Oxford is well known for its drama and thespian scene, with many famous actors such as Rowan Atkinson, Michael Palin and Rosamund Pike completing their degrees here. Yet there is very little mention of dance and, having trained in many disciplines for over fifteen years, I was worried it would all go to waste once I reached the dreaming spires…How wrong I was! Since coming to Oxford I have danced in a show or musical every single term and have made some amazing friends in the dance world as well. As an anxious fresher I auditioned for Oxford University Contemporary Dance (formerly The Broad Street Dancers), Oxford’s competitive dance troupe, who perform a variety of styles including Contemporary, Jazz, Modern, Tap and Commercial. I was immediately caught up in rehearsals, shows and even a Varsity competition against Cambridge. Joining this group made my first year, as I realised the wealth of potential for dance in Oxford: performing in ‘Ten Duets on a Theme of Proximity’, a contemporary show with 10 dancers, at the Burton Taylor Studio just 8 weeks after arriving at Brasenose. From then on, my involvement in dance has grown; I first choreographed numbers for OU Contemporary Dance’s annual show, Paradise, performed at the Old Fire Station, before being elected president of the troupe at the end of my first year.
Being president presented me with a whole list of new challenges, including working out how to market ourselves to freshers and run auditions, how to find a venue for our annual show in February and also how to re-balance our budget (a task which involved attempting to remember my year nine Excel skills!) However, what I found the most challenging was trying to strike a balance between leading the committee, and also working with people who are my good friends (in other words, how much could I nag my friends on Facebook messenger before they would start ignoring me all together?). As well as the general challenge of taking on a leadership role, I had the interesting task of facilitating our transition from a society to an official Oxford University sport. Along with the fun aspects of organising stash and choosing the new name, this highlighted to me just how complex dance is as a discipline as dancers have the strength, athleticism, and flexibility of a sport, but also the performance, grace and delicacy of an art.
Yet, while I was enjoying dancing for the Broad Street Dancers, I felt that dance in musicals was fairly neglected in Oxford. Not only are there are fewer student musicals than plays in Oxford, but when they are produced, dance is often completely overlooked. Thus, I was thrilled to discover that the production team of Anything Goes were running dance auditions along with the usual singing and acting and was delighted when I was offered the role of Dance Captain. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, as not only was I able to stand on a chair at the front of all rehearsals and yell: “Spacing!” I also had the opportunity to assist in the choreography of some of the dazzling numbers, including ‘Anything Goes’, ‘Blow Gabriel Blow’ and ‘All through the Night’.
Performing in Anything Goes at the Oxford Playhouse (pictured) sparked my interest in choreographing musicals, and my desire to bring more dance into the musical theatre world of Oxford. With this new focus in mind, along with some friends, I am hoping to choreograph a dance-focussed musical next Michaelmas term at the Playhouse…
Watch this space.
Olivia Charley - 2nd Year History Student