Allie Graham: My First Term in the Pre-Professional Year

The Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year course is giving me the opportunity to develop and extend my personal style of movement, refine my technical skills, deepen my understanding of the body and challenge the possibilities of movement. Linda Gamblin and Shane Carroll have made me feel so at home at the Sydney Dance Company Studios and my fellow dancers in the PPY program never cease to challenge, entertain and inspire me.

Within the course so far, I have particularly loved being exposed to and immersed in the unique styles and techniques of visiting choreographers. With Sara Black, the group explored all facets of improvisation which allowed me to build on my movement vocabulary and further develop my own organic fusion style of contemporary dance. By setting us movement tasks with physical limitations; asking us to embody the spaces and textures of our surroundings and to look at the importance of stillness and contrast in a piece, Sara has transformed and enriched my approach to improvisation. Dean Walsh provided us with a week of ‘unplugged’ movement by tapping into our subconscious through blind-folded improvisation. We explored our own authentic movement derived from our individual personalities and innate creativity and added a new dimension by experimenting with “Authentic Sounding”. I found this a liberating yet challenging experience.

I am excited to see what the rest of 2016 will bring. My Pre Professional Year journey so far has already broadened my creative base in choreography and improvisation, unlocking different dynamics and qualities of movement, manipulating them to express myself in new ways. We don’t have to look too far for inspiration surrounded by the strength, dedication and beauty of the Sydney Dance Company Dancers
– Allie Graham, 2016 Pre-Professional Year

Find out more about Pre Professional Year here..