Beverley Bagg is a ballet teacher and educator based in Vancouver, BC. Beverley has been a part of the dance world for many years, dancing with different ballet companies throughout the years, such as Alberta Ballet. Currently, she works as a ballet teacher, coach, and is on permanent teaching faculty at Ballet BC. For Dancing with a Healthy Mindset, Beverley was interviewed by Gaby Hanga and Alina Sotskova.

 

Beverley Bagg Interview: Part 1

 

 

More videos are coming soon! In the mean time, some highlights from Bev’s interview:  

 

What is important about the art of dance for you?

Beverley: Expression, artistry, movement. Being able to indulge in and to be able to move your body through space. It’s a form of self-expression. And it’s a form of expression of whatever emotion you feel at that time. If you’re feeling low, if you’re feeling elated, whatever emotion you feel – if you can bring it through movement, through your body, your body becomes a voice. And I think it’s really important to be able to do that. I think it creates – not necessarily for the performer, but for the spectator, for the person who is coming to watch, it creates a little bit of magic. I think it puts them in place of having a visual art, and sometimes it accesses all your senses. It has to come from a place of truth for you as a dancer. I feel that if you don’t come with authenticity, then I don’t think it’ll catch the audience. I think there is very different visually. I don’t think it will have this impact, or the same profound meaning to an audience member.

 

And what is that place of authenticity?

Beverley: I think it’s the ability to give of yourself, to actually let go of yourself. For me, authentic means true. It’s authenticity of YOU dancing without any judgement on yourself. But ultimately, it’s gonna come from the dancer themselves. You’ve gotta “make believe” – you have to, you have to sell it to the audience in a way.

 

So that is something that you try to portray to the audience. Are there also other messages or things that are important for you?

Beverley: I need your passion. You know, to do it you have to be passionate about it. If you’re not passionate about it, it doesn’t come through. It’s your soul, you know. It has to come from within. When I talk to my students I say, “it needs to come from your soul, to come from your heart.” You have three hearts: you have the heart that beats, you have the heart that dances and you have the heart of your core.

 

For the dancers of the now, dancers of the future what do you think would be some of the key ingredients that people need developing to sustain healthy relationship with dance?

Beverley: I think it starts with developing a healthy relationship with yourself. I think it’s the first and foremost thing that you have to do. Be kind, and recognize that we all have good days and bad days, sometimes we get angry, and sometimes we feel rage, you know.

 

In dance spaces, in the rehearsals or creative spaces, what do you think people can do to help all of us develop a healthier relationship with ourselves and each other? What do you think people can do to help one another?

Beverley: I think if we recognize that we all have different strengths, we all have different weaknesses, and embracing the differences rather than being critical of the differences. We so easily fall into that trap “she’s not good enough, she doesn’t have good feet, or she doesn’t move the way I do, so I don’t know what she’s doing in the room”. But if we can understand and accept all of that, and we come working as a one in a room, I think that would make a big difference. I mean, the healthy mind and healthy dance will come from yourself, but also from the guidance you get. It’s very important – the guidance that you have, as a dancer on your journey to become a dancer.