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July - September 2015Interview with Nicole Battelle Van Hook: Whispers the Paper Ballet - Jane Cuppage asks the sculptor about her paper ballerinas.The Classical Indian DanceFaculty history - The fifth in our series of faculty histories.
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Swati Youth Dance 2014
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Interview with Nicole Battelle Van Hook – Whispers the Paper BalletJane Cuppage asks the sculptor about her paper ballerinas
Nicole Battle Van Hook is a paper sculpture artist
who specialises in full scale sculptures depicting
dance in all its forms. Her creations pay homage
to famous ballets, theatre productions and flights of
her imagination.
Is ballet your favourite dance genre?
I love any dance style that combines strength and grace,
and of course, passion. I am very drawn to the storytelling
in ballet; I am a romantic at heart and I love movement.
How did sculpting paper
into costumes come about?
The very first sculpture came about
when I was managing a store and we
needed an eye-catching window display.
I created a dress out of discarded
invitations. I was invited to participate
in local design events and I started
creating my paper ballerinas. No one
knew what to make of them at first, but
I kept getting requests to make more.
I love the medium of paper, it is like a
beautiful pas de deux, it marries strength
and fragility, and each cut feels like a
piece of choreography.
How long does it take
to make your pieces?
The full scale ballerinas are time
consuming. Each piece involves
careful planning; a sketch, working
closely with my welder, and paper
selection. Then the cutting and moulding
can begin. Elaborate sculptures such as Odette the
Swan or Frankie the Firebird took months to complete. Photo: Odette the Swan with Swarovski crystals
Can you briefly explain your process?
Usually an idea begins to form and I piece concepts together.
I share my concept and sketch with my welder; he then
creates the base to my specifications. I start selecting papers
and an overall texture. Then the cutting and sculpting begins.
I like to work with glittered pieces and crystals. Part of the
magic of watching a live performance is watching the way the
light dances off the costumes. I love to add in the detail work
whether it’s hand painting an element, adding glitter,
or adding Swarovski crystals.
How heavy are your sculptures?
They vary in weight, most full scale pieces range anywhere
from 100 to 150 pounds. They are created on a metal base
and are quite heavy, however, my pointe shoe sculptures
are very light; three to five pounds.
Other than dancing, do you find this is the best way
to express your love of dance?
My love of dance has always found a way to express itself.
I think in many ways I infuse it into the way I walk, speak,
listen, and carry myself.
How have you transferred your dancing skills to creating
sculptures?
I am not sure I transferred them as much as sculpting keeps
them alive. I often dance a bit while sculpting, it helps the
creative process. I might feel something in a movement; I
may translate that into the placement of a piece of cut paper.
Are your pieces displayed to the public?
Yes. I am honoured and excited by any opportunity for the
public to view my work. I have a permanent exhibition at
The National Museum of Dance in New York.
Have any dancers commissioned you to create a piece?
I am just beginning to delve into that avenue. I think, given an
opportunity to design a piece to emulate the personality of a
specific dancer would be an interesting experience. I design
custom paper pointe shoes to recognize the special moments
in a dancer’s life.
If you could choose a famous dancer to create a sculpture
for, who would it be?
That is a hard question; my initial response will always be
Baryshnikov as he inspired my early stages of art. He inspires
me to this day, as he has found new ways to express himself
through other art forms. Julie Kent is another dancer I would
enjoy sculpting for. I would like to translate her grace and
willowy movements into a piece to pay homage to her
career. I find myself continually thinking about creating
a pas de deux sculpture in honour of the partnership of
Fonteyn and Nureyev.
What advice would you give to others who love
to dance but may not be able to pursue a dancing career?
First and foremost, dance. Never stop dancing, it feeds the
soul and fuels the imagination. It is not important that you
are defined by dance, it is important that you define your
own dance; whether you express dance through art or any
other vocation.
Above: Nicole’s male costume and pointe shoe creations
Follow Nicole’s sculptures and career on her website
www.whispersthepaperballet.com.
Nicole has kindly offered a sketch to give away. If you would like to win
this unique sketch, email [email protected] with your name and address.
