Local dance students have been taking advantage of further training thanks to the Bermuda Civic Ballet which brought in three visiting instructors to conduct a series of summer classes, the culmination of which will be a performance at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts on Saturday evening.

Despite the hot and humid conditions at the Pembroke Sunday School auditorium, where classes are held, participants have dedicated themselves to learning all they can and refining their art from the visiting instructors: Teresa Randall (ballet), a teacher at Canada?s National Ballet School and an examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance; and Brian Flynn and Marianna Tsartolia from the Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre in New York (modern dance).

This week Lifestyle?s Nancy Acton interviews three Bermudian participants: James Waddell, Jelani Veney and Shomeiko Ingham, about their aspirations as dancers.

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The fact that James Waddell and Jelani Veney are the only two males in the summer course doesn?t faze them at all. As Bermudians they are well aware of the homosexual label attached to all male dancers here, and yes, they have endured their share of innuendo and teasing over the years, but no, they don?t care because ?we are definitely not gay?. ?Far from it,? James smiles, noting that at age 15 being surrounded by a class full of girls is a definite ?plus?.

In fact, the Bermudian stereotyping of male dancers as gay irritates both young men.

?I don?t see how you can do anything more masculine, especially when it comes to partnering,? Jelani, who recently spent time at an international congress in Cuba, says. ?The boys are certainly not gay there.?

?Bermuda is very closed minded, which is very frustrating,? James says. ?I feel a lot of Bermudians are homophobic. Thinking about it logically, does being in a room of girls make me gay??

Defending the role of male dancers, the young men concur that few realise just how strong and physically fit they must be to lift and carry ballerinas. It is not all about physical strength, however; they must also be actors, which adds another demanding dimension to their performance.

?It is not all athleticism,? James says. ?When you are performing in a ballet you are acting as well as dancing so you are telling a story and that forces you to be not just an athlete but an artist.?

James, whose mother Coral is a director of both the Russian School of Ballet and the Bermuda Civic Ballet, first introduced her son to dance at age four, but he wasn?t all that taken with it until at age ten he ?really got serious? and said, ?This is what I want to do.?

At that time James attended both ballet and modern dance classes and still enjoys both ? ballet for its technique, and modern dance for its freer movement and the opportunity to individualise one?s performance.

Currently a student at Saltus Grammar School, James plans to complete his GCSE?s before deciding his future as a dancer.

?I am hoping to go somewhere else to dance, and maybe get involved with a school company,? he says.

Russia is one possibility and Cuba another.

In April, on the School of Russian Ballet?s second visit to Cuba (which was partially funded by the Bermuda Arts Council) to attend the National Ballet School?s international congress, Mrs. Waddell included James and Jelani in the group.

?The level of dance in Cuba is phenomenal because they start training when they are very young,? Jelani says. ?I think they have 4,000 students in the school, and just over half that number are guys, and they are of a very high standard. There were two guys in my class who could easily be professional dancers anywhere in the world.?

The two Bermudians were also very impressed by certain aspects of Cuban dance tuition: a pianist in every class; specialised tuition in physical preparation, including which muscles to use, what constitutes pushing oneself too far, proper positioning for lifting, and more; and dance etiquette and respect for the teachers.

?You learn a lot more in Cuba,? Jelani says.

For two weeks the Bermudians took daily classes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and pas de deux classes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, and every evening from about 5 p.m. they attended theatre performances which sometimes ended as late as 2 a.m.

Observing competitors at the international congress, which included dancers from all over Latin America and elsewhere, also impressed the two Bermudians, who gained a special appreciation for the amount of work their fellow students put in in pursuit of success.

Jelani Veney began dance classes at age three because, he says, his mother wanted him to be a tap dancer.

?But my teacher also influenced me in jazz, modern and ballet,? he says.

Peer pressure caused him to stopped dancing for a while until he decided he liked it too much to quit.

For 12 years Jelani studied modern dance, hip-hop and jazz at Jackson School, and in his last year before graduation from high school began studying ballet to work on his technique at the Bermuda School of Russian Ballet.

Now 20 years old, Jelani, who spent last year in Ryerson University?s dance programme, and who continues to take dance classes at the Bermuda School of Russian Ballet, is currently working in the family business while he decides on his future.

?Whatever I do, I will always dance,? he says. ?I have stuck with it too long to say ?good-bye? now.?

Both young men, who are also close friends, are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming National Dance Foundation summer intensive, for which they have each won scholarships.

Shameiko Ingham was five years old when she first began taking ballet and tap lessons at the Jackson School. Later she added jazz and modern to the list, carrying on until her graduation from high school. Thereafter, she continued her studies at The Ailey School and Fordham University in New York, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance performance before going on to join the second company of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in Ohio.

Returning to the Island ?to give something back?, Shomeiko has spent the past two years at her old alma mater, the Jackson School, teaching pre-ballet, pointe, tap, modern and jazz.

Like many talented young Bermudians, however, the 24-year-old finds performance opportunities limited here, so in August she is returning to New York in search of wider horizons.

?Right now I think there is a lot more growth in me as a performer, and it is hard to try and realise that when you are teaching. There is so much variety in dance and other arts in New York that I feel it is the best place for me at this stage in my life,? Shomeiko says. ?I am excited about going back, even though the city can be overwhelming, but a lot of friends I went to school with are still there.?

While her parents, well-known karate school instructors Kristina and Skipper Ingham, have always been ?very supportive? of her passion for dance, she feels that some day she will ?probably? succumb to their desire for her to become involved in karate.