AUSSIE CREATIVES BEHIND KATY PERRY WORLD TOUR AND 'DANCE BOSS' Ashley Evans and Antony Ginandjar
MARKO PANZIC MADDIE & MACKENZIE
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AUSTRALIAN
CHOREOGRAPHER MARKO
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MADDIE TOUR
“I never want that to be lost!” he added. The Dream Dance company founder wants to build a legacy around dance and expose it to a wider audience. He admits he cannot do this plight alone and encourages everyone in dance to build a community of their own to form connections and grow the industry. “I want to keep the experience of the art of being in front of a live audience, to be respected and deserve the applause.” “For our Australian culture, dance is a hard job in this country especially when the UK and US industries are strong because they celebrate greatness, and for some reason, in this country, once you become great, you get lost as we always cheer for the underdog,” he admitted. “I encourage anyone out there to build a community. There is no value in it for me unless there are lots of people doing it too. Let’s build a community that can come together!”
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THE SQUARED DIVISION UNSTOPPABLE IN THE U.S If there is anything Australia can claim as its own success, it would be the creative pair known as The Squared Division who have worked with the most renowned and talented superstars including Katy Perry’s recent world tour. Channel Seven’s new hit television series ‘Dance Boss’ is airing in Australia, with different industries competing against each other for $100,000. The creative directors behind this show is an Aussie pair known as The Squared Division featuring Ashley Evans and Antony Ginandjar, who now reside in Los Angeles. They spent six months in pre-production for ‘Dance Boss’ with Dannii Minogue as the host and executive producer, and accompanied by three judges revered in the dance industry; Sharni Vinson, Adam Garcia, and Timomatic. Dannii Minogue and The Squared Division have a strong connection that goes back eight years. Ashley said they have a personal phone conversation prior to them knowing
of each other’s involvement in ‘Dance Boss’ when Ashley spoke to the executive directors and was told Dannii was not only an executive producer herself but also the host. “I called her after I heard that and said, ‘how come you didn’t mention it?’ But, she is incredible in this role, she’s funny and full of energy, and as long as I have known her for the last eight years, she is so passionate and she really cares about what she does,” said Ashley.
permanently. Ashley said the key to their success was due to putting themselves out of the comfort zone, quite literally. “We were in our thirties when we moved to the U.S so it was a challenge, and we started again almost,” he said. “We miss Australia, but opportunity over here is awesome. It is nice to grow success outside of your comfort zone,” he added.
‘Dance Boss’ is not the pair’s claim to fame, however. Ashley and Antony have worked with some of the biggest names in the world, including Kesha, Bebe Rexha, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Jessie J, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Hudson, Pitbull, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and so much more.
“We were lucky, we were already working in America with Kesha while we were living in Australia. When we moved, we landed Britney Spears in Vegas straight away. I remember thinking, ‘Wow I can’t believe this!’ We fell into this quite quickly, but we formed relationships before we left Australia.”
The Squared Division began their brand in Australia and sparked connections with artists in the U.S and U.K before they made the decision to relocate to Los Angeles
Last year, The Squared Division worked with Katy Perry on her world tour ‘Witness’, which closes this month in Australia and New Zealand. It was an unusual beginning to the
Sandra Kluge NEW YORK CITY
Dancer: Parul Shah Story by Sandra Kluge.
TWO NEW YORK CITY DANCERS ON THE POWER OF PERFORMING Think about being completely mesmerised by a dance performance. The dancers draw you into their energy, bringing you on their journey of wonder and emotion. You leave the theater feeling moved and transformed. What makes these life-changing performances so special? What turns technical steps into an expressive performance, and transforms dancers to artists? Dance Writer New York City talked to a Kathak dancer and a Butoh dancer about their secret ingredient. Parul Shah - Kathak Dancer Parul Shah is a NYC based, internationally sought-after Kathak dancer. Having just finished a run at the New Victory Theater, Parul and her company, the Parul Shah Dance Company, create intriguing works that transcend the boundaries of traditional Kathak while honoring its roots. Kathak is a North Indian
classical dance form that tells stories through highly expressive gestures, facial expressions, and percussive foot patterns. She studied extensively with guru Padmashree Kumudini Lakhia in India.
