Rambert (UK) Summer School Scholarship
At DMI’s 2020 summer school I was honoured to receive a Scholarship to Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in the UK for their summer course. Because of COVID-19, I was unable to go that July, so my scholarship had to wait until later. At the start of the UK’s academic year, I was given a place at Moorland International Ballet Academy Lancashire UK, where I started my first year of full-time training. When it came to the summer break in July 2021, I was unable to return home to New Zealand due to restrictions and quarantine. I had a summer to fill, so I filled it with summer schools. I finally got the opportunity to go to Rambert’s Summer School after 18 months of waiting.
During the week we had ballet class, repertoire, contemporary, creative, and exercise classes. In our repertoire class, we learnt excerpts from Raymonda, and in the creative class, we created a group dance using the elements of fire, wind, and water as our inspiration. I really enjoyed working with others to create, and dance these pieces. During the creative and contemporary lessons, we were given opportunities to improvise. I felt very supported while we had the chance to explore our own dancing.
All of the teachers were amazing, they were all excellent at inspiring the class. Each teacher was different and each brought their own perspective which I enjoyed learning and growing from.
The music was a memorable part of the summer school too. We had live musicians (even if they were over zoom) for almost every class, I found their music so inspiring to listen to, the music was so dynamic and it allowed us to explore new perspectives in our dance. They were so talented and not only did they play the piano, they sung, played the drums, and even created fire sounds using crumpled up paper. I walked away from this summer school having learnt so much from the teachers, other students, and the music.
I want to thank DMI for the opportunity they gave me, as I wouldn’t have thought to have gone to England for dance. The Scholarship gave me the confidence to pursue a career in dance and gave me the idea to look into schools in the UK which lead me to the school I am at now, Moorland International Ballet Academy, Lancashire UK.
Isabella
