Just this past weekend the company went on tour for our first performance of the year and my first time dancing on stage with the company. It was an amazing experience and something I wanted to tell you all about as I learnt so much just from one weekend alone.
We had an early flight out on Saturday morning so my friend CB stayed overnight at my flat so we could travel to the airport together in the morning. We’d both bought new suitcases for the event and were full of nerves. And despite the fact that we had to get up at 3am the next morning neither of us went to bed until past 11 o’clock. We were definitely feeling the lack of sleep when we had to drag ourselves out of bed to get ready, but with a cup of tea and a quick call for a taxi, we were off. We actually made it to the airport by 4:30, definitely the first ones there because we were 45 minutes early to our meet up time with the rest of the company.
When everyone did arrive we had to go through the process of checking all thirty something people in and sorting out boarding passes for everyone. As soon as we all got through security we scattered for the nearest coffee and some form of breakfast. The short flight to Sydney was just enough time for everyone to take a quick nap before we caught the coach to our hotel. Not that we could find the bus though, we were all wandering around in a herd and eventually the bus driver came and found us. And then we realised that we were minus our directors, whose own flight had been delayed. We didn’t make it to the hotel until about an hour before we were meant to be at the theatre doing class and then it seemed as if we might not even be able to check in straight away when the staff was going to put our suitcases in holding.
Cue my first stress-related emotional moment, most of my ballet gear was in my suitcase. And while I had a leotard and tights as well as pointe shoes in my carry on everything else was in the suitcase. The suitcase that I suddenly couldn’t unlock, I checked and double-checked the code and it was definitely right but it just wouldn’t open. It was almost as if the mechanism had jammed on the flight and judging by the scratches on it the case had probably been jostled while on the flight. CB stepped in as she could see I was near tears with panic and she wasn’t able to open it either. It was at this point that I’d started calculating just what it was that was now seemingly locked away forever and if I had time to go buy replacements in the little time we had when one of the male dancers saw what was happening and came to intervene. And with him came one of the directors which of course was mortifying seeing as how we were standing in the foyer to the hotel on our very first tour and I was about ready to cry in front of him as I explained that no, my suitcase had been working fine before the flight and yes, I’m very upset about this.
The crisis was averted as the other dancer managed to pry it open and become the saviour of the day, or at least the hour. Then we were checked in anyway and we all went off to do our obligatory room scan. CB and I were lucky enough to be roomed together and we quickly claimed the master bedroom and en suite that came with it. Justified I think seeing as how we were the only two who didn’t seem to mind sharing the king size bed. We all got ready and headed downstairs where we were promptly told that everyone was going to get lunch because we probably wouldn’t be starting class at the scheduled time anyway. Quite a few other company members were scattered around as well and everyone said we were waiting for an email but then suddenly everyone disappeared.
We couldn’t get into contact with anyone and were starting to panic, we had no idea where the stage door was or whether class had started or not. Thankfully all the newbies had been assigned a mentor before we left so the very first message my mentor got was a plea for help. She ended up ringing me after barre had finished and was that confused by where we were that she ended up leaving the class halfway through and came to find us and take us to where we needed to be. It turned out we weren’t the only ones to miss half the class because of the confusion and we ended up putting our pointe shoes on straight away and sliding into the tendu exercise so we could pretend we’d been there the whole time.
After that misadventure it was straight onto stage placement and a full dress run for the rest of the afternoon. Our schedule went over a bit so we definitely had less time for our break to get ready. There was just a group of us sitting on the floor of our dressing room putting rosin on our pointe shoes trying to make them matte. We had another warm up barre and then half an hour more before the show started at 7:30. A sold out show of Don Quixote on our first night! The atmosphere was exhilarating and the audience were really getting into it. After show end we had to head to the rooftop of our hotel for an after-party that guests of the show could come to. When it came down to it we didn’t end up getting to bed until past midnight and then it was time to get up and do it all again the next morning.
We checked out of the hotel by 10am and CB and I bought a quick breakfast to eat in the park before the doors opened to let us backstage. We also did our hair in the park so not a bad run all in all. My family traveled to Sydney to watch the matinee performance and after the show there was just enough time for us to go for a coffee before CB and I had to get back on the bus to head to the airport. They let us check in 3 hours early for our flight thankfully but they also stopped over half the company on the way through security to do a bomb detection test which we all thought was pretty hysterical. Everyone scattered to go buy more food than we could possibly eat and to vegetate in the food court for the next few hours.
Our flight landed in Melbourne at 11:30 and we quickly dispersed back to our respective beds, or in CB’s case, back to mine for an exhaustion driven sleepover. In the end we didn’t get home until past midnight and were glad for the next day off. But overall I feel like we gained a lot of experience from this trip and we now know things to do for next time, like taking way more food than you think you would need. And I can guarantee that for our next show I’m going to be gluing myself to a company member who has been to that theatre before!
Elizabeth Renee xx