News & Events

23rd October 2018

Pass the pas de deux

I’ve long been a dance aficionado and I’ve practiced adult ballet for more than 10 years now.

To me, it’s the perfect analogy between my day job, designing communication environments that feature spoken word, and my passion for an art-form that has the power to communicate without words, by telling stories through line of the body, the movements and gestures set to music.

The similarities between ballet and live event planning don’t end there however.

Ballet dancers study for years to master and attain the physical abilities necessary to make their art look effortless. The ethereal quality of ballet, which so captivates audiences, is the same calibre we strive for when producing live events.

Everything has to come together in perfect harmony for delegates to truly engage with an event’s content, and the curvature of the set design or the saturated colours of the buffet table all have their part to play.

After an adult ballet class recently, it got me thinking about all the different elements a choreographer looks for in a dancer.

The ability to fit a dance to the music, by relating the dance to the music’s rhythm, melody and mood; the core strength to hold the body in place from which the limbs move or are held; the technical control to execute movement with the proper timing and spatial range; and the ability to coordinate ones body with others – are just four of the admirable skills of a talented dancer

But these skills can only be achieved by daily training and the experience to understand how ones body reacts to different situations such as fatigue, illness etc. It takes time, focus, determination and dedication to achieve such perfection.

I’m not saying that conference, meetings and incentive planning requires the same level of professionalism, but I do like to think that experience and knowledge are viewed as valuable commodities by those clients entrusting us to confidently and gracefully lift, catch and carry them through their event’s planning and execution process.

It’s particularly pleasing for me currently that although I may be a fair way off reaching the higher standards of adult ballet, I have recently been able to close the analogical gap between my passion for ballet and my day-to-day business after I was asked to help out the English National Ballet with its member events programme over the next few months.

English National Ballet is a classical ballet company and one of the four major ballet companies in Britain. It was founded in 1950 and is considered one of the foremost touring companies in Europe, performing in theatres throughout the UK, as well as conducting international tours and performing at special events.

For me, this is obviously a dream opportunity. If, like me you’re passionate about dance and want to support the ambition, talent and creativity of English National Ballet, why not consider becoming a Friend or Benefactor of this fantastic organisation. See here for details and maybe I’ll see you at one of my events sometime soon.

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