body: the magical alchemy of dance with christina andrea
With our dance floors empty and gyms and dance studios closed, many of us have found an undeniable void in our day to day lives. Movement should never been underestimated, especially when it comes to dancing. After lockdown, it’s something that so many of us will never take for granted ever again. Standing in Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden, London, I remember seeing Christina Andrea dance for the first time. She was captivating. A born star. Someone that took your breathe away as she moved, your eyes transfixed on her every move. A respected choreographer Christina is one of the most well-known and loved teachers within the dance industry. A role model to many dancers starting out, she inspires and mentors while effortlessly delivering with style and finesse to her working clients, a skill which has seen her perform and create all over the world.
Here in the UK, Christina is committed to sharing her knowledge and helping inspire the next generation of dancers. She is the face of the LR dance mentor program: a system she has developed to springboard her protégées to a higher level of performance and success as well as the X Initiative, a brand new course that Christina developed to develop artistry and unlock creativity through individuality. Teaching packed out classes at Pineapple Studios she has also worked alongside Paloma Faith, Anastacia, Mary J Blige and Adam Lambert to name just a few.
How important is movement and what does it do for the mind, body and soul?
I guess I have realised how vital movement is for me in the times when I have be forced to stay still. There’s nothing quite like an injury or a pandemic to make you realise exactly how important movement is for keeping your mind, body and soul thriving. Each style of dance uses different disciplines and skills so you are never done learning, there is always something new to adapt to or perfect. I love all kinds of dance styles for their differences. Ballet training gives you poise, strength and grace. Contemporary helps you to express and release and make creative choices for yourself. Irish dance promotes agility, discipline and energy. Hip hop is grounding and grooving and gets the whole body moving. Tap connects you with rhythm, power and the heart beat of life.
You don’t have to be a trained dancer to get the joy and release that dancing offers. In my X Initiative program we do a movement exercise to unlock creative blocks. This is the time to just explore and have fun. Using different body parts and movement words like “push”, “stretch”, “fall” and “twist” as a starting point, we then add dynamic suggestions like “high” “fast” “smooth” “slow” and use these words to create, explore and move our bodies. We might end up with something beautiful in the process but that’s not the point, the point is just to play. Next time you’ve got a spare 5 minutes give it a try. Put on your favourite song and then just start moving. Start with the word shake. Shake your wrists, your arms, your shoulders, shake your bum, your knees, your toes, your whole body…. even try to shake your eyebrows or your ears! Just get moving and allow yourself to play. You’ll find that there is a magical alchemy when you move in time with the music and just let go. It feels great! You may just be in a sweaty dance studio but in your mind you can be performing on stage at the O2 under the bright lights or in a sunny field at Glastonbury. It’s truly liberating to let go and let the music move you.
Dance connects people too. Movement transcends cultural and language barriers. It is connecting and expressive in its own right. Dance lifts me up, it makes me happy and when I work in the studio with others I see how that energy ripples out and affects everyone, it is infectious. There’s also an adrenaline rush in learning something new. It’s a challenge to pick up routines and learn new styles and like with any challenge, it’s a wonderful feeling when your body takes over and muscle memory kicks in. You go from struggling to piece together new steps to effortlessly being in flow.
Movement is so exciting for the body. Moving in ways we don’t usually wakes energies that have been dormant and uses muscles that have been sleeping. We stretch and twist in ways that make the body feel alive. Dance can be gentle, it can be aggressive, it can be delicate, it can be energetic. All these different elements allow the body to explore its potential and to express itself. Moves that look impossible become effortless and fun once they have been broken down and understood. Dance has the physical benefits of any exercise but it also connects you with your spirit, with your heart and with the beauty of story telling.
How can dance be used as a form of therapy?
Movement is brilliant for quieting the mind. I noticed that I can go into the studio with my mind swimming with chatter and a heavy feeling in my heart and after a few minutes settling into movement, that has all cleared. The mediative process of getting out of my own head and into my body is liberating and helps me feel joy. I don’t always realise that I am walking around with a permanent to-do list running through my head plus thoughts of the future and memories from the past. When I focus on translating movement from an idea into my body I become completely involved in that process, my mind absorbing all the detail, ticking over how to make it happen and how it connects with the music.
