Andrew Davidson

University of Surrey, Guildford School of Acting, Faculty Member

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Andrew Davidson is an Australian theatre practitioner, musician, and award-winning teacher. He is Senior Lecturer in Acting & Musical Theatre at Guildford School of Acting (GSA), University of Surrey, where he specialises in performer training. His work spans actor training, music education, and embodied learning, contributing to 14 of GSA’s 17 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Andrew is recognised for innovative teaching and curriculum development, including his role as Programme Leader of the online BA (Hons) Theatre degree.

A graduate of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Andrew directs plays, operas, musicals, and cabaret. He is the former Head of the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art, the theatre department of the Australian Institute of Music (AIM). A trained composer, with a degree from The University of Sydney, Andrew has written music for drama, musical theatre, and dance. He is also a qualified teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and Kodály Musicianship. As a freelance musician, he plays piano for ballet and contemporary dance.

Andrew's work is recognised internationally, with invitations to lead workshops and present at conferences in Australia, Europe, the USA, and the UK. His research focuses on the intersecting worlds of theatre, music, and movement in the training of performers, and the nature of wellbeing in the performing arts as a profession. He has published extensively in recent years and is completing Surrey’s PhD by Prior Publication.

His external leadership roles include Vice-President of the Fédération Internationale des Enseignants de Rythmique (FIER) and serving on the editorial board for Le Rythme, the international journal for music and movement. He is also the External Examiner for arts partnership institutions of Staffordshire University, including Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts, where he contributes to curriculum design and sector benchmarking on the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre programme.

Andrew is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and the Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence (PAI) at Surrey.

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From Hellerau to Here: Tracing the Lineage and Influence of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the Family Tree of Theatre Pedagogy

Arts, 2023

Actor training in Western culture evolved as an oral tradition. Formal education appeared in the ... more Actor training in Western culture evolved as an oral tradition. Formal education appeared in the late-nineteenth century with the work of Konstantin Stanislavski. Despite its relatively brief history, the family tree of theatre pedagogy now consists of many contrasting branches. Several branches contain the creative and educational DNA of an approach to Western music education known as Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Emile Jaques-Dalcroze was a Swiss pianist and composer whose work at the Hellerau Institute near Dresden in Germany had a significant impact on the Modernist movements in theatre and dance, 1911-1914. Historical records show that this embodied method of music learning was disseminated by Hellerau graduates in drama schools and theatre companies around the world. This essay traces four branches on the family tree of theatre pedagogy that are directly influenced by Dalcroze Eurhythmics. These branches include the legacies of Stanislavski in Russia; Jacques Copeau and Suzanne Bing in France; Rudolph Laban and Yat Malmgren in Germany and England; and Sanford Meisner and Anne Bogart in the United States of America. This essay is written from the author's perspective as an actor trainer and music educator in a higher education conservatoire. It offers historical contexts for contemporary pedagogies in actor training.

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Konstantin Stanislavski and Emile Jaques-Dalcroze: historical and pedagogical connections between actor training and music education

Stanislavski Studies, 2021

This paper explores the fields of actor training and music education in order to illuminate the h... more This paper explores the fields of actor training and music education in order to illuminate the historical and pedagogical connections between the work of Konstantin Stanislavski and Emile Jaques- Dalcroze. It identifies historical parallels between their artistic prac- tices, including their dedication to rhythm and polyrhythm. It illus- trates the ways in which their pedagogical paths crossed. It analyses the artistic lineage that can be drawn from the work of Jaques- Dalcroze at the Hellerau Institute to the work of Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre. This includes the influence of Dalcroze Eurhythmics on the development of Tempo-Rhythm. The paper considers how aspects of Stanislavskian actor training are reflected in aspects of Dalcrozian music education, including ensemble work, intention and emotion, and the evolution of psychophysical perfor- mance. It proposes that there is a correlation between the creative process undertaken by an actor on a play text, known as Active Analysis, and the creative process undertaken by a musician on a compositional score, known as Plastique Animée. Comparing the pedagogical principles of Stanislavski and Jaques-Dalcroze from the author’s own perspective as an actor trainer and music educator reveals areas for further research. This paper presents themes that are transferable to artists and educators engaged in continuing professional development.

format_quoteStanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko founded the Moscow Art Theatre to improve acting rigor, rejecting the star system for collective creativity.format_quote

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Identifying Eurhythmics in Actor Training: The Viewpoints of Time & Space

Le Rythme, 2021

The influence of eurhythmics on Actor Training can be viewed as an elaborate and variegated famil... more The influence of eurhythmics on Actor Training can be viewed as an elaborate and variegated family tree. In this article, I focus on a single branch of that tree. I identify and describe the artistic and pedagogical DNA of eurhythmics within Viewpoints: an approach to Actor Training developed by Anne Bogart in the USA over the past four decades. I begin with a brief outline of the historical and philosophical contexts for eurhythmics and Viewpoints. I illustrate the parallels and intersections between eurhythmics and Viewpoints as I have experienced them as an acting teacher at university and conservatory drama schools. I describe the Viewpoints of Time and Space in practice, and provide examples of complements to be found in eurhythmics. The article offers insight into my perception of a Dalcroze identity within Viewpoints Training that is transferable to eurhythmics teachers engaged in continuing professional development.

