ToThePointe Meets Charlotte Edmonds
Before attending Rambert School of Contemporary Dance, Charlotte Edmonds trained at the Royal Ballet School where she took part in a series of competitions to showcase her budding choreographic talent. It was here that she won the Kenneth MacMillan Senior Choreographic Competition twice, the only female ever to have accomplished this, and became Yorke Dance Project's Causeway Young Artist in Residence, fulfilling her first official dance commission by the company's Director, Yolande Yorke-Edgell. She has since moved to Rambert for her foundation degree in Dance and last month revealed that she will be joining the Royal Ballet for their first Royal Ballet Young Choreographer Programme during the 2015/16 season where she will be mentored by Kevin O'Hare and Wayne McGregor.
Turning eighteen traditionally marks the beginning of adulthood; however, for most, it celebrates drinking legally, leaving school, and embarking on three or four party years at University. You're pretty certain that you've got it sorted: sleeping in late, trying to manage a student loan system that seems miraculous (until you graduate and then begin to understand what the term 'loan' really means) and pretty much prioritising socialising over everything else. Well, that was the case for me anyway. When you also assume that every other eighteen year-old surely follows these rules too, it comes as a pretty big shock when I sit down to interview Charlotte Edmonds and listen to her achievements and plans for the future. I'd applaud anyone who guessed that she was eighteen because talking to Charlotte is like talking to an adult who's got it all sussed out; who knows what she wants and has a plan of how to get it. She is wise beyond her years and I assume that she's had to grow up faster than the rest of her 'non' dancer friends. After all, there isn't time to waste in the dance world and if you are committed to a life of dance or, in Charlotte's case, choreography, then you need to achieve as much as you can from an early age. Although the vocabulary and the poised demeanour are unlike those of most other eighteen year-olds that I have known, Charlotte is bubbly and loves a laugh. I'm impressed by her and can tell she will influence and inspire many young women in years to come. After all, this is a woman who is going far. She sits down with ToThePointe to discuss her training and goals for the future, and addresses those tiresome questions about gender roles in dance.
I meet Charlotte in the bright and airy studios at Rambert School of Contemporary Dance where she is currently undergoing the second year of her degree. We have also arranged to film her choreographing and coaching Sharol Mackenzie, a first year student who will be dancing in Charlotte's piece for Rambert's student choreographics show. Seeing as Charlotte is into visual art, and watching her move and choreograph is definitely something to see, I felt it only fitting to have her filmed in action. It's quite unusual to see a classically trained dancer move in the way Charlotte does. She attended White Lodge until she was sixteen so one would assume that it would be all shoulders back and rounded arms but instead, while choreographing with Sharol, Charlotte moves with fluidity and manipulates her body into twisted and curved shapes that make me think more of hip hop styles than classical ballet. She tells me that Eric Underwood, Soloist with the Royal Ballet and king of pulling awesome shapes, was amazed at how she moved her body. “When I was doing Leda and the Swan, I was in the studio with Eric and we were moving and I did a very deep chasse and he did a very placed fourth and I told him to move right down to make it deeper and he asked me how I moved like that but I don't know, it's just my training.” I also comment on the way she moves and she tells me “it just comes naturally." I tell her about my fascination with ballet dancers having to adapt their bodies to choreographers’ needs. I mention Hofesh Schecter and how his focus is on a curved torso, something that doesn't come naturally to a ballet dancer. I ask her if it was a big change to step away from classical into contemporary. “When I came to Rambert I was so nervous because I didn't want to be known as this rigid ballet girl from White Lodge who couldn't move in the contemporary classes. Amanda Britten, Rambert's Director, whispered in my ear during the start of my second year and said that I had turned into a contemporary dancer. It was such a nice feeling because that had been my aim. I wanted to be pushed into different styles so that when I choreograph I will have a good background of different forms of dance. Training in both genres has been very useful." I tell her that her worries of being the 'rigid ballet girl' reminds me of Save the Last Dance and I get a big grin and giggle. That's where I see her age. Mature enough to comment on the difference in dance styles, but young enough to get my reference of Julia Stiles awkwardly dancing to hip hop.
