Lynette Wills Diary

We're in the UK

After an exhausting 24 hour flight it was such a relief to touch down in Heathrow - exciting too! Finally we were here. We were all still waking up, after a coffee and quick stretch, when we got on the bus to Cardiff - but not for long. Only minutes away from the airport our driver made a wrong turn so decided to reverse back up the street and drove straight onto the car behind us. No-one was hurt, but it did hold us up a little longer.

When we arrived in Cardiff we all helped keep each other awake to try and get our body clocks to adjust to UK time.

The Wales Millennium theatre is great - a wonderful size stage and the acoustics are fantastic. The first day in class and rehearsal we were just trying to iron out the kinks in our bodies. Everyone felt like they had sea legs. The next day we had two dress rehearsals. The orchestra sounded lovely but we were having a few technical problems. They were all problems that could be easily fixed so we were not worried. There never seems to be enough time on stage before an opening night but I guess that's part of the excitement.

On opening night there was such a buzz in the air. The company had been so excited about this for so long and now it was here. I was excitedly nervous rather than terrified nervous which was good. I was thinking this ballet is so moving and unique, how could they not like it.

In the first scene about three techinical things went wrong in 45 seconds and I was thinking "oh my god... it can only get better from here" and it did. The show seemed to go well and the audience were amazing. We could feel them getting more and more involved as the ballet went on and they ended on their feet - it
was overwhelming for everyone involved. Thank-you Cardiff. We loved sharing this with you. It's nights like this that remain with you forever. It really is a group effort and everyone was so proud.

There are five more shows before we come to London. Of the 3 casts performing, Elisha Willis, a former Aussie Ballet member and now principal with BRB, is one of them. It's great to have her with us for this as she was a big part of it right from the beginning and is a wonderful dancer.

See you in London!

Busy, busy, busy!

I can't remember the last time I was this busy ... I think it was the lead up to my wedding!!!

It's 9.30am and this is the only chance I have to write anything. Today we have we have two shows of the 'Jiri ' program in Melbourne. With less than a week to go till we travel things are really picking up here. The mood is a combination of excitement, nerves and exhaustion..... thank god for adrenalin.

In the lead up to our first "Swan Lake" rehearsals Maddie and I watched a video of our show to do some "self" correcting which is something we don't often do here (no time) and it was quite helpful. We finished the week with a run of Act 1 and it felt like it was all still there from last time which is good because we don't have much time. Graeme and Janet arrive on Monday to really kick it into shape, Graeme is really great at making all the characters come alive so the story works for everyone.

Have to rush off now to go get ready for class, bye for now ... Lindy

White, White and more White...

I can't believe how quickly this year is going, how much we've done since my last entry and how soon we'll be in London. To update you a little I'll go back to when we finished Swan Lake in Brisbane.

The company flew home to Melbourne and first up was a free outdoor performance of divertissements. This is put on by our major sponsor Telstra and is hugely popular. Families come early afternoon to snap up the best spots with their picnic blankets and the kids run wild, waiting for us to start warming up so they can get some autographs. I performed the Black Swan pas de deux with fellow principal Robert Curran and we loved it - they were an amazing audience to perform to.

Lindy Wills in a publicity shot for the new Aus Ballet White Bill.
Photographer is Jeff Busby ©

La Sylphide opened a few days later and after 12 shows it was straight to Sydney for 21 shows of Sylphide. We immediately started working on the next program, the White triple bill. It's an evening of white tutu's starting with Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, a new work Relic by Adrian Burnett and Suite en blanc. We opened this a couple of weeks ago and it's going really well. I hadn't performed Nikiya before and am finding it both scary and enjoyable. I think the mental hurdle is as big as the physical one.

In case you think we are due for a rest, think again! We are currently learning four Jirí Kylían ballets for the season just before London. I love his work so much that this is no chore. There is such wonderful musicality that you can't imagine any other steps working so well to the music - a genius in my mind.

Of course even though we have two more seasons of White and the Kylían program to go, London is never far from our minds. In a way it's the goal we are aiming for. It's very exciting for the company to be touring again and to bring a work that we are so proud of and something new for you all to see. I am very much looking forward to revisiting the character of Baroness von Rothbart. I think every time I come back to this role I do it a little differently. Some nights I try to get the audience to have some empathy for MY character and other nights I'm happy to have them hate me. This is my prerogative. I'm a woman after all. Make no mistake, as Rothbart I'm not a witch or a fantasy character - I'm part of a messy royal love triangle and am the very real other woman... sound familiar!!!!! I won’t give it all away. You'll just have to come and see it.