To say it was good to be back on stage is a bit of an understatement. After so long away, I was looking forward to feeling like a dancer again... as well as a mother of two (which, of course, is what I am - and proud of it!). Thankfully - by the time I reached New York - I did feel like a dancer as well.
Roberto Bolle and I got a very nice reception at the Met; we were kindly applauded when we came onto the stage. Before we went on stage I thought that it was a relief that the shows were finally about to happen: I'd been waiting around for at least two weeks feeling ready to go. The fact that I was so well prepared was all down to the work of Lesley Collier who got me back into shape and ready to perform again. I think it helped, too, that Lesley had been through a similar experience (having returned to the stage after having had twins) and so was able to give me extra confidence. Unfortunately she was unable to be in New York to see the shows, but Donald Macleary was there for New York coaching and rehearsals.
Before we flew over to New York to meet the Company, I flew to Rome to spend two days rehearsing with Roberto. He had never danced in New York before and I was glad to provide the opportunity for him. It was lovely to be back in New York and made to feel so welcome. Someone came up to me and said that he had seen my premiere there in 1991 - he had seen me dance Swan Lake when I was 22. There are a lot of memories in that building.
Whilst I felt that the New York shows went well it was hard being away from my family.
After returning from New York I had a complete break of three weeks on holiday with the family. I'd thought the amount of luggage we needed when Phoebe was small was bad enough... but we needed quite a bit more with two girls. Soon after we got home, we received a wonderful invitation to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, so we were lucky enough to have three days in Athens. Amazingly, while leaving the stadium after the Opening Ceremony, I spotted Roberto ahead of us! I'd actually spotted his trainers first - I always notice people's shoes - and these seemed very familiar. Then I looked up and realized it was him! It's hard to believe that in a stadium full of so many people - and with so many exits - you can bump into someone you know. Roberto is producing his own show in Parma - and a number of dancers from the Royal will be performing there in November. Roberto had asked me to dance with him then, but I had to turn him down, unfortunately. Since I have Sylvia just before that, I thought that would be pushing it a bit. However, I hope to do a couple of other shows with Roberto this season including the Royal Variety Show.
To get ready for the new season, I've been coming into the Opera House during the last couple of weeks to do some pilates and barre work. The company has just come back from our summer break, all looking incredibly refreshed, and we now have quite a long rehearsal period before the season opens in October. That's actually quite good for us, as we are performing a number of shows that we haven't done for a while. I was 18 when we last danced Requiem so it will feel slightly strange to dance it again. Requiem is a beautiful ballet and it was one of my first big solo roles (with Lesley Collier as the pas de deux girl). The principals won't have quite as much rehearsal time as the rest of the company before hitting the stage, however, since most of us are involved in a gala at the end of September in Paris.
The biggest production we'll be working on is Sylvia and we started rehearsals at the end of last season. Sylvia is going to be entertaining: it's a very theatrical piece and I think the company will make it work very well. It's so long since the ballet was performed that it had to be put together from a combination of dance notation and film footage. The film records are good, but when they were transferred to video the dancing somehow got speeded up - and my first reaction was: 'You want me to go that fast?' Thankfully, they didn't!!
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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