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Attitude Salem Foxx: Ballet Boy

ChannelTV One
Date Broadcast Sunday 3 August 2014
Start Time08 : 30
Finish Time09 : 00
Duration30:00
Series2014
Episode18

Salem Foxx is only 13 and has already danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Dance has opened up a new world for Salem, one where he’s in control and his experience with Asperger’s is an advantage.

A inspiring weekly special interest programme for New Zealanders living with disabilities.

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UPLIFTING MUSIC CHORAL MUSIC JAZZ MUSIC (GRUNTS) Sometimes I watch TV a bit like this. Yeah, just flip my legs up behind my head sometimes. Yes, um, I'm so flexible that I get stiff very easily from just sitting around in a chair. DRUM ROLL Hi. I'm Salem Foxx. I'm 14, and I'm very passionate about dance, especially ballet. And I've Asperger's syndrome. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES When I was 3, I was let into dance class, and, yes, been hooked on it ever since. DELICATE PIANO MUSIC One aspect I like about dance as well is almost the technicality of it and the discipline. MUSIC CONTINUES Oh, it's just the feeling of doing it, feeling of going through the moves and... It's just an amazing feeling. PIANO MUSIC ENDS My daily practice can often just be going through some of the exercises I'm going to do for my exam, cos I've got a, um, competition coming up in Auckland in three weeks. Some days you might just feel like going to bed, but` and staying in bed, but I'd like to have a career in, um, ballet as a professional dan` dancer. I'd like to be, say, with a ballet company ` either the Royal NZ Ballet or, say, something overseas or... Especially, I'd eventually love to be a principal dancer. REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC I like being in my bedroom, because it's sort of my` my place, really. It's got all my stuff that I really like ` my, um` all my books. Y-Yes, like... Yes, all my books, all my, um, whatever I like to play with. MUSIC CONTINUES Come and have a look at my mosses. (CHUCKLES) See, you've got a lot here. (CHUCKLES) This is Funaria hygrometrica moss. As you can see, these are its spore capsules. That's actually a succulent, but yet it's growing in damp. Ohhh. SIGHS: Yeah. Salem's life is very busy. He has several classes a week, plus then ev` nearly every day, six days a week, he's practising. (GROANS) (SIGHS) It's a good discipline for him. It's` He` He thrives on it. CURIOUS PIANO MUSIC I find it hard to talk about Asperger's. So many people in the world that just don't understand what it really is. Sometimes they can't exac` Sometimes they can be, um, not, uh... Got it in my head. It just won't come out. (CHUCKLES) I knew Salem was different very early on. Right from the start, he didn't communicate. His communication was hitting and screaming. He didn't really walk for quite a while. Then he would use his fingers a lot. And with a toy car, he'd turn it over, and he'd just play with the wheels and just see the wheels go round. He just wouldn't know what to do. He'd just be mesmerised by the wheels. He started dancing before he was 3, which was a huge help. The discipline really helped him, and being... You know, you had to do certain things, and he really liked that. DELICATE HARPSICHORD MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES I don't tend to tell people that I have Asperger's. It's just often isn't received too warmly by people. CURIOUS HARPSICHORD MUSIC People may think that it's a disorder or something. It can actually have benefits to it. If I didn't have Asperger's, I could've possibly not even had my obsession with ballet. MUSIC CONTINUES SOFTLY: Using the floor to warm up and go. Oh. And two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight. Two and three and four and chaine ` one, two, three, four. Now step to pose. MUSIC ENDS To be a professional dancer of any sort, not just ballet, you have to really have a good mental attitude. You have to have a strong mind so that you'll work hard. Um, I think Salem has got that strong mind. Sometimes it's difficult for him,... simply because he wants to be the best. Port de bras. Forward. Lengthening... the spine... and up.... and down with the arms. (INHALES LOUDLY) Just easily. Da-dum. Dum... da. 