Ballet Central Diary

Ashley's Final Diary

Hello everybody,

Hope you are all well. Sorry I haven’t written in such a long while but I have been non-stop since the beginning of June. Since I last wrote we have finished Ballet Central’s tour, graduated and I have got a job! But I will come on to that in a bit.

Finishing the tour was a very strange feeling as we have all been together in a team for a long time and for it to be over just like that was quite strange. You don’t realise how close you are to some people until you have to say goodbye. The tour ended on a very high note at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. We all felt like we gave the performances of tour and the show went fantastically. After our last show as a company was our Graduation Ceremony for which we each prepared a solo of our choice. I did the
Grand pas de deux (slave solo) from Le Corsaire, Act II (ch. Petipa). I felt it went very well but was over far too quickly. After the show we all got dressed up to receive our diplomas - the girls in their ball gowns and the boys in their suits.

Last time I wrote I was just about to go for an audition with Phoenix Dance Company, which went very well and I got down to the last 10 for. However I didn’t get the job but was still quite pleased to get so far. After this I went out to Slovenia for a week with the Slovenian National Ballet Company. At the end of my time there they offered me a contract for a year. I didn’t want to accept this right away, as it’s a long way from home and I had a few things to think over. They said this was fine and could let them know by the end of the month. During this time I took classes with various different companies but nothing came from them. This was until I got a phone call from David Nixon, Director of Northern Ballet Theatre offering me a contract until Christmas. I accepted this straightaway, as Northern Ballet Theatre has been my dream company from a very young age.

So I now start work on 19th July which leaves me with not a lot more to say. I would just like to thank Central School of Ballet for three years of wonderful training and also my Mum and Dad for their support. It has been a lot of fun writing this and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them.

Bye bye for the last time.

Ashley

Sarah's June Diary

Hello to everyone! I hope all is well and that you are enjoying the gorgeous weather - I certainly am! I have been mega busy over the past month- touring mostly…

From 10th – 16th May, we were in Scotland. It was exciting for me because I had never been to Scotland before and during the week we had a chance to explore Glasgow which was great (even had time to go swimming). We performed at the Volunteer Hall in Galashiels and the King’s Theatre in Glasgow. Glasgow was fantastic - the theatre was nice and big, plus we got to do a workshop with lots of kids which was fun.

On the 22nd, we were in Bracknell - this was nice because it was an opportunity for the whole company to perform together.

Then came the long awaited venue - the Linbury Studio Theatre at The Royal Opera House- WOW, what a day that was!! As it was my home venue, all my family and friends came. I felt proud to dance the role of the ‘Tennis Girl’ in A Simple Man again and I also danced in ‘Scottish Dances’ from Flowers of the Forest which opened the second half of the performance. The applause was almost deafening and I’m sure it was my Dad that was the culprit of all the whistling! What are Dad’s like?! I thoroughly enjoyed dancing for everyone that night - it was truly a memorable evening…

On the 2nd night I danced Scottish again plus the debut of a new work by Carina Hendrikx, who is also a member of Ballet Central. She choreographed her piece especially for the student choreography section of the evening. It was called ‘Not in our Hands’ and the music was specially composed by Philip Feeney. I felt privileged to have been cast in such a great piece! I really enjoyed dancing it and it would be great if there could be a possibility to do it again sometime, maybe…

Touring is great fun and such valuable experience - I love it…. But there are times when I’m not cast to go on tour, and so that means I have to stay at school. During these times, we usually do class and rehearsals for the different Ballet Central pieces or practise our Graduation solos. I have chosen Kitri’s Variation from Don Quixote (Act 3). It’s a feisty piece full of dynamic and is perfect because it’s a challenge for me to work on certain aspects of my classical technique… I can’t wait to perform it! We only have 5 weeks left till graduation at the Bloomsbury Theatre. It’s going to be a sad occasion, so I’m making the most of the time left.
Reflecting on that, I have 6 weeks till I move up to Leeds to start working with Northern Ballet Theatre. I am really looking forward to this – in fact, I can’t wait!

I am scheduled to go on tour to Cheltenham and Frome next! But it’s bye for now until next time….

Take Care

Sarah
6/6/04

Sarah's Final Diary

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well….
As usual, I’ve been extremely busy over the past month, but it’s almost over – just over a week left till graduation…!

Unfortunately, I missed Ballet Central’s performances in Cheltenham & Frome - I had to go home because I felt ill with a flu virus. I was really disappointed because as always I was really looking forward to performing. I recovered soon after though…

I did get to perform at Crawley and Cambridge though which was fun but tiring because they were day trips and that meant that we had to do more travelling than sleeping! At these two venues, I performed the Tennis girl solo again along with Scottish dances.

We now have only one more venue for Ballet Central which is where the tour closes. That is the Bloomsbury Theatre in London – we only have two Ballet Central performances left, but we are performing with Central School of Ballet too.

On 10th July, we have our graduation ceremony… I’ve chosen my tutu for my Graduation Solo (Kitri’s variation from Don Quixote Act 3) – it’s black with gold sparkly bits on the skirt and gold beads and embroidery on a velvet bodice. It’s really pretty and for a final touch, I’m going to put a red rose in my hair and one on my tutu! I’ve also bought a lilac evening dress that I’m going to wear for the after party – it’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to wear it!

I now have less than 3 weeks until I start working with Northern Ballet Theatre which is really exciting – it’s getting close…! I went and bought myself a few more leotards recently and I’ve started packing up a few things. There are 7 new people to the company and although we officially start work on the 19th July, we have an induction on the 16th. This will involve giving us a tour of the building and will give us an opportunity to introduce ourselves properly to some of the staff. I really can’t wait – it’s just so exciting!
I’m really looking forward to being able to work as a professional dancer and to meet the demands that company life will bring as best I can…
I am sad to say that this is my last diary entry and I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my life with you for the past 9 months!

I hope that you have enjoyed reading all our diary entries and who knows, maybe one day I’ll be asked to write again – but all about company life instead!

Take care
Lots of love and best wishes

Sarah
1/7/04