© Ballet Central Central School of Ballet students are keeping a diary of their final year for us - the year when they actually go out on a tour all around the UK. But that's in the future and this month we have more introductions and getting to know you's. Next diary Previous diary Back in 2000 we also tracked 4 Ballet Central students on their UK tour: Year 2000 Student Diary Ballet Central website

Stephanie Elstob...

New Years Resolutions!

So here it is, the year 2003; also known as the year in which I will graduate from CSB and go out into the ‘real world’ on my own! A very daunting and scary prospect… which I will write more about at a later date!!!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year, and I hope that you’re managing to stick to any resolutions you have made! I really enjoyed my time at home and have to say that Santa was very good to me! The holiday seems like so long ago now, January has gone so quickly and has been quite a full month. Although we were technically on holiday, I didn’t completely take a break from dancing. During the first week at home, I travelled to Yorkshire to visit my coach – Niall McMahon – to take class with him for 3 days. On the 29th December I was fortunate enough to be allowed to take class with Northern Ballet Theatre on the stage at The Grande Theatre Leeds on the last day of their ‘Beauty and the Beast’ season. It was a really enjoyable class and I am very much looking forward to my audition for the company in February, although, of course I’m still very nervous!

I returned to London on January 2nd and took classes at Pineapple and Danceworks, trying to get myself prepared for our return to college on the 6th. I came back quite anxious but extremely motivated, knowing that this is the last full term in school before officially becoming one of twenty five dancers who will make up the 2003 Ballet Central Company!

January has been a month which has been quite full of auditions. Among the auditions this month have been NDT2, Zurich and Boston Ballet, however, I think my biggest adventure this month was a trip to Gothenburg and the very stunning GöteborgsOperan. Five of us flew to Sweden on Friday 17th ready for the auditions the following day. The Opera House itself was amazing, the architecture is very modern and overlooks a harbour. To be in such a beautiful and huge theatre was quiet an experience even before class had begun.

The audition was an open audition and so as you can imagine, the stage door was quite packed with people trying to register! We were split into three classes and I was in the first, bearing one of about 60 in the studio! A panel of eight observed the class, made up of Kevin Irving, the artistic director, his assistant director, the ballet master and mistress and four company dancers – one of whom apparently trained at CSB! (small world!) It was a very good class which I enjoyed very much and I stood at the front as much as possible!!! Following our class they put up a list of dancers recalled for later in the day and only 3 of the ladies and 4 or 5 men were listed! None of us who travelled from CSB got recalled for rep, however, we were all happy with ourselves and felt that we had done ourselves justice in class – not feeling week or bad in comparison to the other dancers, some of whom were professional. So the search for a contract continues!!! We did spend the whole of Sunday in Gothenburg which was fantastic, it really is a beautiful city and I’d love to go back there some day!

On return to college and after a little mission to get back into Central London n the Stanstead Express’ replacement bus, we were back into rehearsal for a ‘Behind the Scenes’ night which took place last Wednesday evening. These nights are always very fun, in which we allow a small audience into the school to watch a small in-house performance made up of class work in all styles and some of our Ballet Central pieces. The most daunting part of these evenings is having to speak during the performance! For the last few events I have spoken to the audience about pointe shoes and this time I did the same, only my speech was lengthened slightly so I had more to remember! I find it really amazing how dancers can remember movements so easily and perform and execute them so fluently, however, when it comes to doing the same with words…! Lets just say it takes a lot more concentration! So much so that three of us were walking around the changing room prior to the event breaking into parts of our speeches out loud! You’ll be relieved to hear that all did run smoothly on the night… and the dancing went well too!

Well, I think I’m going to have to put down my pen for this month and replace it with a pair of pointe shoes – ready for more rehearsals! I hope you have a lovely month and keep focussed on those resolutions!!! xxx

Steph

Edward Gottschall

Hey everyone! Did you all have a fab Christmas and New Year?

The good news to tell you all is that I passed my RAD Advanced 2 with distinction before Christmas. I am now onto Solo Seal!

The month has been rather hectic in that we were thrown straight back into rehearsals almost immediately. We also had a sponsorship event which proved a very difficult week for everyone concerned but it was well worth it as the feedback we got was very good.

We are now looking at trying to audition for as many companies as possible before we start touring in April and I hope to audition for both the Royal Danish and Northern Ballet Theatre in the month of February. Wish me luck!

Edward

Amy Grubb...

Ah… a new year is here and what a year it looks set to be. We are now in the year of the tour, of our graduation from Central and it is going to be a time of great change for us all as we make the transition from student to professional…. Arghhh! It has all come around so quickly!

At college we are now back into the full timetable of classes and rehearsals after a three week period of rest over Christmas which was a very welcome break after such a hectic autumn term! I was at home in Leeds for my holidays where it was great to be with family and away from the constant hustle and bustle of London. I had a fantastic Christmas and New Year and I hope you all did too!

