Daniel Jones Diary

What a Blast

Ballet Blast was the name of a ballet course that I set up in Staffordshire this Summer. It was a four day event that was open to children and adults who wanted to learn and enjoy some of the many sides ballet has to offer. The response was wonderful and I was surrounded by some very enthusiastic people that made it great fun to do.
"Ballet Funk" was the newest class that I taught which turned out to be very popular.

Many dancers I know warm up before ballet class listening to the latest dance tunes on their personal CD players in order to get themselves motivated. I thought I’d try playing some of the latest tunes to the children for the class while encouraging them to push their classical technique to the edge. The results were fantastic and I’ve never heard so many children beg so much to do a routine over and over again. What a result, I say.

Having a Blast
Photo © Daniel Jones

Fernanda Oliveira (First soloist with English National Ballet) helped the children in the classes and also gave a class on stage make up. During the ballet class I had to ask Fernanda to be careful when she was demonstrating the excercises. The students were in shock at the height of her extensions and they would just stop and stare. Obviously the students were fascinated but I didn’t want them to be discouraged because they thought they would never be able to get their legs so high.

The four days concluded with a demonstration in front of friends and family of all that had been learnt. This included a wonderful czardas performed by the adults that I had worked with in the evenings. The demonstration was followed by a huge party, and there was plenty of time to get some feedback from the participants. It was actually very sad when it was over but hopefully we will have another blast at it next year.

The Czardas Superstars
Photo © Daniel Jones

What Olympics?

A last minute break in Corfu was next on the agenda. Why Corfu? Well, I thought it would be a good idea to visit a Greek island during the Olympics so I could soak up the Olympic atmosphere. Unfortunately I think there would have been more of an Olympic atmosphere in Hull. Fortunately, the weather was stunning and I managed to find some big waves on the west side of the island for me and my body board.

Back to Barre.

There really is no easy way to get to performance level fitness after the summer break. As soon as we do the first exercise at the barre in the first class of the season the hard work begins. Turnout becomes an obsession, feet become your friend or your enemy and muscles where you never knew you had them let you know they are there. In fact, day one usually feels quite good. This is because the body has had a chance to relax, and all those aches and pains that were gradually getting worse towards the end of last season have hopefully disappeared. From then on it’s a case of finding the right balance of pushing the body hard while avoiding injury. This is why it’s so important to warm up and cool down properly, to give the body a good chance to adapt to the intense workload. As I write this now, my legs are killing me, but oddly enough it’s quite a nice feeling. It’s work.

Romeo and Juliet

We are currently rehearsing Rudolf Nureyev’s production of Romeo and Juliet and personally it’s one of my favourites. For the men in the company, Romeo and Juliet is always a great ballet to do. There are some wonderful characters to play and of course there’s lots of fighting. There is also an acrobat dance and a flag dance which can look really impressive as long as nobody drops their flag. I am also cast as Tybalt which is a role that I adore. It’s a role I can get my teeth into, and we are lucky enough to be rehearsed by the original Tybalt – Frédéric Jahn who knows the part inside out. Patricia Ruanne, who was the original Juliet, is also setting the ballet on the company and there is a wonderful atmosphere in the studio when they are taking rehearsals. A few days ago Frédéric Jahn played an old video in the studio from when the ballet was first created. The film showed Rudolf Nureyev taking a rehearsal and we also saw our director Matz Skoog as a very young man. It was very interesting to see.
There have already been a couple of rehearsals with the swords for the sword fights and soon we will learn the main fights. It can be dangerous, especially when the adrenalin starts pumping, and there is a large amount of trust involved. It’s a real buzz when all works well, it’s just a shame Tybalt has to lose to that Romeo fellow. Only just though.