Dance Rants Podcast

Rupert was a professional dancer for many years with NDT 1 and Scapino Ballet. During this time he acted as a dancers' representative and member of the OR (workers council).  After retiring as a dancer in 2017/18, Rupert worked in development and as a ballet master with NDT. For the 19/20 season, after gaining his Master's in Arts Management from Middlesex University in London, he became the Artistic Producer/Curator for the company and helped tackle the challenges they faced through Covid.  In this episode we talk about management and leadership in dance, and more broadly in arts and cultural organisations.  Rupert's extensive performing experience, coupled with the knowledge he's gained during his experiences in managerial roles and through achieving his MA in Arts management, contribute to the informed perspective he shares with us in this episode.

Thomas Bos is an original member of the creative collective "155" which works with dance, movement, music, film and bizarre humor. Thomas is the main man behind the film in the group, having studied Digital Video Design as part of his Bachelor of Art & Technology.  He has written and directed several short dance films including "Leer" & "Gat". Additionally, he works as a freelance Videographer, creating videos and promotional content for clients outside of 155. With government funding over the next 4 years, film is an integral part of the future plans for sharing their work with a wider audience. We chat to him about the current times, his views and vision on art and film, and what's important to him and 155 when creating. Here are some visual sources from Thomas that express what he calls 'The 155 Feeling': https://eenvijfvijf.tumblr.com/ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFIVHBY5SpxKhwTapoEIIxB6rN2emlBUq

In this episode we're talking to freelance choreographer, Regina van Berkel. Regina has successfully made works for companies such as NDT 1, Gothenburg Ballet, Ballet am Rhein and Introdans where we met. Regina often works with live music and collaborates with other artists including set designer and partner, Dietmar Janeck. Regina speaks to us about her creative inspirations, the art of working with people, and her search for a state of presence through movement.

Sarah is an organiser of the The Dancer’s Council in Holland - an organisation that aims to initiate dialogue among the dancing workforce of The Netherlands and help improve policy that is relevant to our rights and working conditions. Sarah spent 14 years dancing with both companies of NDT, and in that time took on various leadership roles as a representative for her colleagues. In 2013 she received her B.Sc in Psychology from the Open University UK, and is now studying a Masters in Cultural Policy at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Sarah tells us about the work they’re doing at The Dancers Council, gives interesting insights about the complexity of changing/forming policy in the dance industry for the benefit of the work force (dancers), and shares some of the difficulties and highlights from her own personal journey through her dancing career - including auditions & motherhood! Sarah also shares some useful resources for company and freelance dancers to better understand your working rights, found here: http://www.omscholingdansers.nl/ - Dancer’s retraining scheme https://dancepassport.eu/ - Union solidarity network for dancers abroad https://www.kunstenbond.nl/vakgroepen/6/theater-en-dans - Arts union (Netherlands)

Raffaele Irace is the founder and director of The Very Secret Dance Company and Solo Coreografico, a platform for choreographers to network and share their work. He was the assistant to Jacopo Godani from 2015 to 2018 at Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, and is now the Program Director for Dance and Performance at Gallus Theater in Frankfurt.  We speak to Raffaele about the cultural landscape in his home country of Italy, the demands of dance management, and how he prepared himself for a career off the stage. Raffaele shares with us his perspectives on success and motivation, and talks about the importance of dreaming big. 3

Ex-soloist of The Dutch National Ballet, Sefton Clarke has been a physical trainer for both the Ballet Company and the Academy since his retirement from the stage. This year, Sefton took the next step with his company, “The Art of Strength”, and opened his own gym in Amsterdam. In this episode, we speak to Sefton about functional training outside the studio, healthy eating, and the unexpected skills that he found to be transferable from the ballet studio to the gym. Perhaps the best summary of our discussion is Sefton on his company name: “I named the company The Art Of Strengths they are intertwined within the realm of health and fitness and work to compliment each-other and the name represents this. Simple yet elegant."

Originally from NZ, we spoke with Ursula Robb about her life through dance, the joys and difficulties of performing across the globe, starting a family, and the value and transferable skills we posses as dancers. What other roles and opportunities exist for us and our industry outside of the studio?  Ursula has danced for Rosas and Ultima Vez , she has taught for P.A.R.T.S, NZ School of Dance Irish World Academy and DDSKS, as well as setting and sharing work around the world. She holds a Masters in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin, and is currently a board member of the Liz Roche Company. This was such a lovely discussion, Ursula is kind and warm hearted, and brings a real human touch with all her experience and knowledge. 

Our friend Evan Schwarz joins us to talk about how his work has changed during the pandemic, networking skills, and reflects on his education at Julliard. After graduating from Julliard, Evan was a dancer at Konzert Theater Bern and National Dance Theater Wales, and now works as a freelance artist based out of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

In our latest and last episode of season 1 we're joined by Erik Bos; a choreographer, dancer, and founding member of the break dance theatre group '155'. As a multidisciplinary group of B-Boys they have evolved into a well-known dance institution within the Netherlands and abroad. We spoke to Erik about the evolution of their company, their creative philosophy, use of humour, and the difficulties of producing work during Covid-19.

Delano James is the reigning welterweight Dutch boxing champion, and in 2019 we worked together on a dance piece. This experience highlighted some of the similarities between our two worlds-  mental toughness, work ethic, movement - and in this episode we talk about the impact this project had on each of us personally, as well as some of the details & difficulties we faced during the creative process.