Physically dance is exciting and demanding too. It gets all those happy chemicals floating through the body. A challenge completed will kickstart dopamine (the reward chemical), the physical effort will get endorphins bubbling (the pain killer) and serotonin (the mood stabiliser) and the joy that comes with expressing yourself and having fun will get the love hormone oxytocin coursing round your body. You cant argue with that kind of natural high!
Dance is therapeutic because It’s a brilliant way of working out what is going on for you and expressing it safely. You can put on a piece of music and get totally lost in it. You can be wild and expressive and free and let your body explore all feelings while channelling it into dance. You can revisit old hurts and heal wounds by dancing through them and using those experiences to fuel your artistry. Story telling is a huge reason why dance is so loved and so powerful to do and to watch. When I teach in class or work on a show I always talk about the narrative, what the lyrics mean, what the mood is and what the journey of the song is. That way the dancer becomes the instrument by which the story is carried and that can be extremely cathartic.
““You’ll find that there is a magical alchemy when you move in time with the music and just let go””
What changes have you witnessed in the students that you teach?
Movement is an amazing tool to work with. I work with all different types of people from all different walks of life and there is something brilliant about the way movement can benefit everyone. From absolute beginners who are just trying to find their feet and some confidence in their body, to actors looking to connect movement to their character. From professional dancers who are working on detailed combinations, to singers who need movement to liven up their stage show and give it energy and focus. The journey from the first session to the final destination is magical.
I have seen people change in all sorts of ways. Some seem to open up, they become more confident in their bodies, themselves and their presence in the room. Dancing can be a really emotional thing for people. I have worked with women who have cried after a session as they have finally allowed themselves to enjoy their bodies again and are overwhelmed by how much they needed that release. I’ve taught men who just want to have a few moves to show on the dance floor and who feel pumped once they have some dance knowledge under their belts. I’ve worked with siblings who wanted to feel like pop stars for the day, with the look of excited disbelief on their faces as they perform with synchronicity and sass after an hour in the studio. At every level there is a starting point, often uncertain and doubtful, a journey and something achieved and learnt by the end of it. Girl bands working with formations and choreography for the first time, singers in music videos using movement to bring their song to life and TV actors breaking out into dance for a musical number. This growth is so exciting to be able to facilitate.
The students I teach often make great friends in class. I see people arrive alone and leave after a few months with a great friendship group full with people that encourage and inspire each other to grow and take risks. It’s such a beautiful thing to witness. I work closely with professional dancers on their career development and individual artistry. That has been such a rewarding process. I get to watch people develop and flourish in their individuality and go on to create shows, companies, brands of their own. One of the best parts of my job as a choreographer is working with dancers on jobs they love. We start with nothing in the rehearsal studio and then build a show. Seeing them come off stage elated and proud after opening night is such a high.
Dance classes outside of zoom have pretty much been on pause over the last year, how has the dance community adapted?
We’ve been forced from the dance studio onto our laptops in our living rooms. I have to say Zoom has been a brilliant tool for keeping classes happening during this time. Pineapple Studios invested in amazing new technology which means that they can stream classes live from the studio into peoples homes at the highest quality. It’s definitely helped people stay connected, stay creative and of course earn a living during this time but it’s no substitute for the real event. I have taught some classes online and it’s been amazing to connect with the people who I would normally see three times a week in the studio. Dance brings us all together and it’s something I have really missed during lockdown. Having online classes has definitely helped people mentally to feel connected to their purpose. None of us expected to have this much time with our industry practically closed, so it’s been important to have a way of keeping inspired, focused and maintaining the skills we worked so hard to form.
I am so ready to get back to teaching live classes again. There is something so magical about being in the dance studio with a group of people. The fun, the camaraderie, the determination and the vibe are unmatched by online replications. It’s like watching a concert on the TV, its ok but it’s just not quite the same.
