Neil Anthony
Dance &
Choreography
Step by step"I am often asked when did I start to dance?
"My usual answer is that it never occurred to me that I couldn't and therefore there was no start, in other words even as a toddler I was dancing as soon as I could walk. "As a young boy, I would mimic what I saw in other people moving and dancing, I would invent my own moment. "Years later, when I was asked to perform in a show, whilst I could do most of the moves I didn't understand the technique and the language of dance. "I had therefore to commit to some serious training." |
'Silent Cloud'
The title of Neil's new piece prompted by the demise of friend and songwriter Barrie Morrison who sadly died late 2023. It is also in tribute to other lost friends who creatively inspired and encouraged him, some of whom never quite fulfilled their own ambitions and for which the world is less enriched than it would otherwise be.
First positions
First and foremost a dancer/choreographer, music and movement underpins most aspects of his professional life even though now retired from dance.
His ballet master said he'd get him into the corps de ballet of Australian Ballet within three years if he put the work into training. The assurance of his ballet master gave him the confidence that there may indeed be a future career somewhere in the field of dance.
Having some classical background would always be a help but not necessarily on the classical stage. He experimented taking some minor roles with contemporary dance and was intrigued by the artistic license which allows for interpretation using a different rulebook. His artistic influences were from some of the avant garde companies including Pilobolus, Alwin Nikolais, Béjart, and most notably Sankai Juku.
The novelty of being in a West End show soon wore off. Long-runs, performing the same thing every night, eight times a week wasn't his thing for long.
His ballet master said he'd get him into the corps de ballet of Australian Ballet within three years if he put the work into training. The assurance of his ballet master gave him the confidence that there may indeed be a future career somewhere in the field of dance.
Having some classical background would always be a help but not necessarily on the classical stage. He experimented taking some minor roles with contemporary dance and was intrigued by the artistic license which allows for interpretation using a different rulebook. His artistic influences were from some of the avant garde companies including Pilobolus, Alwin Nikolais, Béjart, and most notably Sankai Juku.
The novelty of being in a West End show soon wore off. Long-runs, performing the same thing every night, eight times a week wasn't his thing for long.
Earning a crust
Doing extra work as a 'jobbing dancer' around the West End and in opera, also for TV commercials was far more suitable. It allowed him the space to form his own dance troupe, experiment and try out new things. At this time he had three agents each to represent a different aspect of his work, one for stand-in work (operas and shows), one to get work as an extra and TV commercials, and one to promote the dance troupe.
His main gig was a regular weekly spot at the Empire Ballroom Leicester Square. He became well known to the A&R guys from the record companies who would supply him with the latest singles of a particular band they were trying to push and therefore asking him to choreograph and perform a routine at the Empire. Bands such as Visage (Steve Strange), OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), to name but two.
His main gig was a regular weekly spot at the Empire Ballroom Leicester Square. He became well known to the A&R guys from the record companies who would supply him with the latest singles of a particular band they were trying to push and therefore asking him to choreograph and perform a routine at the Empire. Bands such as Visage (Steve Strange), OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), to name but two.
Staging and choreographing a new number each week and then to perform it in front of an audience was an important new discipline to master. As there was no contract with the Empire, simply, if he didn't 'deliver the goods' there would be no gig the following week. However his dance troupe was resident there for the best part of two years and only came to an end when TV commitments made it unworkable.
Whilst Neil was still performing he was also asked to stage and choreograph a regular weekly TV show which went out live on a Saturday tea time, a peak-viewing 'family entertainment' slot for Southern TV, The Trevor Baker All Weather Show. There are no recordings in archive as it was a live. However, the discipline of being given a piece of music each week and to come up with a routine, teach it to performers sufficient for it to be on-air each Saturday night, Neil had become good at it.
His work continued to be in demand more in TV particularly at Southern TV where he had a reputation for being reliable and delivering to fulfil almost any brief. He even work on the infamous Worzel Gummidge. Neil recounts:
"James Hill (director) said as it was a big special, Worzel's birthday party. He was depending on me to come up with a scarecrow dance that builds and builds. I was terrified my ideas wouldn't fit-in and with the show work particularly as I had never done anything like this before. Later, when James wrote me a personal letter saying it was the best routine they'd had in 30 episodes, it gave me the confidence boost I needed. TV felt like home, I was much happier crafting a routine to get it right for the take. Camera angles and the visual structure interested me more than staging for theatre where everything faces front to the audience."
Whilst Neil was still performing he was also asked to stage and choreograph a regular weekly TV show which went out live on a Saturday tea time, a peak-viewing 'family entertainment' slot for Southern TV, The Trevor Baker All Weather Show. There are no recordings in archive as it was a live. However, the discipline of being given a piece of music each week and to come up with a routine, teach it to performers sufficient for it to be on-air each Saturday night, Neil had become good at it.
His work continued to be in demand more in TV particularly at Southern TV where he had a reputation for being reliable and delivering to fulfil almost any brief. He even work on the infamous Worzel Gummidge. Neil recounts:
"James Hill (director) said as it was a big special, Worzel's birthday party. He was depending on me to come up with a scarecrow dance that builds and builds. I was terrified my ideas wouldn't fit-in and with the show work particularly as I had never done anything like this before. Later, when James wrote me a personal letter saying it was the best routine they'd had in 30 episodes, it gave me the confidence boost I needed. TV felt like home, I was much happier crafting a routine to get it right for the take. Camera angles and the visual structure interested me more than staging for theatre where everything faces front to the audience."
It was a natural leap to being a TV producer.
As a director of The Bright Thoughts Company, 95% of their shows had some degree of music content. Among other things, Neil maintained a keen eye on the staging and always around on set or in a rehearsal room working with the director and cast. When required, choreographing a few steps or new routine was never far away, .... which remains the case today! The love for contemporary movement, the calisthenics and modern dance interpretation, will always remain his first love not least because it's more than putting on a show or learning a routine, it is the 'canvas and the oils', the artistic expression which can be taken into seemingly limitless emotion and expression. |
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