On Tuesday 18th June students from years 7-9 were fortunate enough to have Mikaela Polley, former rehearsal director at Rambert Dance Company, work with them for a day. Together they explored repertoire from ‘Ghost Dances’ by Christopher Bruce and learnt how the piece had responded to the disappearance of Victor Jara in Chile, during General Pinochet’s dictatorship.
As a result of Joan Jara writing to Christopher Bruce requesting he made a piece for the people of Chile, this exquisite piece of music visualisation, where dancers move effortlessly through space with one another was created. Student Adi found this element fascinating commenting, “I really liked exploring the different dynamics between the Chilean people and the Ghosts.”
For Emma the masterclass complemented her upcoming studies. She said “It was really helpful in preparation for my studying GCSE dance next year. I liked Mikaela’s sensitive approach and learnt about how important timing is in dance.”
The day enabled students to discuss dance theory and context, as well as putting this into practice. Martha commented “I valued having the opportunity to express myself.” Whilst Anna said “I really enjoyed today. I got to work on my own trio choreography and loved exploring the characters of the Ghosts.”
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