JENNA LEE. I giovani talenti sono in cerca d'ispirazione
Avevo già incontrato Jenna Lee a Londra, all’English National Ballet, lo scorso anno durante uno stage estivo. L’ultimo giorno partecipai ad una lezione aperta, la sua e ricordo come fosse oggi la carica di energia che trasmise a tutto il gruppo degli allievi e indirettamente anche a noi. 60 minuti di puro dinamismo. Ritrovare la sua presenza nello staff dei docenti della Summer Academy è stata una piacevole sorpresa e una conferma del fatto che l'organizzazione HAB è sempre in cerca di talenti davanti e dietro le quinte.
Jenna Lee, solare, sorridente, determinata e gentile è stata una figura risolutiva nella gestione del nuovo corso di Performance istituito quest'anno nella programmazione della Summer Academy.
Jenna studia danza classica presso la Royal Academy of Dance di Londra. Successivamente entra a far parte della compagnia dell'English National Ballet e vi resta per 12 anni. Durante questo lungo periodo si esibisce coprendo numerosi ruoli di repertorio. Tale opportunità alimenta in lei il desiderio di sperimentare la sua creatività in ambito coreografico e finalmente, al termine della sua carriera di ballerina, coglie l'occasione per esplorare con entusiasmo questo nuovo mondo. Inizia a collaborare con l'English National Ballet, creando per loro coreografie audaci ed innovative su brani tratti dalla Sinfonia Classica di Prokofiev. Questa seconda splendida avventura l'ha vista impegnata con la Covent Garden Dance Company, con il London Children's Ballet, con il World Dance Champions Flawless e con la BBC per il programma Young Dancer of the Year. Oggi Jenna è proprietaria della JLee Productions con la quale promuove eventi coreografici a tema. Con grande disponibilità Jenna ha risposto ad alcune domande sulla sua esperienza nel mondo della danza, dall'esibizione alla coreografia.
Monica. Ciao Jenna, la tua carriera di ballerina e di interprete di numerosi ruoli in una delle più importanti compagnie di danza del mondo, ti ha formato dandoti l’opportunità di sviluppare il tuo talento di coreografa. Parlaci di questo passaggio dal palcoscenico a dietro le quinte.
Jenna. I feel very privileged to have been part of English National Ballet for a wonderful 12 years and throughout my career as a dancer, I was fortunate enough to also be nurtured as a choreographer. I have worked on such a variety of projects, that I feel ready for almost any brief I get given! The transition from dancer to choreographer/creative director came quite easily to me, perhaps from the years of experience English National Ballet had given me. I feel confident in this leadership role but I also feel like i have real empathy for the dancers. As wonderful as dancing is, it comes with hard work, discipline, pain and sometimes disappointment, which can be difficult to deal with at a young age.
M. Ci puoi parlare della tua esperienza con i ragazzi? Che valore ha la performance sul palcoscenico e come riesci a trasmettere loro la tecnica e la cura della parte scenica nella preparazione degli spettacoli?
J. When creating new work, I like dancers to be open to ideas, collaboration and exploration. Most of the time, I’ll come in to the studio with a little bit of phrase-work I’ve already prepared, and start teaching that. You can never be 100% committed to a movement or routine because you never know exactly how it will look on the dancers. All of the heavily narrative scenes I wait and create on the dancers so I can see what suits them, which often looks more natural and convincing when they are doing it there own way!
M. Cosa pensi dell’HAB Summer Academy? Parlaci della tua prima esperienza come insegnante di questo progetto.
J. I throughly enjoyed my week with HAB. I felt like there was a lovely balance between the students working hard and also having a fun, sociable week, making new friends. The faculty were extremely accommodating to me and the requests I made, for extra rehearsals which I felt we needed to get the show ready in time! They create a relaxed but structured environment which the students responded very well to. I felt extremely welcome and I was impressed by the level of professionalism created at this summer academy. During this creative process, I felt a great sense of community working with this organisation. All the faculty and staff were striving for the same thing, for each and every student to get the most out of this experience, pushing them to always do better, whilst nurturing their individual talent.
M. Cosa pensi dell’inserimento del corso di Performance che abbiamo incluso da quest’anno nel programma offerto?
J. I think adding a performance course into this years summer academy was extremely beneficial to the dancers. We train for hours and hours (which we need to) working on our technique and the details of classical ballet and sometimes the performance quality of our work is not prioritised. However, its a skill that is so important to a brilliant ‘all round’ performer and gets dancers noticed at auditions and competitions. When you join a classical ballet company, your acting skills are as valuable as your dancing skills! I noticed how much it bonded the students working on a ballet where they were part of a story and had to work as a team. The ballet relies on each and every dancer being dedicated to their character for it to be successful and believable to the audience. The students took great pride in their own work but as they watched rehearsals, I noticed how encouraging and supportive they were of the other sections of the ballet they were not involved in. This was lovely to see.
