Ballet in the village hall
Mums american tan tights with the feet cut out and pink and white spotty shorts
Uncle Rowland playing the the piano
Ballet - I was good at the barre work but not the centre work
Graham – I was good at the floor work but not at the centre work
Jazz – I was good at the exercises but not at the dancing
Saying to my ballet teacher that I had had a big fall as a child and was scared of not being upright – lying about this to my ballet teacher as an excuse to stay upright
Being technically strong
Audition photos for Rambert
Being told to get some attack in my dancing and to go to fencing classes.
I never went.
Good morning miss marie
Experiencing improvisation classes for the first time circa 1984 – and I would always be the last one to leave the space
Loving them and being really excited by them
Opal Loop by Trisha Brown
Troy Games by LCDT
Ghost Dances by Rambert
My first experience of dancing on stage was awful – a solo - which I promptly forgot when I got on stage at the Old Town Arts Centre in Swindon. I wore a green jumper under a black leotard. I ran off stage. In the car on the way home my sister said that I was really good and I knew that she was lying. I knew what a lie was.
Maybe that’s why I work with improvisation now!
Pale pink all in one – my favourite
Hot pink plastic sweat pants
Sat in wide 2nd position on the floor – the teacher pokes a finger in my buttocks saying ‘lose that’.
Seeing a solo show by an American dancer – improvised – and thinking what the hell was that? I can’t think of her name right now but it will come to me.
Bad shins splits, really bad shin splits. Twice. 1985. 1987. Unable to walk let alone dance.
I was too tense.
Too rigid.
Too turned out.
Too much smashing my heels into the floor.  
Too much not bending my knees.
Too sore.
The Alexander Technique.
Contact improvisation.
Release based techniques.
Have a narrower first position – what?!
Don’t pull your knees up – what?!
And never wanting to look happy when taking a bow at the end of a show incase the audience thought I wasn’t really any good. So they knew that I knew that I wasn’t really any good. (Arts Centre in Swindon related…?)