Do you have other ways of expressing your passion for dance through
the arts? Why not tell your story in DANCE. Closing date: Monday 31st
August 2015.
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The Classical Indian Dance Faculty
(CIDF) of the ISTD currently offers
certified examinations in the classical
Indian dance forms of Bharatanatyam and
Kathak, and is in the process of developing
examination and certification syllabi in
other Indian dance forms. The Faculty was
established in 1999 as the South Asian Dance
Faculty and renamed in November 2012. CIDF
has been chaired by David Henshaw (serving
1999–2002), Chitraleka Bolar (2003–2010)
and Sujata Banerjee (2010–present).
Bharatanatyam is the sophisticated
inheritor of the codified Dasi and Sadir dance
traditions that evolved over many centuries
in the temples and royal durbars of southern
India. It is hallmarked by its geometrical
positions, extended limb lines, strong
footwork and complex rhythm sequences,
embellished by a ‘language’ of hand gestures
and elaborate narratives conveyed by stylised
expressions of body and face.
Kathak originated as a danced story-
telling form in northern India in the
precincts of Hindu temples, acquiring in
Mughal courts its now signature flourishes
and charisma: subtly held body and limb
lines, and a delicate expressiveness of face,
showcasing a lyricism studded by bursts of
intricate rhythmic patterns executed by fret-
like footwork, fleeting arm movements and
spins, punctuated by dynamic stillness.
Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancers
require, respectively, knowledge of classical
Carnatic and Hindustani music from
southern and northern India.
The development of Indian dance in the
United Kingdom
Over a period of a little more than 150
years, Indian dance in the UK has made a
stimulating and substantial journey. It has
developed from being exhibited as an exotic
artefact of the ‘jewel in the crown’ that was
The Classical Indian Dance Faculty historyThe fifth in our series of faculty histories
Above: The 2012 Misrana finale –
all the participants at The Lowry
“Indian dance in the UK has made a stimulating and substantial journey”
Left: Swati Youth Dance performing
at U Dance 2014 at the Nottingham
Playhouse. The festival celebrates
the talent of young dancers from all
overthe country
India, to becoming an established and exciting element of the
contemporary British dance scene.
In 1838, traditional Indian temple dancers or devadasis
appeared in performance for the first time in Europe at
the Adelphi Theatre, London. Between the 1920s and 1960s,
a number of non-devadasi modern, professional3 Indian
dancers were presented and feted in the UK and Europe.
These included Uday Shankar, Ram Gopal, Ragini Devi,
Mrinalini Sarabhai and Indrani Rahman. Gopal’s was among
the early attempts to set up a fully-fledged Indian dance
school in London but it did not take root. By the mid-1970s,
however, when Naseem Khan’s seminal report on British
ethnic minorities’ arts was commissioned and published
(1976), there were a significant number of immigrant teachers
from the South Asian diaspora running thriving ‘Indian
classical dance’ classes in the UK, and during the 1980s
these dance forms, their performers and schools became
extremely popular.
By the 1990s, Indian dance in the UK was firmly embedded
in the ‘contemporary’ dance category in arts policy, and, for
inclusivity reasons, officially and widely called ‘South Asian
Dance’. Thereon, the ethos of contemporary dance impacted
on the genre(s). For example, ‘hybrid’ works (that is, those
which drew upon mixed dance techniques and styles) were
being created by choreographers, heralded by Shobana
Jeyasingh. Jeyasingh, like other artists who followed her, was
trained in but contested the strictures and structures of
classical Indian dance. These new and exciting works attracted
attention and were offered public funding. Nevertheless, vast
numbers of South Asian-origin British youngsters continued
studying Indian classical dance as ‘authentic’ forms of their
cultural heritage, and these forms were holding fast to their
place on the world stage.
