Gemma Laing

Dancer - Link Dance Company

Graduated in:

2009

Course completed:

Bachelor of Contemporary Arts majoring in dance

Currently working for:

Link Dance Company. It is attached to Edith Cowen University and is an amateur dance company rather than a paid job.

How long have you been working for this organisation?

7 months

Position title and short job description:

Dancer. Writing a 10-12 thousand words thesis and physical experiment. As well as learning, contributing, collaborating and developing movement/work with choreographers and performance.

Working highlight so far:

Performing in Perth and in Europe with works by choreographers Olivia Millard and Chrissie Parrot. Participating in a specialized workshop with Anouk van Dijk in Amsterdam. Working with our current choreographers Craig Barry and Michael Whaites.

What are the things you enjoy most about your job?

Learning and gaining an understanding of new processes and movement with choreographers. Performing. Dancing with my classmates/friends everyday.

An area in which you have needed assistance:

It was a difficult transition mentally and physically going from a course such as Deakin where you may only dance a minimum of 6 hours a week, to dancing 30 hours a week in a full time course at WAAPA, but the lecturers/teachers were very supportive and understanding. Moving interstate was also hard at first but it is an experience that most dancers go through in their careers and it benefited me to gain an insight into this early, as this may be a part of daily life in the future.

What do you intend to do in the future?

At the moment, I would like to move back to Melbourne and have it as my base. I would like to do some secondments in Melbourne and interstate and maybe overseas, to gain and learn as much information, knowledge and movement as I can, to make myself more employable and to one day create my own work. Also doing secondments may assist in making good lasting contacts with choreographers and other dancers.

#1 tip for current students studying your course:

Well before graduating plan/organise goals you would like to achieve and what you would like to do after you graduate. This will allow you to keep momentum after finishing your 3 year degree. Surround yourself with people with similar goals/interests to yourself to help you maintain your interest and motivation, as it will be very different to be on your own without the 'cushion' of University to support you. Keep faith in yourself and in your dancing in order to stay on track.