NDT Summer Intensive 2016

Season 2015-2016 | August 1 until August 13, 2016
The Hague

NDT 1 dancer Roger Van der Poel (Portugal, 1983) has been a member of the company since 2006 and performed in numerous ballets by critically acclaimed choreographers such as Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, and Crystal Pite. Roger’s striving for perfection made him pay attention to choreographic details, which resulted in taking steps towards teaching. This year he will be part of the NDT Summer Intensive teaching staff for the sixth year in a row. NDT’s artistic director Paul Lightfoot sits down with Roger to talk about his participation in the Summer Intensive.

P I’m curious to know in what way teaching for NDT Summer Intensive added value to your career as a dancer?

R To me, being a good dancer isn’t only about how well you execute steps on stage. There is much more to it! Teaching for the Summer Intensive has made me see things through different perspectives and it has improved some of my skills as a dancer. When I became a teacher, I began relating to those who taught me in the past and those who still do. It made me more aware of what the position entails and that makes me value the people in that role much more. It reinforced my professionalism. My relationship with ballet masters and choreographers has always been one of respect, understanding and complicity, but teaching enhanced that for me. As for my dancing, I learn steps faster, achieve refinement and precision in movement more efficiently, make smarter choices on how to communicate and manage diverse work situations. Ultimately, it developed me artistically!

P And what is it like for you to work with young dancers, how do you connect with them?

R It requires having my senses be more awake. I need to be open and sensitive to the students, because everyone is different. I observe how they work, move, and deal with challenges and obstacles and how they relate to others in the group. Spotting strengths and weaknesses and using those to improve oneself is essential. Being a dancer or a teacher is much more than just relating to steps or movement, it is also (and very importantly) about work ethic. I believe communication, clarity, respect and motivation play a strong role in getting the best out of people. I ‘roll’ and ‘ride the wave’ with the students during our time together and see where it leads us. At the end of the day, the NDT Summer Intensive is all about the exchange, the overall experience.

P So during this exchange between teacher and student, where do you find challenges or what excites you?

R The overall challenge is to help each dancer reach the highest level of technicality and artistry within their potential: finding the best way to explain physically or verbally what it is you are aiming to see or feel from them, helping them spot the details that need attention, and when in big groups, giving everyone enough space and attention to develop themselves to the highest degree possible. What I find exciting is to see the results of our work together. Seeing their progression and fast development, watching them go through the stages of curiosity, doubt and frustration, all the way to their ‘eureka’ moments when things fall into place. I love being a part of their two-week ride in this great madness that is dance!

P And of course, you rehearse pieces with the participants that you performed in yourself. What is it like for you to pass on the repertoire to a younger generation?

R Since I know the repertoire quite well, it makes it easier for me to pass on the information, and give my personal tips and tricks. What is amazing is how much I get back from it! I learn new things myself by teaching it and by watching them. Every time I had to perform a piece after having taught it during the NDT Summer Intensive, I have performed it so much better. I feel it sinks deeper in me and the understanding of it becomes greater. Sometimes it is important to step out, see it from the outside, and then get back into it. The approach is usually different and that is useful.

I love passing it on to a younger generation. It is so fulfilling to see hungry young aspiring artists
experience, strive and thrive in something of this level of difficulty. I love to share something I experienced, that means so much to so many of them!

P So ultimately, what would you like to pass on to your students during the NDT Summer Intensive for their future career in dance?

R I want to inspire and motivate them, to share my experience and knowledge and, last but not least, make a positive mark that will make them remember our time together.

Sacha Grootjans: “What fascinates me in photography is the search. A search to improve, to evoke and to surprise. Directing or simply observing, finding the moments that move me and make me want to capture it at the same time. I’m fascinated by people in motion and their ability to master their body or craft to perfection.

In creating images for the NDT Summer Intensive 2016, I sought to capture two contrasting sides of the course. Anybody looking at these dancers, will immediately experience an overwhelming sense of positive energy, beauty and elegance. Participants who give their heart and soul to the movements, enjoying every minute of it. But this ‘light side’ inevitably comes with a ‘darker side’. Moments of struggle, fatigue, confrontation and frustration that are also a part of the experience. This duality fascinates me and resulted in opposing black and white images that testify to this contrast of struggle and relief.

Tonight, a photo exhibition with large size prints of my images invites the audience to truly get involved in the images and the emotion they evoke. Not as a bystander, but as a first hand experience.”