Daniel Jones Diary

Ballet Bodyboarding

When the Hammersmith Apollo season came to an end it was time for a holiday. Without having a wink of sleep Fernanda Oliveira and I packed our suitcases and headed for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Fernanda’s home town.
What a place. From the moment you arrive it is clear that it is a city of extremes and I can’t help feeling comfortable in such an environment. With Cristo Redentor watching over the city there is a heightened sense that something is always happening. It is a place where if you look up you can actually see Jesus; well, a sculpture of him anyway.
Brazil has another powerful attraction that I find hard to resist. The waves. Bodyboarding is a type of surfing which you do on a half size surfboard where you literally lie on the waves as you feel the power of the sea throwing you towards the beach. I was introduced to bodyboarding while on a tour of Australia with English National Ballet. (How could I go to Australia without trying to surf?) And since my first attempts I’ve found myself in some of the top surfing resorts which include the beaches around Rio. Despite the risk of shark attacks, jellyfish stings, etc, I feel quite safe attempting ten foot waves. If I do make a mistake I fall in the sea which I find far less painful than other extreme sports like skateboarding which I have attempted in the past.

English shark food.
Photo © Daniel Jones

During our stay we saw many beautiful sites, a pagode concert with Zeca Pagodinho, and Ballet Contemporaneo do Rio de Janeiro perform Lupi to songs by Lupicinio Rodrigues. We even had drinks by the beach at the famous bar Garota de Ipanema with our friends Cecilia Kerche, the well known Brazilian ballerina who has also performed with English National Ballet, and her husband Pedro Kraszczuk who is a ballet coach and shoe maker. It was a great time.

Four weeks, four acts

Returning to 39 Jay Mews meant rehearsing Swan Lake, but it also meant the start of an intensive training programme with Paul Thacker. Paul Thacker, a strength and conditioning specialist, has worked with the dancers of English National Ballet on a number of occasions and I have always enjoyed working with him. During the Swan Lake rehearsal period a group of fifteen or so volunteers completed a five week training programme with him which included tests at the beginning and end to see if we were fitter as a result of taking part. The tests weren’t the easiest tests in the world, and the phrase no pain no gain kept coming to mind, but fortunately it all seemed worthwhile when we all completed the final tests and found the results to be impressive.
Swan Lake, this time round, meant Waltz, Czardas, Mazurka and Rothbart, and the rehearsals went along quite smoothly. When I wasn’t rehearsing Swan Lake I was in the studio experimenting with my own choreography for the next choreographic workshop. When possible I was grabbing dancers and playing with some ideas that had been buzzing around my head. It wasn’t easy though as for the ladies of the company Swan Lake is a tough time, and it’s not the most ideal period to experiment when they are nursing their toes and preparing for four weeks of four acts on pointe.

Yosvani Ramos watches as Daria Kilimentová and Jan-Erik Wikström prepare for their performances of Swan Lake at the Bristol Hippodrome.
Photo © Daniel Jones

Sunday February 1st

I had been invited to teach at The International Dance Teachers Association’s (IDTA) annual London meeting which was to take place in the Clore studio at the Royal Opera House. During the day I gave two classes to over seventy students at a time in front of an audience of well over a hundred teachers and guests. There was a diverse range of standards and I kept the class as interesting and fun as I possibly could. Teaching at the Opera House under such circumstances was quite daunting and I tried to give as much information to the students as I possibly could. I explained how important it is to get pleasure from ballet. It’s certainly not an easy life or hobby but if you’re going to give something to ballet then don’t be worried about getting something back.

Manchester in Tights

When the company arrived in Manchester for what was to be our last week on this tour, my first port of call was at Manchester Grammar School where I gave an introduction to ballet to some eleven and twelve year old boys. At first they seemed a little hesitant but by the end of the session they were asking some very intelligent questions ranging from "how long does it takes to put a production on?" to "what was your favourite performance of all time?".
I thoroughly enjoyed working with them and I’m happy to say that when I left the theatre after the final performance on the Saturday night, I bumped into one of the boys who had come along to see Swan Lake with his family. He told me he had really enjoyed the performance, and I do believe he really did.

Next stop - Barcelona