Ahead of the debut of internationally acclaimed Leeds based Phoenix Dance Theatre’s 2014 Mixed Programme, dancer Sandrine Monin gives us her behind the scenes take on preparations for the upcoming world premiere at West Yorkshire Playhouse from February 12-15 …
Couple of days to go before the premiere of our new mixed bill. It’s the final sprint, last steps before the finishing line, and as it’s getting closer and closer, all kind of different feelings are going through my mind and my body.
Since our autumn tour finished end of November, we have been working hard on our new program: memorizing new steps, moving in new ways and sometimes very unexpected ones, modelling our body on new aesthetics, new energies, pushing it to its extreme and putting it through a good deal of pain and soreness. And this not only for one piece but three different works, one as physical and challenging as the other! One might as well say that we are tired. But slowly everything is setting up and we can start exploring the characters and incorporate our own personality.
And then the last week comes. It’s time for the last tweaks, last advice from the choreographers, time to discover the lights, time to see the pieces come to life on stage. But time goes fast, too fast and everybody seems to want some more. Nevertheless Premiere is coming and it’s getting really exciting.
After hours and hours of learning, rehearsing and correcting, drilling the choreographies into our heads and bodies, we’re finally going to step on stage and show our work to an audience.
Because after all this is our unique aim, the reward of our relentless work, of all the drops of sweat, of all the pain inflicted to our body is to go on stage and share our emotion with the public.
It’s such an intoxicating feeling, a delicious dizziness but it is as well deeply terrifying.
In the wings, you breathe, try to stay calm and focus, you hear “stand by!”, “clearance guys!”. Now it’s your turn… and yours knees are like jelly, your heart pounds and your brain is bubbling, all corrections and potential mistakes rushing through. Music… Lights… And you start…
This is when the magic occurs. Slowly the nerves lift up, the adrenaline runs through your veins and it’s your body who is thinking. Your brain is still here, supervising and pushing you to your limit but your body has the control, he is the choreography, he has become the character. And it’s the greatest feeling.
Of course it never goes perfectly right and mistakes happen but you cover it up and the audience (most of the time) doesn’t notice it. It’s the beauty of our art, a show will never be the same, it keeps reinventing itself and ourselves in the process.
So despite all the stress to come I just can’t wait to be there again. Because at the end it is just pure joy that you share with the audience.
Phoenix Dance Theatre’s Mixed Programme 2014 will be showing at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Quarry Hill, Leeds from February 12th-15th. Tickets start at £12 from the box office on 0113 213 7700 or online at www.wyp.org.uk