Ballet Central Diary

Christie Duncan. Photo: Bill Cooper. Click on image to enlarge.

Christie Duncan’s March Diary

Hi everyone,
So sorry I haven’t written in such a long time. I have been busy up in Leeds working with Northern Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet for Swan Lake again for the past 3 weeks and much of my time has been spent at the Grand Theatre, which I will go into in more detail shortly.

Since my last entry in January I spent 2 weeks working on pieces for Ballet Central back at school. It was strange but also quite comforting being in this environment again, following a month of rehearsals with NBT – it was nice to be surrounded by my friends and peers once more. I found this reassuring as I was in the same position as everyone around me, all of us auditioning for a jobs and everyone having the same fears of what will happen once we graduate as well as our excitement and anticipation for the Ballet Central tour.

Despite feeling more at home with the familiar surroundings and security of being at school I found these couple of weeks some of the toughest of the school years so far. I put myself under too much pressure as I tried to learn all that I could of the Ballet Central programme, as well as keeping on top of what I had learnt at NBT. I felt that time was running out and that I wouldn’t be ready for the tour! However the two weeks back at Central were busy ones and I managed to learn sections from 4 of the pieces as I began to catch up on what I had missed.

Just as I’d started to get to grips with Ballet Central, January was drawing to a close and the new month brought about my return to NBT. The hectic month of January was not over yet though, as I also had to think about auditions and getting a job. Finding the time to fit them in is proving hard enough - let alone travelling to and organising them!

I did manage to get the ball rolling though and on January 31st I had my very first professional audition. It was for Norwegian National Ballet, which meant me taking a plane to Oslo. I’ve never been to Scandinavia before or to a place where there’s so much snow, and I felt a mixture of nerves and excitement.

As it was my first audition I wasn’t really sure what to expect which made me slightly anxious, especially as I entered the studio to find so many people! I soon relaxed as I saw that a surprising number of faces were familiar ones. I saw people from such places as summer schools, the Genée competition and even White Lodge. It’s amazing what a small world the dance world is!

There were roughly 130 girls and only 20 boys! Despite the large numbers of hopeful dancers, desperately seeking the panel’s attention I made sure I made my way to the front of the studio to begin each exercise; there’s no point travelling all that way only to hide at the back of the room! Although I wasn’t called back at the audition, I really enjoyed it, and it has made me less afraid to go to auditions in the future.

Once back in England, I then travelled back up to Leeds to continue rehearsals with NBT. Just a couple of days before I was due to go to Leeds I learnt that one dancer was injured and I was to learn her place. I was glad of this opportunity to prove that I could change places and learn new steps quickly, but was also concerned that I wasn’t as sure of what I was doing as I should have been. As I had watched and learned the patterns of the corps de ballet I was able to work out where I had to go and where I was in relation to the other dancers. This made rehearsals easier and found that I picked up the new place and steps quicker than I thought I would! I was also grateful that I’d paid close attention to the patterns and placing of the corps de ballet as a whole, a skill that my experience with NBT has taught me.

Transferring what we had been rehearsing in the studio to the stage was daunting at first, as suddenly there were lights, costumes and a raked stage to contend with! During the first few technical rehearsals my fingers felt tingly and my stomach wobbly. Suddenly I couldn’t control what my arms and legs were doing and I didn’t seem to know where my weight was. This was unnerving at first but was put to rights as I adjusted to the rake and got used to being on stage.

The world premiere was really exciting and there was a great buzzing atmosphere. I loved being on stage and looking out to see faces in the auditorium at last, although I had a lot of responsibility as I had to lead the line most of the time!

As the week continued I became more relaxed during the performances. The music is so powerful and emotional, it seems to carry me through the steps; sometimes I don’t even realise I’m doing them, I somehow just feel the movement. This was a fantastic feeling, which can only be owed to my experience with NBT, for which I’m very grateful.

As well as gaining valuable experience on stage, I’m also thankful for NBT’s friendliness towards me. Both the dancers and staff members were very helpful and welcoming, making me feel more at home in the theatre.

I’m performing with the company again next week in Nottingham, so I’ll keep you all informed as to how the performances go and of course the beginning of the Ballet Central tour!

Bye for now,
Christie

Posted by at March 3, 2004 06:20 PM