First things first, my name is Nastazia Philippou, I go by Taz for short. I am a proud Cypriot, Elmhurst School for Dance Graduate (2013) and I am currently dancing as a First Artist at the National Opera of Bucharest and I am well into my second season since September 2014. I couldn't be happier with the work and the repertoire in which we have the great opportunity to dance in thanks to Artistic Director, Johan Kobborg. Bucharest also being a surprisingly cosmopolitan and culture rich city to live in, which is perfect and vital when it comes to the inspiration of a dancer. Creating a Blog is a means of discovering areas which I have always questioned about in this career, not only in dance but perhaps about what happens backstage; what dancers may not be so familiar with, the management of a company. I also hope to learn more about myself and what more I can offer to this community on and off stage that is, whether it is teaching, sharing ideas and observations about this beautiful art form and of course creating; or else we wouldn't call it art.
I look forward to starting Module 1, which is the stepping stone to eventually achieving my BA degree in Performing Arts! There is a lot to be done, however, this is clearly the beginning of an exciting journey I am about to embark on! My main aim at the moment is to keep up to date with my blogging, focus on my work at the company and learn from what each day has to offer! Cheers to new beginnings!
Hi Taz,
ReplyDeleteIt certainly seems like you are going to be very busy!
I danced professionally for 5 years on various dance contracts but never in a company!
I'm excited to learn about what your journey in a company is like and to hear all your exciting news through your Blog.
I'm particularly interested in how your company puts a piece or show together and the methods maybe yourself and your director use to create these pieces as this is an area I am always trying to explore and improve on.
Setting up my own company is something else I'm interested in so I look forward to following your journey and sharing ideas.
By the way Taz do you know a friend of mine Ross McCaw ? He is a dancer in the national opera of Bucharest x
ReplyDeleteHi Charlie!
DeleteOfcourse I know Ross! He is a dear friend of mine, and a well respected member of the company and upcoming choreographer :)
I believe busy is a good word to describe this year for me, however if I manage my time well I can then focus on the quality of my work will enjoy the process more.
I am really happy to hear from you and I will make sure I do my work well in finding the secret recipe to creating a quality performance through my research. I will be interviewing a few people in within the staff and dancers of the company so as to be able to get an overall view and various opinions which could be interesting to expand on. Perhaps I could do that with different companies or various contracts like what you have danced in to get a different perspective! I look forward to learning from your blog and ideas also. I feel like with this course we can learn a lot from each other.
I wish you the best of luck with setting up your company! It's quite the dream, and I can't wait to hear about your progress.
Hi Taz,
ReplyDeleteWow sounds like you are extremely busy!! how are you going to fit it all in!!!
I would also be interested to hear blogs about how your company works and puts things together and I'm quite sure like you have said it will be a great insight an learning curve for yourself as well.
Personally I never went down the performance route as my heart has always been in teaching, but I always love to hear how busy and exciting a performers life can be and of course with its ups and downs too!
Hi Laura :) thank you for your concern but I will try and stay positive about it because if I stress I will just lose precious time. I have breaks in my day between rehearsal, usually two hours maybe more or less, depending on what rehearsals I have, and mondays I have off which will hopefully allow me to dedicate time on my blog at the moment.
DeleteI would be very interested to learn more about teaching as well and the interaction and approach to students. I try to teach in the summer at the local schools in my home city. I really enjoy it once the first two days pass, however I must admit it does make me a little nervous in the beginning until you get to know your students. I am very impressed on how you do it and I look forwards to reading your blog, to learn more about it. Keeping young students focused in class is one I am curious about, and keeping the balance betweeen 'fun' and 'learn' ... i guess it's a process in combining the two to make it 'fun to learn!'
I will make sure to mention a dancers life through my blog, with all it's dramas and wonders ;) !
It's such a small world! Well it's nice to meet you Taz and say hello to Ross from me. Speak to you soon x
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you too Charlotte! It's funny because Ross said the same thing ;) ! x
DeleteIt's nice to read how far you've come from school. Seems like you're really enjoying yourself in Bucharest. I'm excited to read your blogs in the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks Taz - good conversation everyone!
ReplyDelete