M. Lavorare con i ragazzi non è semplice. Cosa significa montare uno spettacolo con ritmi semi-professionali in cinque giorni?
J. Shows can often take weeks to develop, so creating ‘Alice In Wonderland’ in only 5 days was challenging. Working with children is very different from working with professional dancers. However even these youngsters are expected to have the same professional values that any member of a ballet company has. We teach them the rules of being side stage, on stage, backstage! Trying to give them the full theatrical experience.
M. Non è facile per i genitori scegliere nel vasto panorama dell’offerta di stage estivi di danza. Quali consigli puoi dare?
J. I understand how difficult it must be for parents having to choice between summer courses, as there are so many on offer these days. I think a good course is always made from firm foundations i.e. the course leaders! Then a varied facility, who bring different skills to the table. If your child would like to become a successful classical dancer, do not under estimate the importance of training in other genres, particularly contemporary. These days, dancers in classical companies are required to be skilful in many areas. At English National Ballet we were required to do tap in a production at the Royal Albert Hall!
M. HAB ha fatto la scelta, con sacrificio, di formare dei corsi che non superino i 15 allievi. Cosa ne pensi?
J. I have taught a summer academies in the past that have so many students in each class and it is impossible to teach. We want to give your child the attention they need and deserve. With such large numbers in the classes that is just not possible. Therefore the 15 student limit they have at HAB really is beneficial for both the student and the teacher. Everybody can get the most from the week.
M. Concentrare il lavoro in una settimana tra lezioni e prove per lo spettacolo è stato faticoso per tutti, per gli allievi e anche per gli insegnanti. Quello che ho notato è che la tua energia, solarità e grande dinamismo ha contagiato tutti gli allievi anche quelli tendenzialmente più introversi e disattenti dando vita ad un’armonia rilassante. Quanto è importante l’armonia nell’ambiente in cui si lavora al fine della buona riuscita del lavoro con i ragazzi? E quanto è importante lo spirito di competizione?
J. These talented, young students who are hungry, excited and eager to learn hang on to your every word you say and you realise how much influence you have over young aspiring dancers. I try and be a good role model for them, constantly trying to inspire them in a positive way. I am quite dynamic as a person and young people seem to respond well to that! I believe in telling students when their work is not good enough and praised them when their work is good. It’s a competitive profession and they need to understand that early on.
M. Lo spettacolo messo in scena al termine dello stage “Alice nel paese delle meraviglie” è stato meraviglioso. E’ impressionante pensare alla professionalità con cui i giovani ballerini hanno affrontato questa esperienza. Cosa ne pensi?
J. When I am choreographing a new ballet, I am reflective and honest with my work, continually reevaluating what I have created. Once the work is set, it is the responsibility of these young dancers, having to remember all the choreography and corrections and then they become accountable for their work.The process of storytelling is fairly new to me. I have only created 3 narrative ballet’s: Snow White, Little Lord Fauntleroy and Alice In wonderland. Although I believe that great narrative ballets are given life by the process of story telling, I’m conscious that my role of choreographer is to provide a strong structure and storyline that absorbs and transports it’s audience. Story ballets will always be at the heart of the ballet repertoire, because audiences will never stop loving stories!
M. Speriamo di averti con noi anche il prossimo anno e ti ringraziamo per tutto quello che hai trasmesso ai nostri giovani ballerini.
J. It has been an absolute pleasure working with students from HAB Summer Academy. Even at this young age they show a great deal of passion for ballet, commitment and attention to detail. With the wonderful teaching they receive day in day out from their dance schools, they already have a good solid technique so it makes my job a lot easier! I’ve tried to give the students at the HAB Summer Academy a true representation of what its like living, eating and breathing a new creation! Whilst also passing on the skills I have learnt over the years, that involves discipline, dedication and attention to detail. I concentrated on their dance quality and how they express and project their movements on stage through character portrayal. Ultimately the dancers must enjoy what they are dancing, so we the audience do too. Actually the end the result is not the main goal really, its the process they go through together as a team and the experience these young people gain that is priceless and will stay with them for a very long time!
A quote that I found, that I often refer to. Great for teachers/mentors/choreographers!
"To be inspired is great but to inspire others is even better!"
