Ballet Central Diary

Keep Smiling!

Never say that a bottle is half empty, look at it as being half full. I have been trying so hard lately to keep myself positive even though I have been injured! Yes, I have injured myself almost 4 weeks ago during a rehearsal with Russel Maliphant for his piece Choice. It was going on really well, and I was really enjoying myself working with Russel Maliphant himself; seeing the way he moves and the way he expresses himself. We are bare footed for the piece, and my big toe got stuck on the floor while I was turning, resulting in a twist of the surrounding ligaments, tendons and soft tissues. At least I did not fracture my toe however it is still taking a while for it to recover. Everybody told me ‘’ oh, but you’re still smiling’’; reason being is that I love making the people around me happy when they see my smile and anyway what’s the point in depressing myself, instead I tried to make the best out of my time! I would like to thank all the staff at the school for being very supportive, especially the physiotherapist Anna and the pilates teacher Sarah (sorry, cannot remember their surnames). Sarah has showed me several pilates exercises and how to use the equipment in the pilates room, this has kept me really fit and also motivated. I find it very useful to do pilates exercises and stretching, I feel that doing just a ballet class everyday does not get you anywhere. So there we go I am still using my time wisely.

On the other hand, watching rehearsals has been quite interesting yet tedious at the same time! It was a good opportunity for me to learn from the others and to still be present and listen to what the choreographers themselves had to say regarding their work. I was very upset not to work with David Nixon myself, I mean I still learnt a lot from watching him and seeing the way he works, but I love the piece so much especially the second movement that it is very painful emotionally to just sit there and watch and try to learn it by somehow writing it down. I cannot wait till I do it, that adage section is almost made for me (even though he did not create it on me) but I just love it. Now what can I say about the Jazz piece it is a mixture of amazing music with sensual steps that makes people in the audience want to get up and dance, let alone me! Same goes for all the other rehearsals I have been watching and trying to learn, such as Waltz of the Flowers, Choice, Mirlitons, and Cindirella. But wait, holidays are in a week’s time and then I will be back after Christmas FULL of energy and ready to DANCE!!! So make way, cause I just cannot wait!

An exciting thing which happened before my injury was the photo session for Ballet Central. I was so glad to be chosen to take pictures with the ‘Blue bird’ costume; I guess it was by far one of the most beautiful costumes I have ever worn! I cannot wait till I can show you some of the pictures! I also took the pictures with the ‘Choice’ costume – we took some very interesting and weird poses there! It was such a nice experience. I love taking photos!

I will hopefully write sooner next time round and I am sure I will have much more positive words to say. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

A happy birthday this month goes to Steph, Vita and Miguel. A bigger Happy Birthday goes to my MUMMY – Thank you so much for every single thing you do for me. You are my number one!

wonderful, wonderful things!!!

I apologise in advance for this extra long entry, but there’s a lot of news to tell, so just be patient, and I promise it will end one day!!!!
As I see that Tom has filled you in on our recent performances, I know I don’t need to add anything except to say that we both learnt a lot from the disastrous show, and we agree that we won’t ever let our nerves get the better of us like that again. Cinderella is wonderful to do, and it is a pleasure and a privilege to dance it- I hope we can do it justice every single time.
Rehearsals continue for the rest of the repertoire. I am lucky to have been working with David Nixon on his piece for the tour and rehearsals are demanding, but fun. He is strict about technique (which is good for me because I tend to forget about things like stretched feet and turnout in the excitement of the movement) but he also talks a lot about the relationship between the dancers, and how we convey that to the audience. One memorable gem from rehearsals that the whole cast can quote: ‘Its about women and men, women and women, men and men…….’ This shocked us but it was also liberating, and I suppose you’ll have to decide when you see the piece!
Another piece we are rehearsing furiously is Ashley Page’s Waltz of the Flowers from his Nutcracker. Everyone agrees that it is a lovely piece to dance, but we find it a challenge, and the partnering work is especially hard. At the moment, its just a big mash of bodies to a nice ¾, but hopefully in four months it will look like something!
On to the exciting news…..
On the 3rd December I went with three other members of Ballet Central to a professional audition for a ballet company in Florence, Maggio Danza. It was our first audition, so we wanted to go just to get experience and also to see the famous city (which is wonderful. The home of the Medici, of course I fell in love with it straight away!). After a wonderful day of sightseeing, we went to the audition and we all agreed that we learnt a lot from it. Out of about 120 people, 20 were asked to perform two solos, and I was shocked to be one of those. When I saw the other girls, I hadn’t got a clue what I was doing there, and decided just to try not to make a fool of myself, as I was really pleased just to get that far at my first audition. The next day, back in London in a short break in a busy day full of rehearsals I rang up the theatre and in comedy Italian (honestly, I was ashamed of myself) asked to speak to the director, who told me…. Wait for it….. I had a job, an actual contract!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t believe it, and am still totally overwhelmed. This means I can relax on the worrying side- no more sleepless nights thinking about what I’m going to do when I graduate, but it by no means I can relax in class or rehearsals. If anything, I have to work even harder now, to prove to everyone (especially myself) that I’m worth this job, and I have to be company worthy by September!!!!
I’m not the only one in our year with employment though…… recently Random dance company auditioned for dancers at Sadler’s Wells, and several of my friends went to it and had a great time. Wayne Macgregor and his team expressed great interest in one Ballet Central member, Laurel Dalley Smith, so watch out for her!! You will without a doubt see her name again, and definitely on a Random programme someday!!!!
In other news, I saw Jewels this week at the Opera House, and spent two and a half hours in ecstasy. I’m not usually Balanchine’s biggest fan (I tend to prefer the unfashionable Ashton and the difficult Macmillan), but what a ballet- and for a young dancer to see such world class artists on top form- there is no better inspiration and motivation.