Icarus on Tour June 2017

Rehearsal Day 6.
It was our 3rd day as interns for Adaire to Dance and we went to the first venue for the Icarus tour, Burton Brewhouse Arts Centre.

Today was the first day rehearsing with full tech, the gauze and projection. The only thing missing was the lights; tomorrow’s job!

After a quick warm up, the first task on hand was to run the entire piece with the gauze and projection in order to get the sizing of the stage-essential after everyone’s initial reaction was at how small the area seemed!

Following the run through we discussed what was and wasn’t working in terms of spacing. Some lifts needed looking into and working in due to the loss of momentum due to rehearsing in a larger area. I personally like how certain things worked in a smaller space. In particular a lean in the ‘reaching the sun’ section was very hidden. Only showing the lean itself, a very nice effect.

At lunch Vicky had to leave due to other commitments leaving the focus of the afternoon on Kieran’s solo and maze part involving projection.

Over lunch we discussed with Alice, Joe and Kieran about their training experience, how they went about becoming professional dancers and how the approached the 3rd year of their dance degrees. Something Kate and I are preparing for. This discussion was so helpful to understand the various routes dancers go in, how they improved, got over obstacles and reassuring us that the dreaded dissertation is possible!

After lunch it was a good experience for me to watch how everyone did things; Kieran remembered two solo sections quickly with determination and continuous hard work. Alice, due to her not actually dancing, showed a more ‘directing’ side, giving continuous feedback. Showing me, even when something looks really good, there is always room for improvement. And finally Joe, who also wasn’t dancing, never actually sat still. He was constantly stretching, rehearsing and practicing; being a real dancer. Very inspiring!

Nicola Himsworth is an intern for the Icarus Regional Tour 2017

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