Meet Kelly Apter, The Scotsman Dance Critic

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Kelly Apter. I've been dance critic for The Scotsman for over 25 years.

00:04My love of dance arrived when I was about four years old and I spent my childhood going to

00:08classes in every dance style imaginable and then choreographing shows at university.

00:13It was shortly after that that I realised just how interesting it is and how much fun

00:17to try and find the words to describe this most ephemeral of art forms.

00:22I'd always loved watching ballet as a child but then when I was 16 my dance teacher took

00:27me to see Ron Bear Dance Company perform Christopher Bruce's Ghost Dances.

00:31It was like nothing I'd ever seen before and it made me realise that when there's not a narrative

00:36or a storyline to follow it's up to us to interpret what a piece may or may not be about

00:42and to take in the emotions that the dancers are trying to convey.

00:46Over the years writing for The Scotsman I have been lucky enough to speak to choreographers and

00:50watch rehearsals in dance companies all over the world and review literally thousands of shows

00:55in wonderful venues such as the Festival Theatre here in Edinburgh, a space that is as familiar

01:00to me as my own living room. Seeing companies such as Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet,

01:06New York City Ballet and wonderful contemporary companies such as Netherlands Dance Theatre

01:11and of course Ron Bear where it all began has just been wonderful.

01:15I'm never happier than when I'm sitting in a seat waiting for the house lights to go down and the

01:19curtain to go up and whether what lies on the other side of that curtain is a big white ballet or

01:27intimate piece of contemporary dance, a dramatic piece of dance theatre or a big showy circus,

01:33it doesn't matter. I approach everything with an open mind and an open heart excited to see what

01:39they might have to offer.