The story of the Faculty
In 1996, the dance organisation Akademi, under the artistic
directorship of Mira Mishra Kaushik, sowed the seeds for a
South Asian Dance Faculty of the ISTD. Explaining her
impetus, Kaushik has said: “By 1995–96, South Asian dance
was beginning to flourish [in the UK] and bring many South
Asian qualifications [and] imported systems [which] suffered
from out-dated syllabi irrelevant to the British education
system and incoherent assessment infrastructures” (Akademi
2009). Encouraged by Mike Browne, the ISTD’s Chief
Executive at the time, Akademi created, funded and managed
a three year syllabus research project, led by Sushmita Ghosh.
It involved consulting over a hundred teachers of classical
Indian dance in the UK and abroad, and sampling their
existing curricula. Akademi offered to the ISTD proposed
Kathak and Bharatanatyam syllabi devised by Ghosh and
Pushkala Gopal, respectively, and helped recruit David
Henshaw as Founding Chair of the South Asian Dance
Faculty in 1999.
Under Henshaw’s championing and meticulous
chairmanship, the Faculty Committee commissioned Ghosh
(Kathak) and Nina Rajarani (Bharatanatyam) to fine tune the
syllabi and formulate specifications in line with the ISTD’s
pedagogical and examination systems. CIDF acknowledges
the contribution of many teachers from within and outside
the Faculty to this significant endeavour. Examining in
Kathak and Bharatanatyam started in 2001 in various regions
of the UK, with expansion by 2014 as widely as Amsterdam,
Dubai, Johannesburg, Toronto and Seattle. In 2012, the CIDF,
in the way of ‘coals to Newcastle’, presented its examination
curricula and criteria to dance teachers in Mumbai and
Delhi – the first initiative in India for the ISTD. Hosted by the
British Council in the two cities, the reception was warm,
with teachers asking for examinations, especially at the
professional conversion level.
In 2009, CIDF celebrated its 10th anniversary with a
ticketed showcase entitled Misrana at the Queen Elizabeth
Hall, London, featuring its top-graded ISTD-examined talents.
Misrana now takes place at regular intervals. Of special
note have been the Faculty’s popular classical Indian dance
teachers’ forums, started in 2010, and held regularly in
various cities with local partners. These invite both members
and non-members to expand their teaching skills, create a
supportive network and recruit non-members to the ISTD
way of dance teaching and examining. Another feature is that
the Department for Education’s national Centre for Advanced
Training programme in South Asian dance takes into account
applicants’ CIDF grade level achievement. In 2013, CIDF had
the special honour of bestowing the ISTD’s rare International
Fellowship award on the Kathak maestro Pandit Birju
Maharaj, whose Ang Kavya text is prescribed reading for
CIDF Kathak examinations. Dubai hosted the largest
CIDF examination to date with approximately 130
candidates for Kathak.
Above: Laban Theatre Congress 2008
Dancing forward
Bharatanatyam and Kathak have taken root globally,
spearheading the spread of other Indian dance forms. Their
traditional ethos, pedagogy, and customary practices, such
as the lack of insistence on warm-up and cool-down, have
also migrated alongside. Some of these practices, if not
adapted to new geographic and cultural climates, might
arguably endanger students and teachers on health and
safety grounds, while adherences to other traditions may
restrict these practitioners from flourishing by engaging with
others in the dance sector with confidence and agency. It is in
this context that the achievementand mission of the Faculty
is significant. The CIDF respects and embraces traditional
techniques, repertoire and wisdom, while incorporating
in its pedagogy and vision updated practices that foster
understanding, talent, curiosity, responsibility, growth, safety,
creativity, confidence, agency and, above all, the promotion
and enjoyment of proficiency in dancing.
CIDF keeps abreast of changes in the UK’s official
educational qualifications requirements, updating the
syllabus and specifications to ensure that students and
teachers are kept up-to-date. Three revisions completed
by Faculty members have been undertaken to date. This is
all part of the Faculty’s aims, identified by its Chair, Sujata
Banerjee, as seeking “to advance our members’ teaching
success, and grow our membership at home
and internationally”.
Chitra Sundaram
“The CIDF respects and embraces traditional techniques, repertoire and wisdom”
ERRATUM
We apologise for the incorrect
caption that was published
alongside this photo in last
issue’s feature. It should have read:
Josephine Bradley with Frank Ford
in 1930.