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DIVA DANCE AMBASSADORS AYNSLEY, PHOEBE, TARA AND SIENA EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS!
Q&A with NYC's Tap Legend Barbara Duffy Transit Dance's New Entrepreneurial Production Program!
Dance Writer Ambassador Chat!
FEBRUARY 2018, VOL 1, ISSUE 1
TARA BAJAN: The Worldly Diva Dance Ambassador BY JESSICA POULTER
Diva Dance Photography ambassador Tara Bajan is one of the most well-travelled dancers at only 14-years-old, lucky enough to be an assistant to globally renowned dance coach Rebecca Davies. The Starz Performing Arts student Tara Bajan has been offered countless dance opportunities in the early stages of her career. She’s been labelled a Diva Dance Photography ambassador, participating in couture photoshoots for founder Leah Hoffman. “It is always special to have Tara in the studio, she comes in with new crazy moves she wants photographed!” Leah Hoffman said. Tara attends classes around the clock in all styles of dance including acrobatics, contemporary, lyrical, jazz, ballet and more. Her favourite part of dancing is the artistry component. “I love that dance allows me to express myself. You can empower others and yourself through the art of dance, which is so exciting,” said Tara. “Leah is a really great photographer, we all have a lot of fun during the shoots!” Tara smiled. Tara’s dancing talent has been recognised at various championships in Australia. She recently scored a place in the Top 10 for ‘The Dancer of the Year’ category at Showcase Dance Championships. At the same competition, she was titled 2018 Teen League of Champions winner. Early this year, she won Overall Teen Champion at Follow Your Dreams Competition.
FEBRUARY 2018, VOL 1, ISSUE 1
TARA BAJAN: The Worldly Diva Dance Ambassador CONTINUED
With possibly more frequent flyer points than a pop-star, Tara has been blessed with such extensive travel opportunities. Tara has been a devoted assistant for Radar Technique’s director Rebecca Davies, jetting off to countries like United States of America, England, Europe and Canada. Tara will assist Rebecca Davies in Japan this month, as well as fly to Norway, Sweden, and England to assist at Radar workshops in April. The world-renowned coach is also a permanent teacher with Starz Performing Arts where Tara attends. “Working alongside Rebecca has been amazing, she is such a lovely person and she really pushes us to reach our goals and be the best version of ourselves,” Tara told Dance Writer. Tara’s name has become quite popular in many parts of the world that she now has a social media following of more than 35,000. Tara said it is important to remain humble when you have so many people following your journey, especially since she is an ambassador and a dance assistant at such a young age.
"You have to be humble; it is something I learned as a child and I don’t take for granted," Tara said.
Dance Writer Ambassadors Matt & Katie Professional Ballroom Couple
FEBRUARY 2018, VOL 1, ISSUE 1
CONTORTIONIST AYNSLEY LJASKEVIC AIMS HIGH, CIRQUE DU SOLEIL BY JESSICA POULTER
Diva Dance Photography Ambassador Aynsley Ljaskevic has a dream of being part of the largest international touring circus company Cirque Du Soleil when she’s older. At just 16 years old, Aynsley has many achievements under her belt. Her two-year ambassadorship so far with Diva Dance Photography has truly excelled her professional profile and confidence in front of a camera. Leah Hoffman, founder of Diva Dance and an ex-calisthenics girl has given Aynsley an opportunity of a lifetime; to be a role model for other Calisthenics girls through exquisite powder portraits. With Aynsley performing tricks in the studio during a shoot, other budding Calisthenics and circus performers can aspire to her. Aynsley has been doing Calisthenics since 2008 and has never stopped. Her passion along with Calisthenics is circus arts, which can be compared to Calisthenics items such as freearm where girls can express their strength and flexibility like gymnasts. “Calisthenics is an addiction,” Aynsley said with a smile. Originally at Kingston Calisthenics for many years, she moved to Chadstone where she developed both her physical and graceful technique for solos and coaching purposes. She competes on stage almost 20 times a year and has won many titles at State Championships in both solos and teamwork along the way. “I do about 10 hours of Calisthenics a week. I’m in the hall all the time doing solos, teamwork, levels or just practicing.”
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“While the specific needs of sportspersons and dancers differ, I’d argue that dancers need a similar degree of intelligently designed equipment to ensure they’re able to achieve their best performances and reduce injury rates,” Ms Goldsmith said. MDM does not believe dancers should have to accept a one-size-fitsall mentality. Because of this, MDM has engineered shoes specifically designed for performance that prioritise comfort and aesthetics, and others that are specifically designed for rehearsals where functionality, such as injury prevention and technique training are more important factors. MDM understands that the demands on dancers vary depending on their age, technical ability and whether they are in class, rehearsals, doing exams, or performing in competitions. “Being a former dancer myself, and now a designer of footwear, it was an extremely natural process to want to develop a concept to better support a dancer inside a dance shoe,” said designer Mr Heathcote. The advanced design of the shoe is unique to MDM. In every MDM shoe, you’ll find the internationally patented Dance Base Support that is engineered into the sole of the shoe. This sweeps to cup the heel and remains in constant contact with the arch, providing support to the intrinsic muscles. This Dance Base Support delays fatigue by assisting in muscular activation while also providing a subtle cue for improved alignment guidance of the whole foot. The latter helps reduce the likelihood of rolling inward or outward, which is one of the most common technical faults in dancers and can lead to stress injuries over time. “Now it’s here, it almost seems so straightforward that it makes you wonder why it hadn’t been done sooner,” said Ms Goldsmith.
