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March 03, 2004
Brian Allen. Photo: Bill Cooper. Click on image to enlarge.
Brian Allen’s March Diary
Welcome back.
Where to start? Well in the time since my last entry we have moved on quite a pace. Rehearsals for the tour have intensified and I have had a few performances. Firstly Ashley and I performed at the Critics’ Circle Awards at Sadler’s Wells in January. It was a great experience although quite daunting as well, what with all the ‘famous’ members of the dance world being there and also the directors of companies that I may want to audition for. We performed the pas de deux for Harker and Dracula from Michael Pink’s Dracula five!!! times. By the last time we were very tired and didn’t know how we would be able to get through it, but at that moment David Nixon walked in and we immediately found the strength to do the final go of it!
After this it was nose to the grindstone and more rehearsals, especially on David Bintley’s ‘Scottish Dances’ from Flowers of the Forest, as he was coming in to look at it and hopefully give us his permission to perform it as part of the tour programme. It was a very nervous time for all of the third year. But performing for David Bintley was actually not as scary as we had expected – he was really nice and very supportive of what we had achieved in learning the piece, and was able to fill in any gaps in the style of the ballet.
After the exciting event of David Bintley’s visit and his giving us permission to perform his ballet, it was full steam ahead for our preview night on 25th February. This was also a tense time for us, both with the nervousness of casting and the actual performance. We all wanted to do as many pieces as we could in the performance, but with a big year like ours (there are 29 students in Ballet Central this year) it was obviously not possible for all of us to perform what we wanted. I was however lucky enough to be chosen to perform four pieces: pas de deux for Harker and Dracula from Dracula, the pas de deux from Helgi Tomasson’s ‘Handel – A Celebration’, the new Sara Matthews work - ‘Superstruct’ and David Fielding’s ‘Measured Paces’.
The performance went very well and I was very pleased with all that I did in the performance. Most of all, I feel that I am now getting to grips with my role in the Dracula pas de deux, it is the role I feel I have made my own and I have got lots good feed back, about it. The Central Friends that I have talked to were very complimentary of the performance and it has given all of us a huge boost to our confidence.
Now the opening night in Epsom is fast-approaching, and it draws closer with every week. It is 17 days and counting!!!
‘Til next time
Brian
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