Meeting an idol

I've loved dance for as long as I can remember. I've studied it academically for the past four years, pre-university, and I'm sometimes sad that I've traded in one art for another.

When I first started studying dance, Siobhan Davies was introduced to me, and she was completely away from the disciplines that had made me wary of dance in the first place.

When I first entered the room and saw her, I was starstruck, which is hard to understand if you're not a lover of choreography. Professor Ramsay Burt was conducting the conversation, and it was clear from his smile that I wasn't the only one who was excited. Siobhan has been awarded a CBE  ("I didn't wear a hat!" she adds) for her innovative choreography, contribution to the dance field, and also her constant moving forward, and pushing the art form.

She's funny and kind, openly honest about her past. Feeling very nostalgic as she opens up about her move into a world with no contemporary dance, just discipline in the UK. She talks about why she was so open to new techniques - "I was a blank canvas, I really felt what it meant to move. I was hungry to absorb the information."

She talks about raising a family and still keeping her thriving career at the top. She mentions her year's sabbatical in America, inspiration (although she hates that word) and the meaning of the word imagery in dance.

Something which caught my attention was her mention of "If artists can truly create conditions where neither can deviate, then unorthodoxy between knowledges could be thrilling." I can apply this to my writing, by working with new people and creating something different.

She was a true pleasure to listen to, and I hope that one day I can return to the same art form.
 

Abigail Barter

"Don't buy one, buy two"

Before I started the course, I had no interest in poetry. I thought it was something that was full of flowery nonsense, but after studying it properly for the first term, I love it. This made the decision to go and see Michael Heller a very easy one indeed.

He's written about 20 volumes of poetry, memoirs, essays and novellas - much more than I'd ever aspire to create. 

 

He started off with a gentle joke encouraging us to buy his book, "Don't buy one, buy two - in case the first gets nicked!" This created a comfortable environment for the audience and, along with his calm American accent, it was perfect for an evening of poetry.

He was animated and willing to tell stories, before his poems, about friends such as Harvey Shapiro who have passed away, and his Jewish upbringing. He allowed his life as a teacher of English as a second language influence him, as well as his family members - in particular there was a poem he wrote to his uncle as a birthday present. 

His use of imagery was creative. It wasn't the same clichéd ideas used so many times before, but new images which were unusual for his subject matter. He spoke about, art, landscapes, politics; but I wasn't ever sidetracked or uninterested, his views were always different and explained. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole hour, and intend to buy his latest collection of poems.

Abigail Barter