Interviews with professional dancers, names to know: Ebony Clarke (Episode 1)

A new series has begun! Interviews with professional dancers, names to know, hosted by Victoria (company director) and myself. These monthly interviews are aimed at exploring what it’s like to be a professional dancer and to help inspire our members and any other aspiring young dancers, as well as provide top tips from some of the industry's best!

You can watch the full interview further down in this article

In our very first interview, which was filmed on Tuesday 10th November 2020 via Zoom in lockdown 2.0, we interviewed professional dancer/performer Ebony Clarke, chatting all things dance and life. We discussed: What it’s like to work in the West End, what's been Ebony's favourite and funniest moments performing, what options aspiring dancers have to get into the industry, and Ebony's top tips for those just starting out and much more.

Ebony began her dance journey with us at age 12, now in her later 20's she has plenty of experience in the performing world, including being dance captain for Thriller Live and Everybody's Talking About Jamie in the West End, she's performed with the highly regarded ZooNation and has been in adverts such as the House of Fraser Christmas ad, choreographed by Parris Goebel.

Watch and find out more in Ebony's full interview right here:

Please do to share the video with friends and other dance enthusiasts.

Here are our favourite sections of the related dance interview questions and answers:

Question: What are your top 5 tips for young aspiring performers wanting a career in dance?

Ebony's Answer:

1. Listen to your teachers

2. Stamina - Get fit / keep fit

3. Be open - Try new things, take/learn something from every experience

4. Have Fun!

5. Take corrections

Question: What does being a West End dance captain entail?

Ebony's Answer: A LOT! Really depends on the show, but for example things like re-blocking numbers, cutting or adjusting dancers script and scenes.

Question: What final tip can you leave our listeners with?

Ebony's Answer: Keep going and persevere! Basically describing that if you keep pushing you will get there!

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Here's a few links to some of the current projects Ebony mentions in her interview:

Elite Performers Academy

A pre-Vocational full time training led by industry professionals, including Ebony. The academy is perfect for those looking for a stepping stone between school and Performing Arts college

Everybody's talking about Jamie

Ebony is dance captain and swing for the very popular West End production of Everybody's talking about Jamie. Ebony also stars in the upcoming movie version of the show. (screenshot above taken from the show's website cast page)

Out Of The Darkness, Into The SPOTLIGHT

West End performer Hiba Elchikhe's new three-part musical theatre online series, in a collaboration with Nimax Theatres and The Theatre Café: Out Of The Darkness, Into The Spotlight has been created to shine a light on the West End stars who are keeping our industry alive, even during lockdown, featuring Ebony! Tickets

Throwback to Ebony's time as Dance Captain of Thriller Live in the West End:

Was you one of the lucky ones to have watched Thriller Live in the West End? I personally saw the show 3 times, twice with Ebony starring in it as dance captain. What an entertaining tribute to the King of Pop and very creative way to portray his story and music. For those who loved the show, you'll likely love the book below, written by Gary Lloyd, the Director of Thriller Live and his experience bringing the show to life

Big Thanks to Ebony

It was wonderful to chat with Ebony and reminisce about her growth as a dancer, how far she's come, and listen to her career stories and tips. We hope that you all enjoyed listening to Ebony as much as we did. Thank you to Ebony for giving us her time for our very 1st episode of Interviews with Professional dancers: Names you know and knows you should

There's plenty more of these to come, why not subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow our Monthly Interview Playlist to be the first to know when a new interview goes out!

Feel free to share this article and/or the Youtube Interview with friends and other dance enthusiasts.

Jenny Bater-Sinclair

Director - HIP HOP POP

www.hiphoppop.net