There's a method to the madness of dance that I understand while I watch Charlotte in the studio. You can be wild and free with dance but more so if you have the technical training to back yourself up. It's sort of like writing. The wider read you are, the larger your vocabulary and thus the more creative and challenging your writing can be. I should probably start reading. Marie-Agnes Gillot from Paris Opera Ballet has said that “discipline is the cornerstone of freedom, not the opposite.” I find this such an interesting comment on how discipline doesn't prohibit a dancer’s or choreographer’s creativity, but rather, enhances it. It reminds me of Charlotte and her classical training at White Lodge and I wonder if this regimented upbringing will stimulate her creativity and encourage her to be free with choreography. “I'm still building on my style but with the training I've had in both classical and contemporary, I think it will help my creativity.” I also ask her what it was like training in such a disciplined environment. ”You have some really hard times but it prepares you for this career. I wouldn't change anything that happened at White Lodge.” She is clearly very fond of the time she spent there and talks about going through “the most amazing experiences such as dancing on the Royal Opera House stage, working with amazing choreographers and dancing with Sergei Polunin in Peter and the Wolf.” She understands that such rigorous training is necessary: ”our day to day life is very intense. It's early mornings and late evenings but it's to push you as a dancer and prepare you for your career.” She already seems prepared for her chosen career in choreography and I wonder whether her move from White Lodge to Rambert has been the makings of her choreographic style. She tells me that the change was “refreshing” and when I ask her about the move from a classical school to a contemporary one she smiles, clearly elated that she's been able to experience both styles of dance in her training. “Coming to Rambert has been amazing” she tells me “because I have experienced things that may not have come my way if I had taken a different path. I've met so many directors and I've had the freedom to go and join in company classes and watch choreographers in the studios. That's been a real eye opener. They are really encouraging me to do choreography and to go out and see different styles of dance.” She also informs me that Rambert is known for their melting pot of individuality and that “it's a perfect environment” in which to create new work. It's obvious that she is happy here and that she's throwing herself into the experience of contemporary dance.
I want to find out why Charlotte has chosen choreography as her career. The dream of becoming a ballet dancer isn't a rare one, but it's not often that you hear someone so young talking of their dream to choreograph. I ask Charlotte where it all started and she says that her interest in choreography began as soon as she went to White Lodge. "The competitions are really what spurred me on to choreograph at such a young age. I won my first competition in year ten at White Lodge and that made me realise that this is what I really wanted to do. Because I had won something it made me want to do more and more. It really helps if you win a competition because that's what gets you noticed. The people who judged the competitions are really key people in this industry and the fact that they encouraged me and supported my work was amazing and gave me the confidence to continue. Being young, there is a lot of pressure and it can be quite scary so it was nice to have their support.” Although training in an environment that prepares young dancers for their professional career, Charlotte took it all in her stride and naturally leaned toward choreography. “I was sort of known as the choreographer of the school. I love to dance but for me personally I feel that I would have a better career in choreography because it's what I enjoy.” This answer highlights Charlotte's youth and energy as she quite simply states that she will have the best career she can doing something that she enjoys. It's probably an outlook that we should all try to follow.
It's obvious that Charlotte is passionate about choreography and she's bursting to talk about it so when I ask her about her choreographic process, her face lights up and she is completely in her element. So what is Charlotte's choreographic process? “It works out differently every time. I think it's because I'm influenced by many different things. Music is so key and normally I'll hear a piece of music in the car when the radio's on or something and I'll think 'I've got to note that down because that would go so well with this idea that I've got.’ I'm influenced by so much like stories, poetry, artists, music, film. A lot of film, actually. I think because I'm very visual. There are so many art forms to be influenced by and it's amazing to have that all around you. I normally start with an idea and a piece of music to support it. It all just kind of forms really, there's no set pattern and it also depends on who you're collaborating with and whether they have a different strategy as well. As long as you manage everyone.” She's almost dreamy when she talks about what inspires her and her interest in visual arts and creativity has had a big effect on her choreography so far. She is critical of her work, however, and understands that she still has a long way to go. “I'm a tough critic. Once it's finished I'm already critiquing it, I'm already thinking about how I would change it so it's quite hard.” I think to myself that this is typical for any artist but Charlotte states that she tries not to dwell too much, “it's good to get a clean slate and move on and then you can learn from your mistakes or things that you felt you didn't do with the last piece.” It's a mature perspective and a necessary one if she will choreograph for companies and directors in the future. She talks about these potential opportunities that will hopefully arise in her career. “If you want to be a choreographer who's going to work with many different companies you need to be versatile. Not only do they have to work with you, but you've got to be able to suit their company.” It's an interesting remark because I would assume that the choreographer is the creator and the dancers are the pawns in the game. Similarly to models who strut couture on the catwalk, they might interpret it but Givenchy created it. Yet here is Charlotte shooting this down a little and telling me that actually, a successful choreographer or, perhaps, the choreographer that she would like to become, is one who can adapt to a range of companies and create using their talents and assets. “When I'm choreographing, especially on a solo, I generally do the things that I can't do. If the dancer has a certain movement quality I'll use that because it shows their assets. Say they have a very supple back or amazing feet that will really extend them, I'll use it and they really love that.” She's also keen to tell me about her relationship with the dancers during her creative process and she assures me that, although a collaborative process, the work is always hers. “I'm not the type of choreographer that says 'put some music on, do some dancing and we'll make that the piece.' I like to have everything planned out. If you surround yourself with positive and energetic dancers that are really creative and willing to work you will get so much done. Sometimes when you're in a studio for five hours a day for three weeks it's just so hard to keep coming up with ideas so you need the dancers and their energy around you. It's collaborative but if I don't do any of the choreography by myself then I can't call it mine. I have to have enough involvement so that I can feel it's my piece.” She also goes back to talking about different companies and her ultimate goal of working in companies around the world. “I would definitely like to work with a variety of different companies in the world. That's my absolute aim. I'd like to visit as many as possible so that I can put my training into good use and bring what I can as a choreographer. It would be such an amazing dream come true.”
