A great welcome to David Johnson who is carrying on last years tradition of writing a diary for us about the Ballet Central tour... Tour details Last years diary Central School page

My name is David Johnson and I am a member of Ballet Central 2001. I'm in my third and final year at Central School of Ballet from which Ballet Central is formed. I am 18 years old and am originally from South Shields, a small town near Newcastle.

I'm writing this diary to give you a little taste of life on a tour and a feeling of all the hard work that goes on to make each performance a success (which I hope it is). I am writing this just after our first night in Ilford. The sold out performance went very well and it is a culmination of two terms work in school where we have rehearsed our way through each of the nine pieces now in the show.

David Johnson and Hannah Bateman in A la Fresca

Last week we had an in house performance and it went well although we were all surprised at how different it felt to be in a theatre at last. There were a fair few panics on the day of the first performance, various people were ill and there were the usual emergency cast changes which added a lot of stress to those of us who were already dancing in a lot of pieces. Still, before the half hour call we were all made up and costumed and very excited at the prospect of the first of some thirty or more performances of the show. I was in the first piece so going down on the stage I could hear the audience chatting in front of the curtain.... aaaaarrgh! I was really pleased by how much I enjoyed myself and felt that I danced quite well. As the tour continues, I hope to be able to report of my progress both technically and on stage in performance.

Anyway, I should be going now that I have given you this initial introduction. I hope that you will be able to continue reading my Diary, I am off to Norwich next week so after a few more venues under my belt I shall let you know how its going!

Bye for now

{and within 3 days the following arrived. Ed}

Hi again!

Since I last wrote to you I have enjoyed two trips away and two day trips with Ballet Central. Our first 'overnighter' was very exciting and we were extremely spoilt in Norwich with a beautiful hotel - between our performances we swam, had saunas and enjoyed copious amounts of breakfast, lunch and dinner - life is such a drag!!!

I danced two new roles in Norwich and enjoyed both even though I had to completely improvise for the first time in my life on stage. For all this scared me I learnt that life will really be like that in a ballet company and Ballet Central is teaching me important lessons like that.

Our next port of call was Boston which provided two sprained ankles in the company and two practically full auditoriums! Our first opportunity to sign autographs was especially exciting if a little surprising!

We are now getting much slicker both in performances and the loading and unloading of the van. As part of the 'Ballet Central experience' we all help in setting up the theatre by splitting up into lighting, sound, stage and wardrobe teams. At present I am in wardrobe under the reign of our fantastic wardrobe mistress Jackie Risman. My jobs include unloading the costume rails, ironing and steaming costumes and setting costumes for the show in which I am then dancing myself. At first all of this took a very long time but by our latest show in Abergavenny we were completing our whole get in within an hour and a half.

I am going to the Isle of Wight next week and then to Whitley Bay and Hexham which is very near where I live. Next time I write I will let you know how those performances went.

Speak to you all soon...

David