Dancers

Since graduating from Northern Ballet School, Manchester (where she trained in Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Tap, Singing and Acting), Aison Eager has performed with several dance and musical theatre companies across the UK and Ireland. Alison has worked extensively as a dance model and professional dancer and singer. With performance opportunities somewhat limited this year, however, Alison has turned her talents to teaching and is quickly making her mark on the online teaching scene.

Dancer, choreographer and brand ambassador Zoë shared her dance journey with us. I suppose it’s good to start this piece about my dance journey off by introducing myself in the present. I’m Zoë Ashe Browne and I’m a professional dancer and emerging choreographer from Dublin. I work for the Royal Ballet of Flanders (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen) under the directorship of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. I’m based in Antwerp, Belgium, where the company rehearses and performs most of its work. We perform a mixed repertoire here, which is something I’ve always wanted to experience. So everything neo-classical and contemporary is in the repertoire. So far this season we have performed works by Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Daniel Proietto and Crystal Pite. Next on the list were works by Alain Platel, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Pina Bausch. Our performances are unfortunately now cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Right now (Covid 19 lockdown situation aside), I am living my dream as a dance artist. I’ve always wanted to work for Ballet Flanders and I feel so privileged to be a part of their powerful and versatile ensemble. But my journey here was anything but linear. ...my journey here was anything but linear... I started dance training aged 6 with The Debbie Allen School of Dance in Windy Arbour, Dublin. She was and still is a wonderful teacher with an emphasis on the purity of technique. When I was 10, I joined the Irish National Youth Ballet Company. I was part of their youth ensemble for 6 years.  At 16 I became certain that I wanted to perform professionally. So I auditioned for full-time vocational Ballet schools in the UK. I was very lucky because I auditioned at a time when scholarships were still available through the British government. Something which has been massively diluted since then. I was awarded a full scholarship to train at The English National Ballet school. I moved to London in August 2007 aged 16.  ...as challenging emotionally as it was physically... I spent 3 challenging years at ENBS. It was the most competitive environment I’d been exposed to by far and it was as emotionally challenging as it was physically. Our first year started with 28 male and female pupils. 3 years later, only 9 of the original class graduated. The attrition rate was particularly high because of the intensity of the training. We would begin at 8.30 am and finish at 6 pm Monday to Friday. On Saturdays, we finished at 3 pm. Our entire lives were the school.  My ambition upon graduating was to join a large scale Ballet company that performed the quintessential repertoire favourites such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, La Bayadere and so on. That didn’t happen for me, and now, years later I can say with complete sincerity that I’m grateful it didn’t. Contract with The National Ballet of Ireland My first professional contract was with The National Ballet of Ireland back in my home town of Dublin. We were a company of 16 with a full touring schedule ahead of us. So it was a perfect opportunity to dance a lot straight out of school. At the time the company was commissioning works by a then up and coming choreographer, Morgann Runacre-Temple. Today, Morgann is a very established choreographer. She has worked with companies like The Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet, English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballett and many more. I was lucky that Morgann saw something in me and through working with her I was awarded fantastic opportunities. I danced the lead roles in her creations of Carmen and Romeo and Juliet for the company. Both productions toured Ireland, England and were both performed in London. These contrasting female lead roles gave me so much invaluable experience and memories to last a lifetime. I’ll never be able to fully express my gratitude to her.  This was the toughest period of my career... After 2 seasons with Ballet Ireland, I left home and made the move back to London. I wanted to delve into the world of freelancing. This was between the years of 2010-2013. This was the toughest period of my career. I worked for a small Danish company called The Peter Schufuss Ballett which was a project-based ensemble. We would rehearse in London and tour the Danish countryside extensively. Alongside that, I also had several guest contracts with The English National Ballet Company, as well as independent projects, commercial gigs and anything that could help me stay afloat in London.  I worked several normal jobs too during this time of my career. Like bar work, ballet teaching to toddlers, serving in a department store and anything that could help me pay the bills. This period in London taught me a lot and was truly the most challenging period of my professional career. Maintaining physical fitness, making time for auditions and keeping financially stable in London was a balancing act I couldn’t keep up long term.  There were times when I really thought about calling it a day... Eventually, I made the choice to move home and return to Ballet Ireland where I hoped to rejuvenate and re-charge. I did exactly that and after another fantastic year with the company, I moved to Germany. I worked for a small company called Ballett Vorpommern. This is where I had my first taste of Contemporary creation. Our season was usually split into 6 months of pointe shoe works and 5 months with guest choreographers doing neo-classical and contemporary works. It was a small company of 14, so we worked hard and consistently. This is where I did most of my creative and physical development. Having a structure back in my day that was full time, combined with financial security and performance experience under my belt allowed me to find a space where I could really explore myself artistically.  After 4 years with the company, I knew I was ready to give my dream jobs a try. I did an audition tour and was offered jobs at The Royal Ballet of Flanders and Scottish Ballet. Both had been dream companies of mine since being a full-time student. I couldn’t believe that after years of trying for companies of this calibre I was now being given a choice. It was an impossible decision at the time, but I ended up choosing Flanders. It was a mixed repertoire company and, at 28 years of age, I felt my intensive Ballet days were mostly behind me.  I want my story to serve as an inspiration because it wasn’t straight forward or simple... Today I’m a company dancer, an emerging choreographer, a summer intensive director and brand ambassador. It’s taken me 10 years, but I am exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.  I want my story to serve as inspiration because it wasn’t straight forward or simple. Like many artists, I suffered setbacks, disappointments and there were times when I really thought about calling it a day. But somehow, I always found my way back to my path.  So I suppose my parting words for this piece are to believe in your work and your output. Embrace the setbacks, the changes of direction and life lessons that come with achieving dreams. And lastly, mind yourself, always.  Our sincere thanks to Zoë for her honesty and openness in this article. Right now we are all experiencing a time of prolonged uncertainty. No one is exempt from or untouched by this pandemic. Uncertainty can be a frequent companion for artists throughout their careers. It is so important for us to share our fears, our experiences and our failures. So vital to make connections and to let each other know that we are here and that they are not alone in their anxieties and feelings. Zoë has not had a linear or traditional career progression, but I don't think she would wish it any other way. Our journeys can define and shape us into the strong and unique people and artists we are today or will be tomorrow. Zoë is a brand ambassador for So Danca UK & Ireland and we are so proud to be working with her.

