Interviewee – Charlie. Student, Dance [course title] (SPEAKING)
Music – A soft, uplifting acoustic guitar melody with a soft string accompaniment plays.
Scenery – A woman with a pale, rose-toned complexion and light auburn hair sits in a light, bright space with white walls. She wears a black T-shirt, a thin gold necklace with a heart pendant and sits in front of a mirrored wall and ballet barre.
Speaker: Charlie – “Hi, my name’s Charlie, and I’m studying Dance at Leeds City College…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a close-up of Charlie in a studio, rehearsing choreography with a group. She kneels on the floor with her back to the camera, leans back, sweeps her left arm in the air in an anti-clockwise motion and sits upright while rolling her head. She then reaches to the left above her head with both arms and makes a pulling motion to the floor before leaning forward to repeat. The camera cuts back to Charlie speaking to the camera.
Speaker: Charlie – “Well, I decided to study Dance at Leeds City College because, erm, the idea of dancing, like, all day, like … is like literally just what I want to do for the rest of my life. So that’s why I chose to come on the course…”
Scenery – The camera cuts back to Charlie in the studio, dancing next to a learner with long blonde hair in a high ponytail, slightly out of focus. Together, they crawl backwards and roll up in a standing position. Charlie’s hair falls into her face as they step back into a sweeping bow before pirouetting and turning.
Music – A gentle kick drum adds to the uplifting instrumental.
Speaker: Charlie – “Erm, a decision that made me pick between, like, here and other places was, when I came to the open day, everyone was just, like, really friendly and open, and it’s like… it just felt like a really welcoming environment to be in…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a tutor in a dance studio wearing a clear full-face guard, instructing a large group of students who stand to her front. She vertically raises her close-fisted hands above her head, and the students begin to mimic her while looking towards her with focus. The camera cuts to a learner in a bright dance studio with white walls, three narrow strip windows and square white lights. A learner wearing all black with a golden, rich tan complexion and long black braids tied into a low ponytail looks and smiles directly at the camera. She stands with her arms raised at shoulder height, bent at the elbows to make a U shape and swings them side to side and behind while turning to the right. She then brings her arms in front of her face and lowers them as she shakes her hips and brings her arms back up. The camera cuts back to Charlie.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Charlie – “The thing that I probably enjoy the most is probably, meeting all the new people, like, everybody on my course has-we all have different kind of dance training. So we’re all different, but we all have the same kind of passion for dance…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to the same tutor; she wears black leggings with a floral print on the bottom and a grey vest. A group of learners wearing all black stand behind her and mimic her posture as she demonstrates by tilting her face and chin upwards then stands straight with her hands on her pelvis. The camera cuts to three learners standing together in the centre of the studio, with the before-described learner with long black braids at its core. Learners step into the space and form a line behind the trio as they split into widely-spaced positions within the group and follow urban/street-style choreography. The camera cuts back to the tutor in a dance studio. She stands and rolls down, with her hands touching her toes, before rolling up and reaching high above her head. The learners watch and mimic her.
Music – Toms and hi-hats add vibrance to the instrumental. More instruments join.
Speaker: Charlie – “Like we all want to be here, we all pick d-dance, so we have that in common, but there’s lots of us that have come from just like an Urban/Street background, some of us have come from contemporary, some of us have some from Jazz. So, it’s just nice to be around, like, all different types of people and the diversity here…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a group of learners dancing in a contemporary style, focusing on a dancer with fair, slightly tanned skin wearing a grey vest. He stretches his arms above his head, circling them before crossing and lowering them while stepping into a wide squat position. He and the learners bow their heads and raise their arms at shoulder height, mirroring their leg stance and learning to the left. The camera cuts back to Charlie.
Music – Additional instruments join the uplifting melody.
Speaker: Charlie – “I think if you’re wanting to do Dance at Leeds City College, I think that one of the things you need to remember is that you’re not just focusing on one style. So like, I-I’ve come from, like, a contemporary background, so that’s all I’ve ever done…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a busy dance studio of learners performing contemporary choreography. They wear all black and crawl backwards from a table-top position before rising, stepping back and pirouetting with wide open arms.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Charlie – “And then I started the year, and I’ve never done Jazz before, I’ve never done Urban before, so I was literally kind of thrown in the deep end…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to the clean white studio wall with strip windows. The earlier-described male learner moves onto the screen while performing a barrel kick / modern dance flying jump with his right leg pointed high in the air.
