We catch up with 85-year-old dancer Joanna Banks as she travels around Ireland performing in Philip Connaughton’s revival of TROJANS.
Joanna Banks is a founding member of Dance Ireland, dedicating her life to the art of dance.
Growing up in Oxford with her grandparents in the 1940s during WWII, she began dancing at seven years old and was accepted to the Royal Ballet as a teenager, performing at the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden and world-wide with Ballet Rambert and London Ballet Theatre Company.
She moved to Ireland to dance with the National Ballet Company in Cork and then became the Artistic Director of the College of Dance in Dublin. In her 70s, she pivoted from classical dance to contemporary and has appeared in productions by Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Company Philip Connaughton and Dead Centre.
Today, at 85-years-old she’s performing with Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company this spring in Philip Connaughton’s revival of TROJANS. Here, we catch up with Joanna to chat about her career and love of dance.
What are your earliest memories of dance?
My earliest memories of dance are improvising in my grandparent’s garden in Oxford. I must have been about 3 or 4 and I’d never seen any dance, but I just loved to move. I lived with them until after the war when my family moved into the suburbs of London, and I had a very nice local dance teacher who allowed us to improvise at the end of the class with a live pianist – that was great fun. But at that stage I’d never seen dance in a theatre. I was taken to Covent Garden when I was much too young to see a triple bill, which was totally unsuitable really, for a little eight-year-old. I liked the costumes, but it was all a bit boring. Then about a year later, there was a wonderful production of Swan Lake from the International Ballet that was touring, and my mother took me to see that, I remember just being completely captivated – perhaps because I was that bit older.
What does a typical working day or week look like for you?
At the moment I’m working full-time rehearsing with choreographer Philip Connaughton on TROJANS which is being presented by Luail – Ireland’s National Dance Company. During rehearsal time, I get up, do some exercises and have a good breakfast before coming into the studio and then my focus is on rehearsals for the day. Then, I’ll go home, prepare myself a reasonable meal, go to bed and repeat it all the next day. It’s a routine, but I don’t mind; it’s a discipline I’m used to. If I’m not working, then I will avidly go out to see art and other cultural events in the city and recharge the cultural batteries.
And what is something people outside of the dance world don’t realise about it?
I don’t think people realise the hard work that goes into a dance performance. They seem to think that the dancer just walks into the theater and onto the stage and does it. There’s not always an understanding of the incredible hard work involved, and the intensive rehearsal period. I think this goes for all genres of dance, probably because dancers make it look easy. Many don’t realise the physical energy that goes into the development of a work, or the stamina required, it’s just amazing.
What’s a moment on stage you’ll never forget?
I’d say it’s the very first time I experienced being in a theatre and going on stage, which was life changing. It was a charity show with my local dancing school, I’d never been on stage before, and I had a little solo and a pretty costume. I just remember stepping into that dark space with lights. And it was like Alice going through the looking glass, and I didn’t want to come back. It’s almost like I’d found my natural habitat.
Do you feel responsible to pass on your love for dance and help younger generations?
I’ve been incredibly lucky; I’ve worked with some of the best teachers in the world. I’ve also had experience working with a wide variety of choreographers and just the vast experience that I’ve gained over the years – I think if I can pass any of what I have learned to the next generation, it’s a lovely thing to do.
I don’t feel that the younger generation should look up to me, I said to Philip very early on that I wasn’t going to be a diva who just swans into the studio. I feel very lucky to be working with younger dancers, and I feel that we’re working as a group. I like to be around them, I think I absorb a lot of their youth and energy. I do think they’re fascinated by my previous life as a professional ballet dancer, because my experiences go way back to very, very different times. I think hopefully they appreciate the better conditions that they now work under.
If you’d like to see Joanna and the rest of the cast in action, you can purchase tickets to TROJANS in Galway or Lisburn here.