Meet Aoibh Ní Riain Broin, a dynamic young dancer from Dublin. She's a long-time fan of the brand so we are so delighted to be collaborating with her! You'll spot her on our social media showcasing some of our fabulous new pieces. 

Nancy Osbaldeston, principal dancer with Ballet Vlaanderen and So Danca brand ambassador shared her daily routine with us. Nancy Osbaldeston: A day in the life ...  I wake up at 7.30. Hit snooze maybe once or twice...Once I’m eventually out of bed, I’ll usually drink a glass of water and prepare the coffee. Somedays I warm up at home before heading to the studios for class. So before putting the coffee on the hob, I roll out my yoga mat to do about 30-minutes of gentle warming up. A mix of slow minimal movements; waking up and loosening my joints, just seeing where my body’s at that day. I do a mix of Pilates and Yoga exercises I’ve learned over the years. After that a bit of breakfast, which could be anything from eggs; toast and salmon; porridge with fruit; yoghurt and cereal; to peanut butter on toast. Then I ride my bike to the studios, which takes about 15 minutes. I ride pretty slow my boyfriend tells me. He leaves after me but arrives at the same time, I like to save my legs for the day ahead! Once at work - we begin every day with an hour and a half class starting at 10 am. It's generally a normal ballet class: beginning at the barre, going into centre practice and finishing with grand allegro. It’s a chance to warm up the whole body while checking it’s working as efficiently as possible and refining your technique. A normal rehearsal day at Ballet Vlaanderen gives us a 15-minute break after class to change out of our sweaty gear into fresh leotards, ready to start rehearsals from 11.45 - 2 pm. This 2 hours & 15 minutes chunk can be split into different rehearsals in different studios depending on what pieces we have upcoming. There are 5 studios and around 40 dancers so a lot gets done. Lunchtime is from 2 - 3 pm. Most dancers head to the canteen as the food is usually very good there. If I have an outside project going on I would use this time or part of it to rehearse in the empty studios. I head home ... to cook a vegetarian meal for dinner Then, from 3 - 5.30 pm is the second chunk of rehearsals for the day. We get another 15-minute pause at some point during this time. At 5.30 we are finished and sometimes we work by ourselves for maybe another hour if needed. Then I head home on my bike to cook a vegetarian Hello Fresh meal for dinner. One evening a week, I go to Gyrotonics, which I love. It helps me align my body and strengthen my awareness of how I’m using it. At the end of the day, there'll maybe be some Netflix and perhaps a glass of wine if needed! On performance weeks the days are pretty similar. Except we always have 2 hours free for preparation before the show, which usually begins at 8 pm. We spend that 2 hours warming-up, getting costumes ready and doing make-up. I find my schedule goes up and down in terms of being busy. Sometimes I’m working a lot and then sometimes not...with more downtime. I guess it tends to balance out over time. It's easy to complain either way (because dancers tend to enjoy complaining) so I always try to remind myself that I get to dance for a living and how lucky I am to get paid to do what I'm passionate about.  In my free time, I like to shop and make clothes. I’m a big fan of vintage clothes, one-off pieces and kooky looks. I also love being part of photoshoots and spending time with family and friends. I enjoy all the normal stuff like travelling, reading and making cocktails!   Thanks to Nancy for sharing her daily schedule. It's fascinating to have a peek inside the life of a professional dancer. We're all missing our daily routines these days. No matter how mundane and boring it seemed at the time, our little everyday habits feel very valuable now. From being able to head out on your bike, to doing a dance class with friends, even waiting in line for a coffee; these moments seem a million miles away from normal. I know I miss the queue in Butlers each morning! Follow Nancy at @dancenancydance on Instagram and keep an eye out for her on So Danca UK & Ireland's social media pages.