Therefore, Kathak also includes dances that do not tell a specific Hindu story, but rather emphasise a mood, an abstract expression.
Concentrating on choreographing and developing her own performances, Parul noticed she was stepping outside the traditional realm. Parul describes, ‘It was not a conscious effort to change the movement, it was a conscious effort to tell stories’. Her technique moved ‘outside the parameters of Kathak’. She realised that, ‘It’s about being able to express what you want to express, not being limited to a certain technique’.
While it is important to study technique in any art form, it is not enough to just execute it perfectly. Parul believes, ‘You need to go beyond technique to make it express something, to make it a value for yourself and the audience. You cannot be an artist with just doing your technique. Technique [alone] is void of expression. You can’t tell someone else’s story. You have to tell your own story’. Even when dancing traditional material, ‘You have to tell it in a way that is personal and relatable to you’.
Interestingly, Kathak has more room for improvisation than other Indian classical dance forms because of its eclecticism. Throughout history, it has been exposed to influences such as Islamic themes from the Mughal era, and British colonization.
Parul is passionate about conveying social messages through performance. To her, art is a means of social activism, with human rights a central topic in Parul’s works. Her current piece deals with women facing inequality, an issue she feels and fights herself.
Yokko. Photo by Vanessa Teran.
TWO NEW YORK CITY DANCERS ON THE POWER OF PERFORMING Telling stories that are congruent with her identity and life-view enables her to infuse emotional integrity and power. ‘Art creates a sense of empathy. If you have a story, if you know the past and present of the character, you empathise’. That is what makes art so powerful, ‘Empathy leads to productive change’. Yokko - Butoh and Theater Artist/Actress/Yoga Instructor Yokko is the artistic director of the New York City based Butoh/theater company Ren Gyo Soh whose work Shinka - A Story of Living Beings is currently being shown at the Flamboyán Theater in NYC. Butoh is a form of Japanese dance theatre. Also known as the Dance of Darkness, it was founded by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno after World War II in an effort to break taboos and create a dance form for Japanese bodies. It channels earth energy with
movements close to the ground and motives of dancing in, appreciating and connecting with nature. Yokko got into Butoh while studying at the University of Oregon. She faced deep internal struggles while learning this art form. According to Hijikata, Butoh is about the expansion of the human ideology, letting go of ourselves completely so we can be ‘a balloon, insect or animal’. Yokko explains ‘It’s always 100 percent, there is no kind-of’. While, in Western dance, technique usually comes before expression, in Butoh it is the reverse. It is an internal image guided towards the outside. It is listening, letting the body move you. Images such as walking on a razor blade or a bug biting you create strong emotions that are then expressed outwardly. In order for it to reach the audience and make them feel, it must be real. Yokko says Butoh is for all humans. ‘Everyone has a completely different definition, their own Butoh’, she says. Her works combine
Hijikata’s methodological and Ohno’s intuitive approaches with her very own voice. She creates a transformational and emotional experience, ‘Sharing is important. The performers are going through a real experience. Butoh means experiencing something together’. Most importantly, Yokko finds that ‘Whatever works, works! If it is good it is good, if it is not good it is not good. The audience doesn’t care what kind of craft you’re using’. Her current production Shinka - A Living Being explores ecology and environmental awareness. ‘As humans, we forget that there are other living beings, animals, flowers, trees, insects. We forget the sun is right there. The sun doesn’t need us to exist, but we need it to live. It is like not appreciating our health until we get sick. We can learn a lot from nature’.
Sian Corrigan
MANIFEST YOUR VISION WITH THE LAW OF ATTRACTION Is law of attraction a real thing? I’d heard about vision boards helping to keep you on track of reaching your goals, but I threw the vision boards in the too-hard basket. ‘What a waste of time,’ I thought as a busy high school student and dancer. Little did I know that the law of attraction and vision boards would lead to my dream job. Vision boards are a collection of images of an individual’s goals. The idea is by looking at these images every day, you are saying to the universe that this is what you want. This whole thing is based on the Law of Attraction; the concept of ‘like attracts like’. It is referred to in this way many times in Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, which is largely responsible for bringing the law of attraction to a mainstream audience. I believe if you send positivity out into the world then, generally, you will receive positivity back. Similarly, if you have negative energy, you will probably have a bad day. Why? When I discovered that this was the law of attraction in action, the idea of a vision board began to make sense.