Finding the means of putting creative ideas and inspirations into practice can prove difficult; however, there is no time to waste for Charlotte and she is frank when she tells me of her plans for the future. “I want to have a main stage work in the next few years, that's the aim, and also eventually I'd like to have a company but that's for the future.” I tell her it's looking very possible and she giggles. Although determined, nothing is taken for granted and these big dreams still seem so far away for her. She wants to do everything right and in order- to get as much experience as possible and then focus on her own company to implement this experience into her work. Something else that also strikes me about Charlotte is that she always appears completely fearless. I keep asking her whether she was nervous or daunted by any of her experiences so far. In particular I mention her first dance-film, Leda and the Swan, which was commissioned by the ROH for their Deloitte Ignite festival and starred the Royal Ballet's Eric Underwood and Clare Calvert. “I wasn't nervous. It was just really enjoyable. I was so young and you don't normally get an opportunity like that so I just wanted to get the most out of it. I was very excited because it was such a big leap for me to work with Eric and Clare. They had great chemistry and we all worked really well together especially because I had a great team behind me.” I'm impressed by her confidence. Here is someone just eighteen who is directing a dance film at 5am, directing two Royal Ballet soloists and conversing with the ROH regularly. Surely she must get nervous, but Charlotte shows her age not through fear but instead through blissful positivity. She responds to these questions with 'I was excited' or 'I couldn't wait' and it becomes clear that here we have someone who is never going to let nerves take over, since her passion to choreograph and her enjoyment in it will always guide her. She's talented, free spirited and open and seems to go head first into every new venture, a culmination of all of the qualities needed to become a successful choreographer.
It seems fitting to draw our interview to a close on the theme of female choreographers. It's on everyone's lips at the moment and debates about the lack of female choreographers are regularly planted all over social media. I tell Charlotte that I am surprised that the choreographic world is dominated by men, especially when most will associate dance and ballet with women and young girls, but she doesn't dwell too much on the gender focus in the industry. This is probably a good thing as it's a topic that she will have to address more frequently now that she has been chosen by Kevin O'Hare to fill the brand new position for the Young Choreographer Programme at the Royal Ballet. “I feel so privileged to be mentored by Kevin O'Hare and Wayne McGregor and I'm looking forward to focusing my time and energy on choreography. Kevin is such a large figure in the dance world because he is the Director of the Royal Ballet and he has taken a chance on someone so young. All I can do now is prove myself to him and repay him for the opportunity that he has given me through hard work and creating work of quality.” It's such an exciting new venture for Charlotte and secures her as one to watch over the next year. It's an opportunity that is also close to her heart as it reunites her with the Royal Ballet. “Being involved with the Royal Ballet is very special because it's the company that I've grown up watching”, and of course where she began her training. I mention the female thing again, as not only will she be the first artist to join the Royal Ballet under this new position, but she will also be the first female to do so. Perhaps this isn't too important, but Charlotte fills me in on her frustrations with this topic. “I hear lots of stories and theories and because I'm female many people like to share them with me. When I hear that it's really hard for a female choreographer to get noticed, my heart sinks. This is the career that I've chosen, it's what I want to do, it's my passion and if someone took that away I don't know what I would do but it really frustrates me when people put a gender over an artist. I just feel like taking the gender away and looking at the artist as an individual. If I ever had a company and I was looking for an artist to choreograph a work, I wouldn't pick a female just because I'm female. I would pick the best artist or the one I'd be able to work and collaborate with. What kind of music do they use? Would that bring in a different audience for my company? Would it support my work? That would be more important than their gender. Anyway, I don't like to let it affect me too much because all I want to do is choreograph.” I'm inspired by her words and think to myself that she might well be one of ballet and dance’s voices of the future. Perhaps it doesn't really matter whether something was created by a man or a woman, since the work should, in theory, speak for itself. It's the driving force behind my love for Shakespeare. The most beautiful words ever written, yet we never hear his voice and we never really think of him as the creator, choosing instead to focus on what he is actually saying. I think it's the same with dance. Charlotte may choreograph just for women or maybe also just for men, but immersing ourselves in her work will undoubtedly be more interesting and rewarding than worrying about her role as a female choreographer. Having said all of that, it's beautiful and important to have female role models for the younger generation to look up to and I am certain that Charlotte will inspire and encourage many other women during her career. In fact, male or female, Charlotte will inspire and encourage because here we have someone with star quality who isn't afraid to shake up the industry and show everyone what she's got. I could learn a lesson or three from her and as ToThePointe publishes this interview, I've become more focused and determined than I was before my time with Charlotte. I'll owe that to her.
Interview copyright Julia Dixon, 2015. The interview or any part thereof may not be borrowed or reproduced without prior permission of the author.
Film copyright Georgea Charalambous and Samantha Rubinstein 2015 and may not be used without prior permission of the film makers.