Former Dunedin man Jeremy Beck hit a major milestone in his career at the weekend - his first performance as a professional dancer with New Zealand's oldest contemporary dance company, Footnote. He tells Rebecca Fox how it felt.
Excitement, trepidation and relief all flowed through Jeremy Beck on his debut performance for Footnote.
Mr Beck danced in the Wellington opening of Footnote's latest work NOW 2015 at the weekend.
''It went very well. We had two sold-out houses and some positive reviews.''
It is a long way from his classical ballet days in Dunedin but he credits those days as helping build up the skills he needs for his work today.
His former Dunedin dance teacher Shona Bennett said for Mr Beck to get a job straight out of dance school was ''absolutely amazing''.
''Positions at Footnote are not easy to come by. He is a very lucky young man.''
He began dance training as a 6-year-old after his mother saw potential in the son who danced around the house all the time.
When he was 12 years old he joined the Bennett School of Ballet and Jazz and began his classical dance training.
''I never looked back,'' the former Kavanagh College pupil said.
Sticking to his decision was not easy, as ballet was not a natural choice for a boy in Dunedin.
''I was the oldest boy in my class by four years. I always had heaps of support from my friends so I was fine.''
Ms Bennett remembers him as a ''typical teenage boy''.
''He was a good kid. He kept coming to class so I knew he had something.''
His determination was rewarded when he gained a place at the New Zealand School of Dance, in Wellington, when he was 18 years old.
Ms Bennett said the school was very hard to get into and he was at the upper age range at the time so he was very lucky.
For the first year he continued his classical training, but then decided to change his focus and spend the next two years of his training studying contemporary dance.
''He didn't quite have the physique or technique required for the ballet world, but for contemporary he does.''
That would have been quite a decision, because as a teenager he would not try contemporary dance as ''ballet was his thing'', she said.
Mr Beck said ballet was rigorous but there was not much creativity in it, compared with contemporary dance.
''I love the creative expression in it. Especially in contemporary dance it's just so open to being able to interpret ideas or concepts you find interesting or relevant and put them into forms ...that focuses on the human body and how it moves.''
His debut performance reinforced he had made the right decision in following a contemporary dance career, he said.
At the school he was fortunate to work with a variety of national and international teachers and choreographers including Douglas Wright, Michael Parmenter, Antony Hamilton and James O'Hara.
Having a ballet background was hugely beneficial, as it gave him the technique and discipline needed, he said.
''I wanted to be able to draw on more platforms and that is more achievable in contemporary dance.''
Transitioning from dance student to professional dancer was easier than he first thought, probably because he had done some work with Footnote during his third year, Mr Beck said.
He also did Footnote's Choreolab professional development course and from there was one of six dancers chosen to take part in ChoreoCo.'s performances of Claire O'Neil's work Just Bet/ween Us and Lucy Marinkovich's Bosch Box.
He graduated late last year and earlier this year a job came up in the Footnote company and he was lucky enough to be appointed.
''It just really worked out. I was hugely fortunate.''
Getting the job was a highlight and being able to go to work each day and dance was very special.
''It's a great team here. Everyone is so supportive.''
Being a full-time dancer was a great lifestyle as each day was different, he said.
''Coming into work you don't know what you are going to do every day and I love that it is so physical, expressing yourself every day. It's quite freeing.''
Since he had started at Footnote they had been working on the Now season. It involved working with four different choreographers on four short pieces.
''It was fun to perform in that way. You had to stay on your toes and be well-prepared.''
Each day began with a 90-minute warm-up followed by one-on-one sessions with the choreographers to ''build the work''.
It required him to be in good physical condition, which his training at the New Zealand School of Dance had instilled in him.
''It is constant maintenance to keep on top of it, to eat right and get enough rest.
''You have to make sure you are on top of it all the time because if you slip up you open yourself up to injuries and things.''
He found there was a lot of interest in what he did, although it was hard to describe to people.
''Contemporary dance can't easily be summed into words a lot of the time. Generally I never find any negativity, just a lot of curiosity, especially in Dunedin.
''When I used to say I was a ballet dancer everyone understood, but contemporary is more expressive. I say it can be treated as an art form or that it is a completely open form of dance.''
Footnote was working on a lot of great shows this year so he believed his career highlight was ''yet to come'', he said.
As well as the season of Now which opened on Thursday, Footnote, New Zealand's longest-running contemporary dance company, was taking part in Wellington's 150th anniversary celebrations.
The company was enabling people to learn more about it by asking questions of its members during a performance showcasing recent and in-progress works on July 25 at the Opera House.
