New spaces for Two old instruments

To Worcester by train on Saturday 7^th February for another performance of Two old instruments with Jonathan. Our second show in a library, this time in the intimate Studio of The Hive, Worcester. This state of the art building opened in 2012 combines the public library, University of Worcester library and access to County Council services in a single open plan structure. On a Saturday afternoon it was exhilarating to see it teeming with families visiting its extensive and welcoming children’s library spaces with their panoramic outlook, and using its friendly café; this striking piece of architecture evidently establishing itself among local people as a valuable and homely amenity.

The Hive, Worcester

Our evening show was the first dance event in a developing programme of small-scale performances. Afterwards our small but appreciative audience, including two young children, asked interested questions about the viola da gamba, unknown to most, and about the emergence of ballet in the eighteenth century… we felt encouraged by their engagement and concentration – and fascination with footwork!

Susie and Jonathan rehearsing Two old instruments, Diamond Studio, Corenerstone

Preparations for this performance took us twice to Didcot where we benefitted from the Cornerstone Arts Centre’s enlightened offer of reduced price rehearsal space in their bright purpose built dance studio, providing an ideal working environment of professional standard, cheaper than anything available in either Oxford or London. Cornerstone offers a cheering example of a local authority investing in a well equipped and centrally located arts facility, with friendly staff and an open door policy. A big thank you – welcoming artists in to use the facilities at off-peak times offers a lifeline to small scale initiatives developing and refining their work.

Here’s hoping that over time performing artists can become embedded, and audiences for dance and music built in these aspirational public spaces…

Susie

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Ballet classes with guest teacher Ellie Carter on Saturday 7th February

Next Saturday 7th February because of the Two old instruments performance in Worcester ballet classes at URC will be taught by guest teacher Ellie Carter from the USA.  A beautiful dancer, Ellie has both a distinguished professional performing career and significant experience teaching dance and specifically ballet.  Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to experience her particular insights and fresh perspective.

Ellie Carter

Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Ellie Carter danced professionally with BalletMet, American Repertory Ballet, and Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University and earned her MFA from The Ohio State University, where she was a University Fellow and a Graduate Teaching Associate. Carter was on the faculty at both the Princeton Ballet School and the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble Center for Dance. As a dancer, a teacher of dance, and a maker of dance, Carter seeks to evoke embodied meaning by exploring her own, as well as her collaborators’/dancers’, physicalities, movement histories, and virtuosity. While at OSU, she received funding from the Presutti-Madison Memorial Dance Fund and an Alumni Grant for Graduate Research and Scholarship to support her work. Most recently, Carter worked as a Lecturer at The Ohio State University and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Kenyon College, where she taught Ballet, Ballet Pedagogy, Writing About Dance, and Dance History.