royal Academy of Music in July. A special message for the cast of Secular Games, which was taught by Kim Jones of the Graham company, with Kenneth Tharp and Ikky Maas acting as repetiteurs, was sent by Janet Eilber of the Martha Graham Center and said in part: "You are the first outside company to reconstruct Secular Games and as you perform... you join the amazing group of dancers who have brought this revolutionary dance to life over the last 41 years. Welcome. We are wishing you every success". The Millennium men did full justice to Graham's sportive choreography. If Secular Games was the coup, the other numbers bravely held their own, be they dramatic monologues - Millennium uses texts by writers such as Edna Ferber and George Kaufman, Joyce Grenfell, Eugene O'Neil - powerful jazz dance, such as Jacki Mitchell's Brief Encounter - or expertly staged vocal ensembles, often from Sondheim musicals, directed by Robert Scott. Student ages at Millennium range from 15 to 2 3. They come here for that extra bit of professional polish and confidence to take them forward in their chosen careers. Mary Clarke |
| The
other showbiz school, Millennium Dance, was at the Sir Jack Lyons
Theatre of the Royal Academy of Music, and their programme booklet
is a model for all others to follow with brief biographies of all
the students, choreographers and directors, with photographs of
past alumni and what they are doing now. The show was also themed
with Sondheim musicals, beginning and ending with Merrily We Roll
Along songs. Interspersing the numbers were a number of sketches
which added to the variety and gave a better balance. Joyce Grenfell's
'Flowers' was a tour de force for Gemma Fuller (Nigel West staged
most of the items). Created an imaginary group of youngsters around
the auditorium, she had us on the edge of our seats participating
in her kindergarten class. It was one of the most memorable of the
sketches and she has a nice singing voice as Sweet Dreams showed.
Leon Hazelwood's choreography for Just Swing It used three alternating
groups on the small stage. It was lively, cheeky and well danced.
There was tap and song and a very acrobatic dance by Jamieson Dryburgh
to Philip Glass music, Swerve, with Kimball Wong (3rd year) and
Daniel Davidson (2nd year) in stunning form. Sideshow and Wicked
were other shows from which songs were performed and Jacki Mitchell's
choreography for Brief Encounters was beautifully conceived in showing
four different relationships – lovey-dovey, sexy, brutal,
etc - but it didn't go far enough though she certainly knows how
to create steps and more steps. Sam Wilmott has improved over the
year to give us a subtle and fun account of Dario Fo's sketch 'Accidental
Death of an Anarchist'.
The highlight of the show was a dance by Martha Graham, Secular Games - a coup this, as it is the first time a school outside the USA has been given permission to do a piece that is still in the Martha Graham Company repertoire. What's more, the company sent over the original ball for these students to field around the stage. It is a delightful (and historical) work for six boys who pose on the ground or on pedestals, slowly tossing the ball from one to another with feints, underarm, over-the-shoulder, or thrusts before resuming their sculptural macho positions. Not much happens but there is an enormous amount of information about the lads' characters in their gestures and facial looks, and the dancers were superb. After this most enjoyable piece a medley of Sondheim works could be the only possible finale with a wonderful trio of Meryl Fernandes, Zoe Clarke and Aimee Bollington singing 'You Could Drive A Person Crazy' and an hilarious patter song, 'Getting Married Today' (both from Company} sung by Samuel Holmes in drag as a bride. Less people on stage meant more and I think the vocal teaching is showing good results (less shrillness and bleating for the sopranos than elsewhere). There were some 'personalities' shining through as well. CHARLES
HEDGES |
Dancing
Times, Oct. 2003
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Millennium, the precocious child of London vocational schools, is threatening to streak ahead of its rivals. The show presented this year at the Britten Theatre marked distinct progress from last year. It was the sort of song and dance mix one would expect from a theatre school but was so accurately targeted on the here and now, that it made some of the more established schools appear a little, well, a little old fashioned. A lot of the success was due to the choice of choreographers, people like Lorraine Le Blanc. Her piece, In Your Stride, was hot off the streets, knowing not only where it’s at but where it’s going. Stephen Mear’s Weapon of Choice and Nikki Woollaston’s, Double Trouble has great entertainment value while giving splendid opportunities to the students to strut their stuff. Ashley Page’s pas de deux, Acrid Avid Jam, in a neoclassical vein, provided a good showpiece for young Lisa O’Hare and her partner Jarko Lehmus. Choreographers who are working professionally have the edge over the teacher/choreographers, providing not only valuable contacts for the future but giving the audience the opportunity to compare the student dancers with what is on offer in the professional theatre now. The inclusion of experts from Robert North’s Try Game was a good choice. Choreographed at a time when North knew where it was at, it was performed with the total commitment needed to let the energy and heat of Brazil flow out into the audience. The idea of using clowning to link items and to fill gaps was used this year with increasing success. It is an admirable way of getting students into contact with audiences and now both tighter and funnier it is a great topgap. The mini version of The Hunting of the Snark was an interesting item but it is no easy task to express the eccentricity of Edward Lear in musical theatre. However, Jeff Edwards, who successfully danced through most of the other numbers managed to still have enough energy to lead the cast on the expedition. It was a tribute to the professionalism of the performances and the direction that one was so little aware of technique, what was needed was there and the show was the thing. |
| BREAKING
NEW GROUND - Here was a show that was different, clever,
original, relecting the approach and outlook of this very out-going
and progressive establishment. All the numbers were quick, inventive
choreography and danced with a strong rhythm, pulse and energy level
- it was all most entertaining. The Students were exposed to a whole range of styles within styles - the tap of Tobias Tak contrasting with that of Michele Aslanoff, as well as all the different jazz, modern and contemporary work of Kim Brandstrup, Annette McLaughlin, Gil Cohen-Alloro, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Jacki Mitchell and Lorraine Le Blanc. The dancers showed that versatility together with individuality is the name of the game and they are well prepared to face choreographers wherever. How refreshing to have some amusing numbers (why are all contemporary pieces so heavy and serious). The Clown episodes, the Spirits of Disorder by Jean Hart and Unclassified Mime were great fun, if at times a little over long. Ben Dixon was a brilliant, expressive character in these sequences. Daniel Hughes also showed a sense of humour without going OTT as Huggie in Huggie's Hip Hop Hairdoo - another fun piece. Good to see a show that in sound and movement was indicative of the title - Breaking New Ground - this it certainly did. RH |
THE DANCING TIMES, April 2000
The
three directors of Millennium Dance 2000, Donald McLennan, Jacki
Mitchell and Ikky Maas, are pictured at the Savoy Hotel after receiving
the Millennium Award for Performing Arts, 2000
from the JPC Newspaper Syndicate. Millennium Dance
2000 received its second award in as many years. This young and
vibrant school is being recognised for the accomplishments they
have achieved since their inception. In their short life they have
several graduates and 3rd year students performing in the West End,
notably at the National Theatre and with AMP (Adventures In Motion
Pictures) Dance Company. Last year they were given the Arts Award
of Merit, 1999. This year’s award represents their continuing
success. |
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