My first vision board began with a cookbook. Written by an extremely successful nutritionist I greatly admire, she spoke about vision boards being ‘magic’ because everything she put on hers had somehow manifested, including a really hot husband. It sounded pretty good to me! Hot husbands aside, her story was intriguing. If someone so successful believed in vision boards, then why shouldn't it work for me? My career was at a bit of a stand-still following an injury, so I knew I had nothing to lose. I immediately created a board filled with photos of everything in the dance world that I aspired to; inspiring performers, shows I wanted to be in, dance movies I love (yes, Centre Stage did make an appearance). My first vision board was one big mess of hope, inspiration and love. It worked! Looking at the photos made me feel excited; it reminded me why I chose dance for my life and career. Amazingly, almost everything I visualised on that board came into my life that year. Not always exactly how I imagined, nonetheless, they manifested. Vision boards work because your goals are
constantly at the forefront of your mind. You are reminded of how passionate you are, what you are working towards, and those days where you feel hopeless become few and far between. It makes your dreams more tangible because they are right there, staring you in the face.
You still need to work hard and set realistic goals. Yet, I also believe there is magic in vision boards. Last year, I put a picture of an Eiffel Tower next to the name of a company I wanted to work for. At the time, it thought it unlikely that I’d work in Europe, but I put it there to inspire me. A few months later, I was offered a contract to live in Paris and work for that company. Coincidence? I prefer to think that a vision board magic is 70 percent hard work and 30 percent fairy dust, (or some sort of weird universe voodoo). Maybe not everything is in our control. I urge you to give it a go. The worst that could happen is that you end up with a creatively decorated piece of cardboard. The best…well, who knows what the universe has waiting for you! Happy Dancing xx @siancorrigan
Haydee Ferguson
PERFORMANCE PHYSIOTHERAPY Whether a dancer is commencing a new show, training for a competition or preparing for an exam, they consistently place significant demands on their bodies. Dancers are exposed to multiple physical risks during every performance. When working as a member of a touring company, or travelling as an independent artist, dancers face a diverse set of challenges as they move between different roles, venues and performances.
Conditioning—Keeping up a consistent conditioning program helps to maintain fitness. Pilates and yoga keep your core and deep stability muscles working correctly while creating the opportunity to connect with your body and correct any technique issues, or muscles imbalances, that may develop from repeated repertoire work. Walking, cycling and swimming help maintain cardiovascular fitness, important for sustaining energy levels while performing.
Seeking medical advice can be extremely daunting, particularly if you are working in a foreign-speaking country, or one without the benefits of the Australian health care system. Taking the time to prepare your body in advance can make an incredible difference in awareness, strength, stamina and endurance, as well as reduce your likelihood of injury.
Nutrition—Fuel your body with a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, dairy and protein. When you are travelling, cooking and storing foods can be difficult but, where possible, avoid fast foods and find fresh food options at local markets.
Strategies to self-manage your physical health: Warm up—Always create time for an adequate warm up. Focus your thoughts and get into a clear headspace. This helps to settle any nerves and ensure your body is thoroughly prepared before every performance.
Self-Management Plan—Develop a selfmanagement plan with your physiotherapist or health professional. A physiotherapist can help you understand what your body is telling you through tightness, stiffness, pain or instability, and give you the tools to keep your body moving from day to day. They can also develop an appropriate conditioning program for the roles you are dancing. Many physiotherapists now conduct online appointments so it may be possible to organise regular catch-ups while you are away.
First Aid—Pack a personal first aid and conditioning kit to help you take care of any minor injuries such as splinters, floor burns, mild sprains or blisters. Spiky massage ball Theraband Soft Pilates ball Adhesive bandages of various sizes and shapes Elastic compression bandage Blister pads or second skin Sports tape Kinesotape Antiseptic cream Arnica massage cream Instant heat/ice packs Scissors Tweezers Sleep—Get plenty of sleep. This can be difficult if you are changing time zones, have late night performances or long days of travel. Without adequate sleep, your body does not recover and recharge properly, leading to overuse injuries, fatigue, poor concentration and increased chances of accidents when performing. Follow these simple strategies to decrease your risk, manage any minor injuries and keep your body working at its best.