A conversation with Candoco Dance Company dancers
This week Candoco Dance Company are coming to the Dance Week Festival to perform their works Face In, Let's Talk About Dis and Beheld to the audiences in Zagreb and Rijeka. For this occasion, we asked their dancers a few inspiring questions.
Toke Broni Strandby
Why did you choose a career in dance?
My career in dance sort of just happened. I started dancing from interest and by meeting different teachers, choreographers and fellow students, my life in dance started to evolve.
Can you describe a day in the life of a Candoco dancer?
One day as a Candoco dancer is always very different from the next, as we have a huge number of demands so we are constantly trying to negotiate our time. We do always start our day with a warm up/morning class, followed by rehearsals. Lunch and then rehearsals again. In total, an 8-hour working day.
What was the biggest challenge for you working on Yasmeen Godder’s piece Face In?
Learning to distract oneself from emotions. The piece was built from various states of mind which I go through - the biggest challenge was to detach myself from that to allow free flow.
Why do you think Candoco's work is important?
Candoco questions WHAT DANCE CAN BE - for me it is very important to continue to question and to be curious about dance.
If you could give advice to young people interested in becoming a professional dancer, what would it be?
To trust oneself and never stop learning. To enjoy the journey it takes and to be curious about yourself.
What do you think the audience should take away from Candoco's performances in Croatia?
I hope the audience will come away with a feeling of a desire to move. A desire to learn and a desire to change something within themselves. In that way we can all be curious together.
Megan Armishaw
Why did you choose a career in dance?
I always loved dancing, it made me feel the happiest and most fulfilled out of all the things I did. So I guess I made a choice not to give it up rather than to make it my career!
Can you describe a day in the life of a Candoco dancer?
Every day is different! We may be rehearsing our pieces for performance, researching with a choreographer, on a plane or train to a theatre, teaching a workshop, performing...
What was the biggest challenge for you working on Yasmeen Godder’s piece Face In?
I learned so much from working with Yasmeen. Her work can feel exposing as a performer and it took me some time to feel comfortable with that but once I did it allowed me freedom of expression which is really liberating.
Why do you think Candoco's work is important?
I think Candoco's work reaches a lot of people. We travel a lot, performing and teaching, and we meet people from all over the world. By meeting all of these people we can talk together, try things together and ask questions about what dance is and can be.
If you could give advice to young people interested in becoming a professional dancer, what would it be?
Go for it!
What do you think the audience should take away from Candoco's performances in Croatia?
I think everyone will take something different away from seeing the show. That's what I love about it.