Ballet Central Diary

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 ……..

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.