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May 28, 2004
Christie's May Entry
Hello again!
I can’t believe just how quickly the months are flying by! It’s hard keeping track of all the places I’ve visited as within the past few weeks I’ve travelled the length and breadth of the country. It certainly seems that way anyway.
The Easter break of six days was a very welcome one. Just being able to relax, unwind and enjoy not haring around was bliss. I’m just a real ‘home bird’ so I really appreciated seeing all my family when we had a celebratory get together. This was to congratulate me on my contract with Northern Ballet Theatre as well as my Mum’s birthday.
The days passed by sooo quickly - as days off always seem to do - and soon we were back at school rehearsing the Ballet Central programme once again. The next tour that I was involved in travelled to Hexham, Wakefield and Colwyn Bay, on 3 consecutive days. This was one of the toughest tours for the Ballet Central cast as the constant travelling and late nights began to catch up on us. Staying opposite a nightclub in Wakefield didn’t help matters either!
Feeling exhausted wasn’t the only factor that affected the company’s mood or performance on tour. Adjusting to each venue was at times unsettling. Some stages were wide and flat whilst others were small and raked, meaning steps had to be adjusted accordingly. Only performing one night in each town meant there was little time to familiarise yourself with each venue. I suppose this is all part of the great learning experience that Ballet Central offers and something that we’ll all get used to.
Since the beginning of the tour, I’ve had to play catch up with learning the pieces of the programme after rehearsing and performing NBT’s Swan Lake. Now that I was secure in the steps, I had the new challenge of learning Helgi Tomasson’s Handel pas de deux, to perform with just a week to go! This piece involves a great deal of trust and confidence in your partner and also means taking responsibility for two people, so a week is a short amount of time to rehearse. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing it though as it is a soft, lyrical piece, quite a contrast to what I’m usually cast to dance.
Touring with Ballet Central was not the only way I got to see more of the country as Swan Lake was back on the agenda for NBT so I became a swan again for the first two weeks in May. This time we visited Norwich and Canterbury. It was a great opportunity to get to know the company and the way they work again as it is only a matter of weeks before I join as a company member next season! At least I won’t feel so unknown and unfamiliar in July, which is always daunting when starting somewhere new. I even had a fitting for next season so I began to feel part of the team already!
It’s an exciting time with much to look forward to, so I’ll keep you all informed as to what the future months bring.
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