Dance Gazette
Allow us to present Dance Gazette, the RAD’s exclusive members’ magazine. Dive into the captivating world of dance as we bring you enlightening articles, behind-the-scenes interviews, and invaluable resources, all designed to elevate your dance journey to new heights.
With Dance Gazette, you’ll gain insider knowledge of the latest trends, cutting-edge techniques, and inspiring stories from top dancers around the world. From classical ballet to contemporary, tap to jazz, each issue presents a treasure trove of diverse dance styles that will leave you inspired and hungry for more.
Immerse yourself in an exciting spectrum of articles by world-renowned choreographers, dancers, and educators. Unlock a wealth of knowledge that is guaranteed to refine your technique, broaden your horizons, and deepen your understanding of dance as an art form.
Dance Gazette combines beautifully curated visuals, insightful articles, and in-depth profiles that resonate with dancers of all levels. Enjoy exclusive interviews with industry icons who share their personal experiences, challenges, and successes.
Embark on a journey of inspiration, knowledge, and artistic growth with Dance Gazette, the Royal Academy of Dance’s members magazine.
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An extract from the latest issue
DANCE GAZETTE TOP 40 by Sanjoy Roy
Illustration: Sergiy Maidukov for Dance Gazette
When my nephew Kiran was about 15 months old, he used to love dancing to the classic 1976 soft-rock ballad If You Leave Me Now, by Chicago. As soon as we put it on he would sway from one foot to the other, waving his arms like flippers – he looked like a happy little penguin. Nothing else worked such magic: it had to be this song. We played it a lot.
There is indeed a special magic between music and dance. At root lies the intrinsic physical connection between voice and body, one capable of song and the other of dance, both dependent upon muscle, nerve, brain and breath. The stem is surely pulse and rhythm, those primal drivers of dance music: clap those hands, stamp those feet. At the higher levels we branch out into the three Fs: form (pattern and composition); feeling (emotion and sensation); and force (energy or vitality).
When I asked a range of dance artists to select a piece of music of particular significance to them, I imagined I would learn more about the almost organic connection between dance and music. In fact, all five chose music that was challenging, even difficult for dance. It reminded me that dance and music, like any close couple, also have their own natures and demands – their bond is built on love and intimacy, but also on respect and autonomy.
Their choices are all in the first ever Dance Gazette Top 40. What else made the cut? And what would you choose?
1 Le Sacre du Printemps/Rite of Spring (1913)
After this monumental encounter of music and dance, neither music nor dance were the same again. Many choreographers have since faced Stravinsky’s score; few have survived intact.
2 Romeo and Juliet (1935)
Prokofiev meticulously matched his ballet score to scenes and characters, and also matched Tchaikovsky’s achievement in melding the symphonic with the dramatic.
3 Quimbara (1974)
Fania Records was a powerhouse that popularised salsa. The driving, up-tempo Quimbara by Celia Cruz and The Fania All-Stars was one of its many hits.
4 Waltz of the Snowflakes (1892)
A waltz, but not as you know it. In Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, melodic fragments and complex, fractured rhythms make for unusually fascinating music – and scintillating dance.
5 Get Ur Freak On (2001)
Freaky indeed – Missy Elliott’s electrifying smash-up of hip-hop, bhangra and pop was matched by a grungy-glamorous video, crazily choreographed by Nadine ‘Hi Hat’ Ruffin.
6 Mambo from West Side Story (1957)
Leonard Bernstein’s explosive musical mix of jazz, latin, classical and Broadway for Jerome Robbins’ dance number, high on the reckless energy and conflict of youth.
7 Zombie (1976)
Fela Kuti was complex, counter-revolutionary, kind of crazy, and a phenomenal musician: the ‘Father of Afrobeat’. Zombie – sensational dance music on a serious subject – is a centrepiece of the 2008 musical Fela! choreographed by Bill T Jones.
8 Das Lied von der Erde (1909)
The Royal Ballet told Kenneth MacMillan that Mahler’s score was unsuitable for dance – so he created this 1965 masterwork (Song of the Earth) for the Stuttgart Ballet instead.
9 Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk (1995)
Percussive footwork provides a direct link between body and sound – nowhere more than in tap. In Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk, the incomparable Savion Glover joined his footwork to the very history of black America.
10 Prelude in D-flat major (1839)
Isadora Duncan once asked a critic how to improve her act. Better music, he replied. Duncan choreographed extensively to Chopin, opening the gateway to the repertory of canonical concert-hall music.
Meet the Editor
David Jays is the Editor of Dance Gazette. He also writes about dance and theatre for the Guardian and Sunday Times and is a dance critic for the Evening Standard. To get in touch about any aspect of Dance Gazette, or if you have an idea for the magazine, contact David at gazette@rad.org.uk.