It wasn’t all rest and over-indulging though as I was fortunate enough to be able to take class with Northern Ballet Theatre, four times in all. They were performing and rehearsing at the Grand Theatre in Leeds, with their new production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, which was so convenient for me and I made the most of the opportunity.

It was great to see everyone at NBT again too after working with them and also in performance where they once again demonstrated their versatility in a more classical ballet.

While I was working with the company in ‘A Christmas Carol’, I often watched the rehearsals for ‘Beauty and the Beast’ where I saw the development of the piece. Finally I was able to see the final product with costume, lights and set and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Being backstage at the Grand was especially nostalgic for me as this was the theatre where I was a RBS JA from the age of 8 to 11. All those years ago when I was skipping around in my little pink satin shoes in the studios downstairs, I always longed to dance on the stage and here I was 11 years later dancing on that very stage! Okay, I wasn’t performing but hey, I was still up there! I have to say that I wasn’t to keen on the rake though!

At the age of 8 I never would have guessed that I’d be where I am now, about to embark on my professional career which is so close now. I am now in my last two terms of full-time training after seven long years and it is fascinating to think where I will be in the next eleven years!

Right now though I am focussing on the present and near future and the work that has to be done in preparation for Ballet Central and auditions which are coming up (of which there are a great deal). On Sundays I have also been rehearsing for a charity gala to be held at the London Palladium on 9th February where I am dancing two short pas de deuxs with Michael Warren, a friend from Central. Even though the Palladium is not a theatre normally associated with ballet, I am really looking forward to performing there and I’ll tell you how it went in my next diary entry!

Well that is all that I have to say at the moment as it has been a relatively calm period, but once things pick up again, there will be many tails to tell! Hope to see you next month! Bye for now.

Amy

Morgann Runacre-Temple...

Hi, Happy New Year!! Well, as you might imagine, a lot has happened since my last entry in November 2002. On December 3rd 2002, the Phillip Lawrence Awards took place for which I choreographed the opening ceremony dance. After many hours rehearsing in the Bloomsbury Theatre, working with the live band and set, the dancers really began to feel comfortable with the shape of the piece and the process of using the whole theatre as a performance space. I found it very exciting watching it all come together and was extremely pleased with the performance. Afterwards I met Trevor McDonald and many other interesting people. However, no sooner had I left the after ceremony buffet, than I had to rush back to school in time for the final dress runs of the Tate Ballet Central programme!

The performance at the Tate Modern on December 4th was another fantastic experience. The stage was set in front of the enormous ‘Amoush Rapoor’ sculpture, this vast architectural creation made us look and feel like tiny ants!

The Turbine Hall is definitely the most bizarre setting which I have ever danced in and possibly the most awkward. Because of the enormity of it, when on stage it was impossible to make out any bearings at all. The front, back and side became black voids and when you looked up you could just about make out a huge ceiling which was very, very far away. Needless to say we all had problems finding our balance and direction – I can only compare the feeling to perhaps dancing on a stage extremely high up and suffering from slight vertigo.

Despite all this, the Tate was an incredibly inspiring environment to dance and watch dancers in; once I was out there and had relaxed a bit, I enjoyed the performance. I felt that my piece ‘The Interview’ went well and that the dancers performed the characters far more than when in a studio. There were a few technical and dramatic details which needed to be smoothed over but on the whole I greatly enjoyed watching it with the lights, costumes and staging.

Comparing the 2 choreographic experiences (as they were so close) when I was watching the Phillip Lawrence Awards I felt it was more of a finished product and the movement was in the dancers’ bodies more than ‘The Interview’ was. This is to be expected though, as it had been in rehearsal for longer and the dancers in ‘The Interview’ had to not just familiarise themselves with the steps, but also with characters and emotions.

Since December many of us have been along to some open auditions for various companies. Most recently I travelled with 4 friends to Sweden to audition for the Gothenburg Ballet. There must have been around 150 male and female dancers there, all auditioning for a rumoured three contracts! As you can imagine, the class was pretty packed and its really important to try and get yourself seen. They kept back around 6 girls in the end – and as always one tries to see a common denominator in them as dancers i.e. tall? Short? Lyrical? Dynamic? Of course the point is that its almost impossible to speculate and as everyone always says, you just never know and its best to keep trying. However, it was a really fun class and I learnt a lot from dancing in a totally different country with a lot of differently trained dancers. Gothenburg is great too!

Our most recent performance was a ‘Behind the Scenes’ evening at Central School of Ballet. We performed a shortened version of the Tate programme. I felt that my piece, ‘The Interview’ had developed quite a bit since the last performance and I can see the dancers getting used to the characters and beginning to find moments of humour and drama they can bring out even more.

Well, I guess that’s it from me this month, but I’ll be writing again soon with more news!

Morgann