Lynsey Douglas talks tabout Dance for Musical Theatre

1. Have you always been involved in ‘Dance for Musical Theatre’?
Yes, I started dancing at a very early age (about 5!) and for as long as I can remember have been involved in variety performances and musicals, both amateur and professional. My mother sent me to ballet lessons, which I absolutely loved, and from there I soon became involved in highland dancing (being a Scot’s lass!), jazz, tap and modern. In recent years I have also tried salsa and hip-hop, which are also fantastic. What I always loved about musical theatre is that it combines all of these dance forms and allows for original and creative choreography to accompany well-composed, often very famous musical scores.
It is less disciplined than ballet, for example, and rather than being focused merely on technique, is more about stage presence, confidence and energy. In addition to dancing, you also have the opportunity to act, sing, ‘strut your stuff’ (!) and generally have a lot of fun! While I was a student (and had more free time on my hands!) I led a dance group called ‘MAD (Music and Dance) at the Movies’, using choreography influenced by routines from musical films such as ‘Dirty Dancing’, ‘Grease’, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’. This was extremely popular and inspired me (with lots of guidance from Valerie and Julie!) to opt for ‘Dance for Musical Theatre’ as the theme for this season’s ‘Gotta Dance’ sessions.

What is special to you about Dance for Musical Theatre?
As I already mentioned, it allows for tremendously varied choreography- Not even just within the musical, but within one short routine or within a few bars of music, you can see changes in tempo and style, pirouettes, arabesques and other swift, graceful ballet steps such as little ‘courous’ and ‘sautés’, combined with funky jazz or modern moves, leaps, running, skipping around (like an idiot!), sassy latin or ballroom influences, bold and more upbeat tap steps, more contemporary style mime or expressive movement..you name it, it’s all there in musical theatre! Musical Theatre is also one of the most interactive types of dance performance, since the dancers are working together to tell a story or convey a mood. Dance for Musical Theatre is all about character and as long as the performers are passionate and full of enthusiasm, anyone can look great on stage- This is why this is great dance genre for the ‘Gotta Dance Group’- It allows people of all ages and levels of capability to get involved and have the BEST fun!

How do you feel when your hear songs from Musicals or dance to them?
Energised! Excited! Don’t get me wrong. ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ or ‘Any Dream Will Do’ don’t exactly have me jumping for joy and dancing around my bedroom like a lunatic, but even with the saddest, most sentimental musical scores, you can feel inspired as a choreographer and relate to the messages contained in the songs.

Musicals normally focus on everyday themes like love, hate, confrontation, conflict, hope, ambition, failure, dreams, broken dreams ( I could go on all day but won’t) which is why I think they are so universally popular. Most musicals have that ‘feel good factor’, which I think is another great reason for using this genre for ‘Gotta Dance’.. It should be all about people coming along and learning something new but above all, simply enjoying themselves!

How did you join the Gotta Dance team?
I saw an ad in 352 Magazine, emailed Valerie to indicate an interest, not really knowing for sure whether I could be of any help..At the very least, even if I hadn’t ended up teaching, I’d have been happy to join in as a participant. Valerie wrote back almost immediately to say ‘Yes! Yes! Yes’ to me leading one of the seasons, so I was both taken aback and pleasantly surprised.

For you what is the club about?
In one word- Enjoyment! I have worked mainly with teenagers/students in the past in more serious, structured environments and things can become quite catty..there is always the odd person who wants to show off, prove they are the most talented, get the best exam results, win the most competitions, have the best parts in shows etc…’Gotta Dance’ is nothing like this! Unlike professional dance schools, it should offer a non-competitive environment in which to learn how to dance (if you are a beginner!), improve (if you already have lots of dance experience!) and interact with like-minded dance enthusiasts in an informal, social setting. It doesn’t matter how well you dance, it doesn’t matter where you are from, what your experience is or how old you are..the only requirement is that you feel you just ‘Gotta Dance!’ The name says it all (great choice Valerie!)