format_quoteStudy of Duration challenges actors to explore unpredictable patterns of time, enhancing creativity and spontaneity in performance.format_quote

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The listening actor: intersections between the musicality of Meisner Technique and ear training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics

Theatre, Dance, and Performance Training, 2023

Discussion on the role of listening in actor training is limited. Compared with studies on ear tr... more Discussion on the role of listening in actor training is limited. Compared with studies on ear training for conservatoire music students, there is a gap in the literature regarding the ways in which student actors acquire and improve listening skills. This paper investigates the musicality inherent in Meisner Technique, an approach to actor training, and points to intersections with ear training in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to music education. It analyses the common ground between these pedagogical practices, drawing on sources from a variety of domains in which listening is foregrounded. It asserts that Meisner Technique and Dalcroze Eurhythmics promote similar forms of responsive, interpretative, and collaborative listening skills. This paper is written from the author's interdisciplinary perspective as a teacher of acting and music at a university conservatoire. It offers insight into practical training through a personal, philosophical lens. Its themes are transferable to actor trainers and music educators engaged in continuing professional development.

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'The cycle of creativity': a case study of the working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class

Research in Dance Education, 2023

Research on the role of the ballet pianist is limited. A gap in the literature concerns the ways ... more Research on the role of the ballet pianist is limited. A gap in the literature concerns the ways in which dance instructors and accompanists 'make sense' of their collaboration. The working relationship between a dance teacher and a dance musician in a ballet class was investigated. The researcher, a ballet pianist, conducted a semistructured, in-depth interview with a ballet-teacher colleague who is also a musician and composer. The data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a methodology which takes into account the interpretations of the participant (dance teacher) and the researcher (dance musician). This single case study presents three higher-order themes: 'the cycle of creativity' between the teacher, musician, and students; 'a tonic sense in the body' facilitated by the musician's playing; and 'the ideal situation' regarding the musician's sensory awareness during the class. It also reveals two subordinate themes that challenge effective relationships: the students' perceived response to percussion; and the teacher's use of recorded music. The results offer insight into specific perceptions and understandings that are transferable to dance teachers and dance musicians engaged in continuing professional development.

format_quoteThe three higher-order themes identified are 'the cycle of creativity', 'a tonic sense in the body', and 'the ideal situation' for musical accompaniment in ballet.format_quote

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Identity, Relationships, and Function in Higher Music Education: Applying an Analogy from Ear Training to Student Wellbeing

International Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing, 2024

This study theorises implicit support for student wellbeing in a contemporary higher education mu... more This study theorises implicit support for student wellbeing in a contemporary higher education music curriculum. Written from the perspective of a practitioner, specifically a music lecturer and teacher trainer, it synthesises themes common to music education and social science using analogy as a methodological tool. The paper begins with solfege systems for musical ear training and focuses on three distinct learning objectives: 1) perceiving the identity of a note, 2) understanding the relationships between notes, and 3) determining the function of a note. It then pivots toward recent research on the sociology and psychology of student experience, highlighting three wellbeing objectives analogous to the musical ones: 1) nurturing the student's sense of self (i.e., identity), 2) facilitating the student's sense of connection (i.e., relationships), and 3) unearthing the student's sense of purpose (i.e., function). The paper concludes by discussing real-world implications and offers practical prompts to help music lecturers view their students through a wellbeing lens.

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Resilience and Wellbeing in Actor Training

Be the Change: Learning & Teaching for the Creative Industries, 2021

Across the conservatoire sector, resilience and wellbeing have come into sharp focus during the g... more Across the conservatoire sector, resilience and wellbeing have come into sharp focus during the global pandemic. Until recently, research has paid only limited attention to the field of actor training in this regard. This chapter presents Andrew Davidson, director, musician, teacher, and Wellbeing Champion for Guildford School of Acting (GSA) in conversation with Associate Professor Ian Maxwell, lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney, and co-author of the Australian Actors' Wellbeing Study; and Dr Parvinder Shergill, award-winning doctor in mental health for the National Health Service (NHS), writer, actor, and filmmaker. The conversation considers current challenges for acting students and teachers, and the lived experiences of graduates and professionals in the industry. Two viewpoints emerge from the discussion: an individual perspective on the development of self during actor training; and an industrial perspective on the transition into and through the acting profession. The individual perspective gives a snapshot of wellbeing in actor training and offers a creative vision of resilience. The industrial perspective takes an anthropological and phenomenological view of the acting profession and recommends radical cultural change.

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