'I have often thought that Asperger's does help Salem with his dance 'and his way of looking at dance and especially choreography.' Cos I had this suspicion that he pictured the movements in his head rather than using his body to do the movement beforehand. To demi plie single. Up,... good. Controlling that nicely. Now doubles. To fourth again, and pirouette. Dum! Now, what you did there was dip. Don't dip. You're going down into your hips there. Don't do it. Don't do it. Just... From there, take it out. Da-dum! (SQUEALS) (SQUEALS) And neck straight up. I tend to take things in black and white, but many people seem to` seem to, um, speak and explain things more in the greys, and I generally don't understand what they have, and often I have to get Mum to translate them. Like 'square up your shoulders' and stuff. What does that mean? (LAUGHS) Obviously, all that meant was simply, um, instead of having your shoulders, like, off an angle or something, have 'em square. Why don't they just simply say, 'Make sure your body or shoulders are facing directly to the front'? (CHUCKLES) Very simple. DRUM ROLL JAUNTY MUSIC Ooh! > Ooh! > Did you hurt your foot? > Yeah, um... Yeah, um... Yep. > Maybe too much resistance in my feet. Maybe too much resistance in my feet. Right. OK, well, just shake it. > Getting a little bit frustrated, because I wasn't plie-ing very well. I've rearranged some of the steps to, um... to suit me be-better. It's, um... It's` It's a very neat choreog` Oh. (SIGHS) (SIGHS) (CHUCKLES) > (SIGHS) (CHUCKLES) > Mm-hm. That's all right. > It's... It's... No, that was good. > It's OK. Just breathe. > It's OK. Just breathe. > Yeah, I know. I can do the dancing and not the talking. Well, that wasn't too bad. Shall we do it now with doubles? > OK. OK. Do you feel up to doubles? OK. Do you feel up to doubles? Hmm. I'll give it a go. I can get disappointed in myself. A lot of dancers are perfectionists, and we really get so caught up in the technique and what we've done wrong that we don't really focus on what's... what's, um` what we've` how well and what things have gone right. One, two, three. OK. Now, that was three and a swizzle. So we'll stick to three. One, two` Now you're pushing yourself over that way. Bum-ba! That was better. See, you've got around twice, because you used less... ferociousness. 'So sometimes he does get very annoyed with himself when he can't do the steps. 'But what he forgets is he's, what, 14 now.' He's still a very... young person. There's no way his body could do the steps as brilliantly as he wants to ` yet. He's got all that possibility, but it will come gradually over the years. Got plenty of time. > Up, up, good. > That was beautiful. > Down. And up. That was the best one yet. LIVELY PIANO MUSIC PLAYS (LAUGHS) Down, up, up, down! > BIRDS TWITTER GATE RATTLES BIRD SCREECHES Chookie, bup-bup-ba! Chookie, bup-bup-ba! Come on! Silly girls. Come on. You guys are weeeird. Hey, Tygie. Tygie's a good little girl. That's all right. It's all right, Tygie. I really love my chickens. They're just s` They're such lovely cre` creatures, especially when you manage to tame them. And they're v` almost more tame than cats, actually. (LAUGHS) Come on. A lot of autistic and Asperger's children don't have empathy. But being around animals have been a big thing in his life. He's always been around cats. We used to have bunnies and guinea pigs, but they would all, sort of, die off with old age. (LAUGHS) I really like gardening. This garden's... I started it a few years ago, and as you can see, um, there've been plenty of times that I haven't weeded it properly. (GIGGLES) Oh, all these weeds. A lot to do, isn't there? > A lot to do, isn't there? > Yeah. (HUFFS) I just... I really hate... hate sun` sunlight, bright sunlight and, um, all of that, because... especially with Asperger's syndrome, generally, we have a sensitivity to the heat and the brightness. Cos it's so glary for me, especially if I go out here. You get all of this glare. It's v` It's very unpleasant and hot, and it's like... (SIGHS) (GRUNTS SOFTLY) I have had a few people that have been unkind to me. Yes, uh, I... Like, I used to be called, um, 'retard' and all of that. He did get bullied because he was different. He had a real thing about germs, and if people put his pencils in their mouths and stuff like that, he'd just go off his nut. You know, he couldn't cope. He couldn't cope with that at all. Often the teachers wouldn't even listen to` listen to, um, what I had to say. I'd often try to take matters into my own hands, and then the bullies would tell on me, and I'd be taken as a bully. (CHUCKLES) Yeah, so I was... I was` I was probably the most punished person in my entire class. REFLECTIVE PIANO MUSIC Now, this is my favourite botany book. This is almost what I've called my botanical ga` my botanical bible. This is really what started my full interest in, um, scientific botany. Let me see. Yes, this is` this was` this was printed around about 19` 1925` 3, I think, and, yes, it's got, sort of, diagrams in it. One thing I love about homeschooling is the fact you can, sort of, study other subjects. It comes under unschooling, and you` it's, um... you just go with what,... you know, the child is interested in, and... and you just really go with it. There are a whole bunch of mosses arou` Yeah, I've got these mosses around here. I