Phoenix is a small company, which means we all know everything about each other, so personality is important. After auditions, Sharon Watson, the artistic director, might invite a dancer in for two or three weeks to see how they relate to the repertoire and also to the company. It’s very much a family – you might bicker, but three seconds later it will all be completely fine. We’re all in tune with each other.
If we are performing somewhere further than two hours’ travel from our base in Leeds, we spend the night near the venue. We always stay together. We often have post-performance discussions, which are great, because you get to know the audience – but if we’re travelling back to Leeds, I’ll often get home at 12.30am. I’m naturally a night person, which helps, but we’ve all got pictures of each other asleep on the tour bus.
If we’re not on tour, we work from 9.30am to 6pm – with class first thing in the morning and rehearsals during the day. On tour, we’ll have class around 1pm, with different guest teachers in each place, which helps keep us fresh.
Every venue varies and we have to check the space and lights, which are always slightly different. In Huddersfield, for example, we couldn’t run straight on to the stage from the front wing, and had to curl around it. At each venue, we run through the entire show before the first performance, which it is challenging – you have to pace yourself, but you don’t want to give it just 50% and not achieve what you want.
After the technical rehearsal, we do our hair and makeup, and then warm up. I always do a funny little ritual in my warm up. Every space we perform in is so different – the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House is very intimate, while in Malvern, the audience feels quite far away – so I scan through the auditorium and all the seats, to make sure I connect to everyone, through to the person right at the back.
The audience’s energy definitely feeds us in performance. Phoenix attracts audiences from a range of backgrounds. It’s great that anyone feels they can access the work, not just a certain demographic. Some people have never been to a dance show before, others see a lot, but because we are a repertory company, there is always something they can relate to. One of my favourite things about dancing with Phoenix is that versatility and range of repertory. The artistry involved is what gives me a buzz. Swapping between three or four characters during a single night – getting lost in one role, and then changing into another – is so rewarding.
To be paid to do this is a blessing. Phoenix offers us full-time contracts, which is rare, and unless we’re performing, we don’t work at weekends. Our downtime is also important – we’re not machines. I’ll go for physio and a massage, and get a steam and sauna at the gym. At home, I love drawing, and cooking – no one who visits me will ever leave hungry! I was born in Hong Kong, but moved here when I was young, and my immediate family is in Lincolnshire. I owe much of my success to my parents’ hard work, and they keep me grounded.