Speaker: Charlie – “But actually, it was a fun experience because, like, everyone’s really supportive. Like the students are really supportive, the teachers are really supportive – like, they’ll help you when you need help…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a floor-level angle, and a bright glare backlights the screen as a group of learners vigorously step and jump together. The camera cuts to a higher angle of the same group; they jump up with their right fists in the air and step into formation across the room. They then sway and lean heavily to the left, dropping their shoulder as they turn to look towards each other.
Music – The original, stripped-back instrumental returns.
Speaker: Charlie – “And I think it’s just a good idea to have, like, a broad aspect of all the different styles to make you more, kind of diverse. And, like, the more diverse you are, the more work you’re gonna get when you leave…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to the group of learners in the dance studio, dancing in all black and barefoot on a sprung rubber floor. They stand elegantly and point their left toe off the ground as they lean and sweep their arm to the right while kicking their left leg high. They stand straight, roll their arms and head down to the centre, and roll up to standing. They then roll their bodies down with heads near their feet before sweeping their arms high and body tall. The camera cuts back to Charlie in the bright studio, sitting and speaking to the camera.
Speaker: Charlie – “I think the facilities here are probably, like…amazing, to be fair, like. I don’t think, like, obviously, high school doesn’t have any of this stuff, like, I think- It comes across that, like, the teachers and everything really care about us; therefore, like, they’re trying to give us the best kind of equipment to achieve the best that we can…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to floor level position and follows learners’ feet, focusing on a pair of white trainer-wearing feet as they slide them across the dance studio floor. The camera cuts to a group of students dancing in a contemporary style. Focusing on a leaner with long blonde hair in a high ponytail, with a fair, pink-toned complexion, the group turn and move their hands in an outstretched, clockwise circle at shoulder height before standing central, leaning to the right and kicking their left leg high.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Charlie – “Er, my advice to someone if they were gonna apply to Leeds City College is…Just come with, like, an open mind. Don’t be kind of, like, ‘Ooh, I’ve never done this before; I’ve never done that before’. Like, ‘I’m nervous to meet new people’. Cos it’s honestly not as scary as you think it’s gonna be…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a group of learners performing urban/street choreography. They stand still, with arms crossed in front of their hips and push their shoulders and chest back and forward. They then step backwards, movings their legs and arms in rhythm.
Music – Additional instruments join the uplifting melody.
Speaker: Charlie – “Like everyone’s welcoming, and if you have problems, there’s people you can go to and talk to, like…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a group of students spread out in a dance studio. Focusing on a learner with dark brown hair, a cool, fair complexion and wearing all black, the group leans to the right and pops their shoulders before jumping into a low squat position and back to stand. They then soften their movements as they lean and snap their necks to the right. The camera cuts back to Charlie as she speaks in the studio.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Charlie – “Th-the main thing for me was, like, if you want to go somewhere where you can-If you enjoy dance, and you want to continue to enjoy dance, then I’d come here just because… There is kind of, like, the pressure cos obviously you want to do well, you want to keep achieving and stuff…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a dark stage with deep red lighting with blue edging. The group of learners wearing all black perform contemporary choreography. They slowly roll their body and head up, and roll their shoulders back before striking a defined pose to the right, then a second pose to the left. The camera cuts to the before-mentioned trio of students dancing on a pink-lit stage in urban/street choreography. They wear white T-shirts and black jogging bottoms or shorts, and the dancer in the middle wears a black bandana around her forehead and braids. They jump into a wide-legged stance, kick their knee, and then make a pushing motion as they bounce backwards and turn. The camera cuts to a deep red step with a turquoise strip light as students wearing gilets, t-shirts and jogging bottoms perform urban/street choreography.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Charlie – “But… it-it feels like fun. Like, it doesn’t feel like ‘I’m here, everyone’s watching me, I’ve got to do it perfect.’ It’s just like…it’s a big laugh, but you’re still getting everything done at the same time.”
Scenery – The camera cuts to an ariel view of the students performing on a warm-lit stage. They wear simple brown, black and khaki clothing and stand, raising their arms from a clenched-fist, closed position to tall, straight arms with outstretched hands and fingers, which they lower. A white screen with a red footer has large black text across the centre. The text reads, “Applications are open for September 2021. For more information, visit: www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk. Instagram: @creativeartslcc”
Music – The uplifting instrumental fades to silence.