Tell us about X Initiative - what is it and why did you create it?
I had a feeling the whole way through lockdown that I wanted to create something new. I had previously created the “Love Rudeye Mentor Program” which guided professional dancers through the skills they would need to be in the dance industry. It is full of advice on branding, success and contacts, based on my experience as a professional commercial dancer. The pandemic has taken the entertainment industry out from under our feet. It didn’t feel right to be giving that sort of guidance at a time that is so uncertain for us. I knew I wanted to create something else.
I realised that one thing I have always done is create opportunities for myself. Looking back I can see that these self made projects have worked along side my career, adding depth to it and to building my brand as the professional I am today. I created the X Initiative with the aim to help other creatives on their journey. We focus on unlocking potential, harnessing individuality and creating opportunities so that there is always a sense of autonomy to our careers in an industry when it can feel like we are just waiting for the next opportunity or the next “yes”. I had a good few hours of help from my friend, healer and mindset coach Denis Murphy and my manger Stuart Bishop, making sure that I created something that would have honest impact. Real change rather than just more short-term coping mechanisms. As soon as the idea became clear in my mind I ran with it.
I created it because I love connecting with people. I love getting to know people on a deeper level. I have always had amazing teachers and mentors showing me the way and opening doors for me, so I am passionate about doing the same for others. I also love connecting people. I know that the groups I have worked with over the years have remained close and continue to help each other. Finding your own tribe within an industry that can be so competitive and cut throat can make all the difference to making it through the tougher times.
““Dance has always helped me to process life and its twists and turns.””
How has dance changed your life?
Dance has always given me purpose. I have been obsessed with it since I was 4 years old, when my mum took me to my first ballet class in Kegworth Village. It’s been the thread that has run through everything. I have met amazing people through dance, my peers and my teachers and the people I have gone on to help. It has given me a way to express myself and channel my energy. It’s allowed me to travel the world as a touring dancer, choreographer and teacher. I use dance to inspire people and to spread joy and healing. It is infectious in the best possible way.
If I am working with a singer like Anastacia, Dido or Rae Morris, I have a responsibility to understand them, their music and the story they have to tell. I use my expertise to bring that to life through movement. It’s a responsibility and an honour to get to do that. The same applies to working on TV shows or adverts or stage performances. It’s all about collaboration. For TV there will be a writer and a director that I work with and we unite to bring the story to life in a way that looks amazing on camera. Some of my favourite people in the world and best friends are people I have worked with or shared a stage with. It’s an experience that doesn’t really compare to anything else.
Dance has always helped me to process life and its twists and turns. I feel I have been very lucky to have found my passion really early on in life and it has driven me through times when I have felt confused and lost. It has helped me take my feelings and turn them into something I can make sense of. It has helped me turn my experience into something I can share with people and that, I believe, is super healing.
For anyone who is wanting to try a dance class for the first time, what should they expect and where is a good place to start?
One of the great things about classes being available online now is that you can try them out from the comfort of your living room before going into the studio. Pineapple has classes running online so check out any of their beginner or all level classes. It’s just about finding one that you like. It’s definitely trickier to learn online though, so don’t write yourself off if you don’t get the moves straight away. The best thing is to get to a class when the studios open up and just get involved. You can expect to be taken through a warm up which will get your heart rate up and your body moving. Then you will probably be taught a routine or a section of dance to work on. In the easier classes you will really focus on how to do the moves and in the more advanced classes the focus is on combining moves to make up a sequence. It always looks harder from the outside, so definitely get involved and see how you go.
One thing to remember is that you won’t be the only person who feels a bit awkward or like a total beginner, so take the leap and just got for it. It definitely gets easier. The more you get comfortable with the studio, the mirrors, the other students, the teacher and their style of dance the more you will enjoy it.
I will be teaching as soon as the studios open back up, so keep an eye on my socials for class adverts. I would love to see you in the studio for a dance.
connect with christina and find out more…
check out her website: www.christinaandrea.com
follow her on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamxtinaandrea/
