Touring round and about
Here is some more news -- It has been such a busy month and some more busy days are yet to come. May is always a special month for me as I have my birthday and this time I had some other exciting things to look forward to. We started the tour which is something that everyone had been looking forward to since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately only 10 girls and 6 boys are able to go on every tour, however casts changes therefore at times different people go to different venues. Having such a small group of us on the road made us work extra hard as now almost everyone knows everything and some of us also had to learn more than one place in a piece, which it made it easier for cast changes and the running order of the program. Moreover we also had our dissertations to work on and following that we have another two assignments which have to do more or less with the tour; reflecting on our experience with regards to everything : wardrobe, technical staff, health and safety and also reflecting on our experience as dancers. We are back on tour next week for another 5 days; tiring but a great experience. From what I read in the schedule, the coming tour seems to be less hectic than the one before, where we had to wake up as early as 5 in the morning and than traveling late to our travel lodges. Our days start by unloading the van, followed by setting up the floor, stage lights, wardrobe and front of house work. I here have the pleasure of speaking from my experience, and yes being in front of house is less strenuous than any of the other jobs. I heard Rym having this conversation with the boys about which job is the toughest and she insists that everything is equal. However I am sorry on this one I have to side with the boys, being part of the flooring team is clearly tougher! While front of house count T -shirts and greet the public, flooring team have to carry the floor, shift it around and adjust it… (floor is very heavy), technical team have also got a tough job, its very brainy as they say – they have to concentrate as to which plug goes with which boom ect And here I would like to say a big Thank you to our wardrobe team especially Otis. I would like to show our appreciation towards the work they do during the show. Otis never stops during performances, when he is not dancing on stage he comes knocking on our changing room doors collecting costumes to be taken for washing. Great team work everyone!!!
Being on tour is a great opportunity and although we all get tired and feel shattered we all feel so grateful to be the chosen ones. Both Jennifer and me spent our birthdays away from home and Feeney cheered us up by playing happy birthday for us after class at Shrewsbury. I would like to thank all my friends for they wonderful cards and my parents for the gorgeous bouquet they sent me, it was such a surprise!!! Gladly enough the flowers were still fresh when I got home after the 5 days away. The most exciting thing on my birthday though was taking company class with the Royal Ballet. After seeing me perform at the Linbury Theatre with Ballet Central, Monica Maison (director of Royal Ballet) invited me to take class with the company.I was overjoyed when Bruce told me the news after the show and had been eagerly waiting for them to get back to me with a date. Coincidently it happened to be on my birthday and I was so happy, it was the best birthday present ever, and I deserved it since it was my lucky birthday and I had been longing for something special to do on that day. I then went twice again to take class and it had been one of the most extraordinary experiences in my life. I loved being surrounded by so many inspirational dancers. Although I have already thanked Monica Maison in person, I would like to thank her once again for giving me such a great opportunity.
I have to stop here with my writing. I will definitely have some more news about the following tour in a few weeks time. Wish us Luck and do come and see us. If you would like to talk to us after the show please do come back stage…. I will be rolling up the floor. Until then ……..
Posted by Brenda Lee Grech at May 31, 2008 11:13 PM
