Rocco Vermijs

Name: Rocco Vermijs
Age: 28
Born: Tilburg, Netherlands
Lived in Scotland: Two years

Rocco Vermijs, 28, came to Scotland in 2007 after successfully auditioning for Scottish Dance Theatre, Scotland's national contemporary dance company, which is part of Dundee Rep Theatre.

Born in Tilburg in the southern Netherlands, he studied at the Rotterdam Dance Academy and Rudra-Béjart, one of the most famous professional dance schools in the world, and performed with acclaimed producers in Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands before coming to the UK.

Rocco had recently completed a three-month dance project in Valencia when he spotted the SDT auditions advertised online.

"That audition felt really good," he remembers. "I felt really connected to the people and really free with who I was and what I was expressing.  It just clicked, and that was the most important thing. It's a repertory company, so we work with different choreographers, which is really challenging. It's also a great bunch of people here - really friendly and helpful."

Rocco was offered an initial one-year contract and then a full-time post with SDT, which was founded in 1986 and aims to create dance that is moving, thought provoking and has resonance in people’s lives.

The company tours throughout the UK and internationally, performing work by SDT's Artistic Director, Janet Smith - one of the most respected and established dance producers in Britain today - and by internationally celebrated and emerging choreographers.

SDT's nine full-time contemporary dancers and two apprentice dancers typically work from 10am - 6pm daily during rehearsal and creation periods.

A 1.5 hour training class in a variety of dance styles in the morning is followed by two 2.5 hour sessions and an hour for lunch. On performance days, an hour long class at 12noon is followed by a technical and dress rehearsal on stage during the afternoon and then a break for something to eat before the evening performance.

Rocco says: "It's a great company to develop yourself and to work with different choreographers. I have been performing a lot, so my performance skills have really developed. There are also opportunities to develop my teaching skills, choreography skills and artistic approach - it's really interesting. I think I'm also learning to work in a very consistent and intelligent way."

And what does he think of Scotland?

"The nature is amazing, stunning," he says. "What I really like at the weekends is just going out to the beach and taking long walks or seeing new places, like St Andrews and Edinburgh. I like the history, the castles and the people I know are incredibly nice."

SDT is funded by the Scottish Arts Council, Dundee City Council, the National Lottery and Scotland and Europe.

The company won the Critics’ Circle Award for Outstanding Company Repertoire (Modern) in 2003, and a Herald Angel Award for performing Liv Lorent’s LUXURIA at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005.

In January 2009 Janet Smith won the 2008 Jane Attenborough Dance UK Industry Award. This honours an individual working in dance who has made an outstanding contribution to the artform.

Related Links

• Solene Weinachter
  
• Scottish Dance Theatre