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Christopher Hampson,
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Here is a link to the previous column in the series.
I arrived early evening and after dumping the now redundant clothes at base camp I ventured into the city to go to the theatre. I saw a mimed production of Milan Kundera's The Book of Laughter and Forgetting performed by displaced people wearing green. I can't keep this up; I went to the ballet of course. Daria Klimentova was performing with the National Ballet of Prague in a new triple bill. It was new for Prague, but very familiar to me. She was starring in Glen Tetley's Sphinx and the rest of the programme consisted of Alvin Ailey's River and finished with Balanchine's Tarantella and Who Cares?. The last time I was in Prague I was teaching at the National Ballet and was not surprised by the fact that moving at speed in class was a new concept for them. Their training is Russian, and with little outside influence from new choreographers, the company hadn't had much opportunity to experience the different techniques of Tetley, Ailey and Balanchine. With the triple bill they were presenting it was a real test to see if they would cope with these alien demands. They not only coped, but after teaching them the following day, it was evident that they'd embraced these new styles. It was like teaching another company. After the performance, that evening, there was a reception held at some gorgeous place and while I was sampling the wine and juggling plates of food, Jonathan arrived, with suitcase. Glen Tetley was there with his notator Bronwyn, both of whom Jonathan and myself have worked with, so that saved a Christmas card. The Balanchine contingent was Nina (whom I'd met last time I was there) and Vicky Simons, who I'd never met, but had heard about from just about everyone I know. We all chatted and drank for hours and then Jonathan and myself remembered we were teaching at nine o'clock the next morning. Vicky gallantly said that she would come and do class the next day. I've made promises like that to people at these drinks things and I only remember them two days later once I'm reminded by somebody sober of what I said/did. Not the case here! Vicky was there at nine o'clock sharp, with pointe shoes on and so the class went from there really… Over the past two years I've met many new friends in Prague and this was no exception. We go back again in the summer. I'm counting the days.
I'll start with the virtual one. Tracy Grant will design the Romeo and Juliet that I'm to create for the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2003. She is based in Auckland, NZ, and so our meetings have been through email. The last batch of pictures she sent me took 30 minutes to download. Well worth the wait! I go to New Zealand at the end of this month to meet up with her and hopefully try this Pinot Noir she keeps emailing me about. The other studio belongs to Gerald Scarffe, designer for ENB's Nutcracker. He's giving Blue Peter a run for their money as far as model making goes. We're at the stage where we sit and do various Nutcrackers' in the model theatre that takes up his work desk. Gerald once remarked to me on a rainy afternoon "…this is no job for two grown men". Well it is at the moment and the ideas are still flowing.
For my part I worked with Stephen Lade (the pianist that played the montage and conducted a portion of the evening) on getting together a montage to show the many roles that Dame Beryl made her own. We used four Royal Ballet dancers and Monica Mason was on hand to help recreate some of the repertoire. Some roles were easier to do than others were. Carnival proved difficult until we managed to get hold of Pauline Wadsworth. She had danced the role while with the Sadlers Wells Ballet (she was also my teacher at the Royal Ballet School when I was eleven). For Dante Sonata we used the skills of Marion Tait from Birmingham Royal Ballet. She was performing in the gala and couldn't get to us until then. This meant that that particular section wasn't put in place until 1pm that day. It illustrates clearly how galas come together i.e. at the very last minute. I really enjoy working on these events, especially with Wayne. It is like having ten premieres in one day. Watching everybody turning up during the course of the day, having their ballets lit during the dress rehearsal, costumes turning at the half hour call, trying to lay hands on tap microphones and radio mikes…the day itself turns into a blur. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and, judging by your postings on the site, so did you. Dame Beryl also gave a wonderful performance that night. Inspiring!
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