Ballet Central Diary

travel lodges, coaches and the black boxes known as theatres!

I'm sitting at my laptop in my living room, valiantly trying to keep my eyes open, and finding it hard to find the words to express the experience of touring with Ballet Central, in particular the tour we have just returned from.

Our first overnight stay was at Chipping Norton, and it was an absolute joy. The theatre is a favourite Ballet Central venue near oxford, and it is the smallest venue. We got to the pub where we were staying and it was so lovely. I shared a room with Jenny, and we had a great time chatting in the bar over a hearty dinner and then gossiping away while getting ready for bed. It was so quaint and sweet- to our eyes, used to the bustle and sheer size of buildings in London, the village looked like the Shire- indeed all the buildings including the theatre seemed designed for miniature beings half our size! We did two shows in Chipping Norton and they both went well and sold very well. it was great after the first, Friday night show not to have to do a get out and speed back to London, and instead have a nice relaxing drink with everyone. The little town has left its mark on everyone- a great time was had by all.

My rep for all the overnight tours was the Arabian dance from Nutcracker and Cinderella, both with Tom. I'm thrilled to be back on stage after my injury. I'm doing everything now, and trying to build up strength and confidence n myself so that I can end up stronger from this, and make sure it doesn't happen again. Because I missed five shows, every one now is so important to me- I now know how quickly it can skip merrily away from you!

The next tour began only three days after coming back from Chipping Norton. We knew the deal- three one night stands in three days, staying in nondescript travel lodges and precious little sleep. We thought we knew how tough it would be, but as I now realise- we were clueless.
The first venue was Grantham, which went very well. I can't really remember anything about the finer points of the town at the moment (all the theatres and towns we have been to since March all blur into one after a while) but the theatre was nice and we sold well.
The next day, we got up at the crack of dawn after about five hours sleep to travel on the coach to Shrewsbury. I'd rather not dwell on that subject- its an unpleasant memory. the show again went well- and it was a really nice space to dance in- lovely auditorium, and some of the dressing room area dated from the thirteenth century. This show was even better than the night before, and Bruce, our director came to watch and gave us valuable feedback.
last, but by no means least was Hereford- oh my.
Huge. Absolutely huge. Space in the wings to fit a football team. Gorgeous auditorium (sadly half empty, but wonderfully appreciative) and really nice dressing rooms. Class that day on stage was a struggle not to give up and die on the spot- we were all so tired, dazed and confused that we really had to dig deep within ourselves, pull together so tightly as a group to give a good show- which we did. We all felt the need to fill the space much more than we had had to before- the last few venues ever since Linbury had ranged in size from the decent (Bracknell, RADA, Shrewsbury) to the weird (Canterbury- ridges and holes in the floor) to the minute (Chipping Norton). So we all wanted to take advantage of the space and really move. after the show, when i was doing the front of house get out (my part in the technical sid of things is front of house- I'm normally selling programmes and T-shirts after the show, so if you ever come, say hello!) People were so lovely to us and were really enthusiastic about the show. We passed on all the comments to everyone who had been doing the get out backstage (wardrobe, lighting, sound and floor- mistakenly seen as the tougher jobs!) and it was so gratifying to all of us to have given every last drop like that and the public to have thought that we were good.

For me, what really characterized this tour was the way we all interacted. No matter how close you think you are to someone, you don't really know them until you've been cooped up in hotels, theatres and coaches for four days- on tour- sharing everything. This sharing isn't only physical (one soon loses one's delicacy and modesty on tour), but also; once you get a bit tired there is no censure of thoughts and feelings and the ordinary, if unpleasant, ballet company gossip and rivalry, which is normally kept at a reasonable simmer, overflows with gusto. A few ill-judged words in the wrong ear, a careless tone, an old resentment over casting is all it takes: and then it isn't long before there is a state of tension so potent that a cockroach could sense it.
The sixteen of us (the Hereford sixteen?!) have been through all of that (especially at Shrewsbury!) and thankfully, come out the other side. By the time we did the get out at Hereford last night, in a state of fervent joy that it was all over and it had actually been quite good, and had bonding cocktails in the bar of the Travel Lodge; all grievances from the past four days had either been put aside for another airing at another time, or been talked over rationally. I have many vices, and some virtues- but one aspect of my personality that both saves and condemns me daily is a kind of brutal honesty which sometimes makes me say the most ridiculous things, but sometimes clears some very murky air.

In other news, this tour was the last time we will see one Ballet Central member, Joe Perou, who is leaving to work with Will Tuckett on his new project. At Canterbury, we said goodbye to Danny, who is now in Australia on tour with Edward Scissorhands. Its sad to see them go, and it won't be the same without them, but in eight weeks time I'm going to have to say a lot more goodbyes to other dear friends that we have such great memories of. I'm moving for good from my hometown of London in exactly nine weeks, and I'll be going up to Leeds in a month to start moving things into my new flat- it feels like my life, and that of all my friends, is really beginning.
As I said on the coach this morning before I got laughed at for my exceptionally perceptive and moving insight- this is like the curtain coming down after the prologue- this is beginners for act one.

Posted by Rym Kechacha at May 24, 2008 04:59 PM