Founders Tim Heathcote and Simone Goldsmith have been blessed with exceptional dance careers and understand from experience what dancers need on their feet. Mr. Heathcote was classically trained before taking a position with Sydney Dance Company under the direction of choreographer Graeme Murphy AO. There Tim had a fruitful start to his career enjoying international success. Yet due to a severe back injury, Tim was forced to retire early from dance. His injury prompted him to think about dance from a fresh perspective, which motivated the question: how can a dancer’s most essential equipment— their shoes, better prepare them and keep them injury free? Ms Goldsmith also enjoyed an impressive career, with The Australian Ballet. For 11 years Simone danced with the company performing as a Principal ballerina, working with some of the world’s best choreographers and directors. She was blessed to have had several ballets created on her, which is considered a spectacular honour in the classical realm. Now retired from dance, they are happily married to one another and to their company, MDM. Continue over page
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DANCE BASE SUPPORT FOOTWEAR MDM Ambassador Juliet Doherty featured bottom right wearing MDM ballet shoe.
Tim and Simone started with little except their vast experience in dance and a burning passion to improve the craft, art, and industry they’ve dedicated their lives to. Like so many innovations the MDM story began with a foundational question: if you were making the ballet shoe today—knowing all we do about materials, physiology, technique training and injury prevention—what would that shoe look like? What could and should it do? These questions led to the ideas that sparked the emergence of MDM Dancewear. Most of the MDM team have been professional dancers, which is a significant difference to their competitors. “I think that experience is missing from some of the other major dancewear companies,” said Mr Heathcote. Tim concluded; “I believe the success of MDM is a testament to what we were taught as dancers. Some parents don’t see the value of dance training, and so we want to really start showcasing the dancers in the corporate world that are doing exceptionally well.” Because doing dance is not necessarily about having a professional dance career. The values dancers learn in the studio can drive them in the corporate world. Values such as persistence, dedication, a love of hard work, team building and pride in oneself transcend the dance studio and are relevant in almost every endeavour. “Dancers often make the best employees because of those early ingrained values,” said Mr Heathcote smiling.
NEW YORK CITY - Q & A
By Sandra Kluge
TAPPING INTO IMPROVISATION WITH BARBARA DUFFY Internationally renowned tap dance master Barbara Duffy from New York City has just published her book Tap Into Improv: A Guide to Tap Dance Improvisation, which the tap world has waited for with great anticipation. Whenever someone tells me they are coming to New York City to study tap dance, I strongly urge them to go to Barbara Duffy’s improvisation classes at Steps on Broadway. Her approach, which builds on 27 years of experience as an improvisation teacher stresses the unique potential of each student, no matter what level they are, exploring the depths of musicality, expression, and the self through improvisation. She is highly regarded for her ability to break down students’ fears and emotional blocks from both beginner level up to professionals. Dance Writer chats with tap sensation Barbara Duffy about how she taps into improvisation both professionally and personally.
Dance Writer: Why do you think so many people are afraid to improvise? Barbara Duffy: I think people are afraid of the unknown. [They] are afraid to make a mistake, and there is also a preconceived notion that they should be able to improvise, just like that, and produce a great result. But in fact, improvisation must be practiced to get good! DW: Is the book applicable to other dance styles, too? BD: Yes, I think it could be. A lot of the book is quite technical about tap dance, but some of the conceptual ideas and creative exercises in the later part of the book could be applied to other dance forms, as well any form of improvisation. DW: Why is it important for tap dancers to practice improvisation, and not just choreography? BD: In rhythm tap, improvisation is part of the tradition of this style. So, if you are a serious tap artist, this is something to explore. It does not mean you have to do it all the time, but it is something that is part of the art form and worth trying and working on. Also, it allows the dancer to be completely free in the moment, to create their own rhythms, and to be a musician with their feet. Learning how to improvise, as well as being able to learn choreography are equally important when studying rhythm tap dance. I tell people who audition for Broadway shows that it is valuable to be able to improvise. If, during the audition, they make a mistake dancing the choreography, their improvisation skills will allow them to keep going without becoming flustered. It’s a good tool to have under your belt!
See full Q&A at www.dancewriter.com.au
DANCE WRITER AMBASSADOR CHAT In November Bundaberg Dance Academy had their annual dance concert. This year I was excited to be in ten group dances and also to be asked to perform my lyrical solo – “Run”, choreographed by Peta-Maree Jacobsen. My favourite dance was Jazz to the song “Dance Like Yo Daddy”. At the concert, I was also awarded the Senior Ballet award, but best of all I had all of my Grandparents there for the first time ever. Over the summer holidays, I was fortunate to attend the In2Dance Workshop. Bundaberg is so lucky to have In2Dance right at here with the most amazing choreographers coming to share their time and talents. I was awarded the Senior Funk Jazz award from Camilla Jakimowicz. I then headed to Brisbane to the Strictly Dance Workshop for a week, which was more classical based and was also so much fun. I met some great new friends and particularly enjoyed doing a duo with Claudia Hastings. Georgia Wall, QLD Dance Writer Ambassador.
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