actually get these` These are pretty neat, cos this moss actually looks like a fan. This is a humongous moss. You don't find mosses this big that often. Mosses are actually more related to the general land plan` plants like trees, and, um, you have angiosperms and gymnosperms. Yeah. I really like delving into... deeply into something, you know? It's just like... Scratching the surface isn't enough for me. If I've got the books in front of me and everything, I'll be, like, 'Oh, look through that; look through that,' and, um, yeah, it's... You get really interested and fascinated, and before you know, you can really, um, you get so engrossed in it that you actually have to be cooled out. (CHUCKLES) JAZZ MUSIC He makes his own breakfast. He makes his own sandwiches. He's learning to fill his lunch box with as much food as possible, cos he does need to eat a lot. He's travelling to his classes by himself now, which is great. It gives him some independence and makes him feel a bit more grown up. You've got something warm for tonight? You've got something warm for tonight? Yes. Two things, in fact. All right. I will see you later. Mwah! See you, Ma. (LAUGHS) See you, Ma. (LAUGHS) Off you go. See you, Ma. (LAUGHS) Off you go. Yup. DRUM ROLL Having a child with Asperger's, you sort of get into all these routines where they're comfortable. But I didn't really think... That's not how you really live in the world. And also, being a dancer, in his career, he's going to have to travel. He's always gonna be in new situations. And, of course, if he was just in his little safe environment, he couldn't do that. He needs to be challenged. And meeting new people, um, being in different situations is a challenge for him. But he's sl` As he matures, he's coping with it better. I've been going up to Waikanae and all of that a lot more often, so that's been a big thing for, um, like, confidence. Yeah, Mum can sometimes help me not get stressed in situations when I'm alone, like, um... like, yes, when I started, um, travelling out to Waikanae by myself, my, um... my mum` mum would often write instructions just in case, say, something didn't go to plan or something. I'm not exactly very good at, um, sometimes, you know, improvisation. What if I miss the bus or something when I'm by myself? What do I do if it's like, you know, another bus would take a long time? (WHIMPERS SOFTLY) I can't. Salem tends to have what we call meltdowns. It's when he can't cope with something and things aren't going quite right for him. (SOBS SOFTLY) (PANTS) (WHIMPERS) Ma? Train's late. Ma, what? I'll be late for my lesson. I won't be able to get bus in time, Mum. Yeah. OK, Ma. Sure it will be all right? It doesn't seem like it. Oh God. Oh God, oh God. Oh` OK? Yeah, OK. TENSE PIANO MUSIC TRAIN HISSES PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES # DOORS BEEP TRAIN BUZZES PIANO MUSIC ENDS Even line. We've got` We've got the boards here. Even. Remember? Um, your left hand on your hip and your right arm out, and you're looking down. And... swish up. Swish up. 'I've been actually teaching a grade one class.' Then swish and jump. 'It's really fun doing the exercises with them, often making up warm-ups for them. And I really enjoy it, especially some days where you decide to put in a funny warm-up. Because often, especially with little kids, ballet warm-ups don't have to be all about the technical ballet. Sometimes, they can just be a bit of fun, really. Then... turn round. He speaks at an adult level, but he is also able to explain things... simple ` very simple ` and he also gives examples of what not to do, which is... the kids love. One thing you've got to remember in ballet ` some people say, um, you know, things like jazz and acrobatics are, you know, lyrical and more flowing, and ballet's stiff. It's not. You may, say, look controlled, but you're actually still... You're, um... You're fluid, and you're relaxed. (EXHALES) You're not` You're not, like, stiff ` positions, positions. You're more positions. So, yes. Releves. Releves. DELICATE PIANO MUSIC PLAYS Just about to head up to Auckland for the annual, um, British Theatre Dance Association Festival. We're just looking at tidying up a few little things, so just our placement of our feet at the front and the back. So just tiny little tweaks. Just back a little bit. Um, what do you mean? As in`? Um, what do you mean? As in`? There. You were forward. Yeah. Saying... I was going to say as in, 'Is my foot going back, 'or do you want me to go back?' 'or do you want me to go back?' I want your toe back more. 