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A week after starting work again I was off to Beijing with the Prime Minister and a delegation from the arts for a Cultural Exchange programme. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip with lots of official functions and quite surreal at times. The connection with China felt very strong, especially as they are hosting the Olympics before us. There were a lot of sports stars there and I got to meet Bobby Robson (the ex-Newcastle manager), Colin Jackson, David Foster (the architect) and Richard Curtis (the writer) - who, along with his wife Emma, looked after me very well.
I was actually there to teach a class at the Beijing Dance Academy, where the students are taught everything from ballroom to traditional National dances (I had the opportunity to watch some of the latter). There are over 2000 dancers in the Academy but, fortunately, I had been asked to work with only 20 of them. I taught the Act 2 solo from Cinderella and the students did well, although they did get a little dizzy during the 2 manèges at the end and couldn't actually finish. I felt a bit under pressure while being watched by the Prime Minister, the ambassadors, film crews and press. The girls were, understandably, nervous too, but once the cameras had left they relaxed a bit and they all did a brilliant job. It was a nice experience but I don't think I'm about to join the diplomatic corps!
As we had quite a long rehearsal period at the start of the season I wanted to push myself, so I did 2 shows: Bolle and Friends in Sardinia with Roberto. We danced the Sylvia Act 3 pas de deux, but performed it the other way round (with the pas de deux first, then the solos, then the coda) which meant it was exhausting as the solo is very long. We finished the show with the final pas de deux from Manon, which went down very well. It was a good test for me and it also meant that Roberto learnt some of Sylvia. It was fun to dance and I'm pleased I did the shows as the season started off quite slowly.
I've been rehearsing Alistair Marriott's new work. So far I've only seen the segment in which I perform, so it'll be exciting to see the whole ballet when we have a full call. It seems a pretty cool piece so far, though. Of course, I have Sylvia and Manon before that. Anya Sainsbury has come in to give the company a little extra help with Sylvia, having remembered a few more details from the original production.
My first shows of the season were La Fête Étrange and it was great to have Barbara Fewster to stage this ballet, as she was one of my teachers at the Royal Ballet School. Barbara was ballet mistress when La Fête Étrange was recreated so she was invaluable to us. Every time she spoke it reminded me of my school days and I did find myself saying, 'Yes, Miss Fewster' a few times during rehearsals when she gave me corrections. The piece is actually very contemporary. And how stylised it is! When I first started working on it I thought, 'Oh no, I'm going to hate it.' But after we started to run, the piece I found it so much more rewarding than I'd expected. Even though it worked well on the Opera House stage I think it should be performed more like a play, in a much smaller theatre, where it would carry better. Anya also helped out on this, as she had played the bride. It really was a strange party (La Fête Étrange, that is) and it was very difficult to try to recreate the relationship between the boy and the bridegroom (for whom I felt responsible, but had never met) so it was challenging to bring that across.
I was very fortunate to be able to dance at a charity function at Buckingham Palace in aid of the Royal Ballet School's new development fund for White Lodge. Johnny helped me out by agreeing to dance the act 3 pas de deux from Sylvia - which was so good of him. Ed Watson, Lauren Cuthbertson, Alina Cojocaru and Ivan Putrov also performed in what was a memorable occasion, thanks to the generosity of the Prince of Wales. As the show was on a Sunday it made for a long week and, unfortunately, I had to pull out of a gala in Parma that I'd been planning to dance with Roberto. I felt bad letting Roberto and the theatre down, but I wouldn't have been able to get back in time for the charity performance as the Gala was on the Saturday night.
I'm really looking forward to dancing Sylvia again, even though Roberto hasn't finished learning it yet. (He has been so busy.)
When I go to Turin to dance Manon with Roberto at La Scala, I hope we'll have a chance to rehearse
Sylvia as well. (Though we're doing 3 shows in 3 days, which will be pretty tough going.) I've not worked with La Scala before so I know it'll be an interesting experience. The BBC are filming Sylvia for a broadcast some time in the future. They've also been making a 30 minute diary documentary about me. It's been slightly off-putting having them film me at such close quarters.
You may have read the Royal Opera House announcement that I am to resign as a company principal at the end of this season and become a principal guest artist. That statement
really said it all: becoming a guest will allow me to spend more time with my family - and that is very important to me.
Thank you again to everyone who has sent cards, letters and gifts to me at the Opera House; I really appreciate your support. Sorry for the delay in replying to some of them - I am still working my way slowly through the pile, so if you haven't heard from me yet, you will soon. Thanks also for the comments regarding this site but unfortunately I'm unable to offer any personal advice.
I hope you enjoyed the newsletter. Please come back again to see what I have been up to.
Enjoy your dance.
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