'or do you want me to go back?' I want your toe back more. Yeah. You're just coming forward` It's coming here, and you want it back just a wee bit. No, no. Come here. Here, here. Here, here. Mm? No, no. Yeah. Just take it out back there. That's... Yup. GENTLE MUSIC PLAYS Well, he's obviously very dedicated to what he wants to do, which actually makes my job really easy. So if you ask him to do something, he immediately tries to... make it perfect first time. So that's why he's really hard on himself. MUSIC CONTINUES PLAYING CURIOUS PIANO MUSIC # I really love swimming. I come here every week. Sometimes when you're just swimming heaps and heaps, you really just forget what's happening at` around outside. GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PIANO MUSIC ENDS Ooh, it's heavy. (GIGGLES) Costumes are very important. It's part of the dance. A lot of the costumes that he had before, I'd made them to fit him. And, of course, he'd had such growth` big growth spurts that even the allowances I'd left to be able to let out, there was no way. (LAUGHS) So it's, yeah, constant sewing, constant repairing. These were normal boots which I had made into... dancing boots. Um, it was going to cost us... well over $600 for a pair of... character boots for Salem. So I thought, um, 'No, I can't afford that.' It's incredibly expensive. Luckily, we've had scholarship from Variety ` the Children's Charity, and Salem has just got it for the third year. Um, without it, I don't know what we'd have done. Salem's blog, it's Ballet Boy NZ. We have got an amazing amount of readers. Um, it's also the... The London, um, Boys Ballet School has put it on their resource list as a blog for the boys to read as,... yeah, a` a ballet boy's journey, eh? Yeah. PLAYFUL PIANO MUSIC Yeah, I'm really excited about the idea of going up to Auckland, because it's just... it'll be such an amazing experience. In some ways, you want to see new people, and you, um... you want to dance in new theatres and everything, so every theatre is different to dance in. < CHILD CHATTERS PLAYFUL MUSIC # MUSIC ENDS OK, now, on to it. OK, now, on to it. On to it. OK. Here we go. 'He was going to go to Auckland by himself with the performance troupe, but the pressure's got to him, 'for a lot of reasons, so he did ask me the other day... if I would go up.' 'What made me ask my mum to come along with me to Auckland was 'there are many things that could've happened while I was away.' Mm-hm. What if I couldn't put on one of my costumes? What if I'd forgotten something or something like that? And I could really get myself worried and stuff, and that could really affect my performance on stage. Oh, well, just manage your best. FUNKY JAZZ MUSIC BELL CHIMES JAZZ MUSIC CONTINUES CIRCUS MUSIC PLAYS AUDIENCE CHEERS, APPLAUDS The talent in the kids shows me what they're capable of doing. Each child has a report written for them. I have a writer sitting beside me, and they write a report detailing down some of the things I see that, uh, gives them some inspiration and maybe some, um, critical things that they need to pay attention to as well. JAZZ MUSIC I think boys are finding it maybe a little easier these days than I did in my childhood. Uh, but still, they're faced with those same things. There are the bullies at school that see them as being something that's way different from the norm. They're not playing rugby; uh, they` they're not racing cars. They're spending time in the studio. The boys will tease them about being a bit feminine. I know that I got that. But there's always a quick whip back ` the fact you're spending all this fantastic time with girls. Meanwhile, they're playing rugby in the mud with the blokes. JAZZ MUSIC CONTINUES MUSIC ENDS AUDIENCE APPLAUDS > One big problem with competitions is there's so much waiting around. It's just, like... It's just, like, um, you` you do a dance, and there's this humongous long wait before you actually do your next dance. PENSIVE MUSIC TENSE PIANO MUSIC GRAND ORCHESTRAL MUSIC MUSIC CRESCENDOES FLOWING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC I think it would be getting him ready to go overseas, cos he will have to go over by himself. And new people to perform to, which he loves. He's a performer. He loves to perform. ORCHESTRAL MUSIC CONTINUES He's got a lot of talent there, a lot of potential to do really really well and maybe move that towards a career, if that's what he chooses to do. GRAND MUSIC There's so much satisfaction when you do your dance really well, and then you suddenly get a whole bunch of applause from the audience. It's almost enough to make up for all of the effort you've been doing for the dancing. AUDIENCE CHEERS, APPLAUDS GENTLE PIANO MUSIC APPLAUSE FADES Captions by Glenna Casalme. www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2014

Attitude Salem Foxx: Ballet Boy

Salem Foxx is only 13 and has already danced with the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Dance has opened up a new world for Salem, one where he’s in control and his experience with Asperger’s is an advantage.

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