Post Number 12 - Switzerland (again)

After a long and and tiring journey (Stockholm-Berlin-Basel-Zurich) I arrived in Switzerland. It was good to be somewhere familiar for a change. I was back in Zurich feeling safe and surprisingly warm. 

The next few days went by peacefully and without dramas. I was planning to have a hectic time in Switzerland, trying to organise auditions with Ballet Basel and St. Gallen. Unfortunately the receptionist at Ballet Basel is somewhat of a cow, and St. Gallen is going through some drastic changes so I decided to relax and have a bit of quiet time before I went to Bern to audition for the company there. I used my time to plan some things in Germany, where I will be heading next. After a long day sending e-mails, I managed to get 3 private auditions in Germany and an invitation to Ballett Mannheim's open audition. I rewarded myself with a ticket to see Slumdog Millionare. 

I still did class everyday with the Zurich Opera School, which is just behind the Opera House. The teacher was a really lovely woman (who reminded me of my teacher from back home, Miss Adeline) who said I was a very intelligent dancer. It was nice to hear. Unfortunately, being intelligent doesn't always get you jobs. 

On Thursday afternoon, I hopped on a train to Bern, the cosy capital of Switzerland. What can I say about the place? It's nice. Nice. There is no other word to describe it. I was soon to discover that everything in Bern is just nice. Nothing more. I did a ballet class in a little studio off Marktgasse on Friday afternoon. The teacher was a former principal dancer of Bern Ballet back in the day. He was so happy to have me in class, he refused to let me pay for it. I almost felt sorry. I watched Bern Ballet perform a triple bill. It was, well, nice. Not bad, but not breath-taking or inspiring in any way. 

I went to the audition anyway. They were only auditioning men, so it was really good to make friends with a whole lot of boys. Most of them were very friendly and very chatty. I met some very interesting guys at the audition, and some amazing dancers. The audition class was taken by this tall older guy with beautiful extensions and feet. His exercises were quite strange and uncoordinated, but I did my best with it. It wasn't like any of the other audition classes. He seemed like he had something to prove, and maybe he did.

I was in the first group, so we had to wait till the second group had done their class before they made the first cut. It was a good opportunity for me to chat with some of the guys from the first group. Well, I got cut. But as I walked out of the studio, I realized that they had cut many of the really amazing ones too. The artistic director said that they were offering contracts to two men, but they had to dance the same way as the men they were replacing. What is up with that? So if I don't happen to dance like someone else, no matter how amazing I am, I get cut after a ballet class? If that is the case, why hold an audition at all?. How about just posting videos of dancers they want to replace with a heading: 'Not An Individual? Please Apply Here.'

I had lunch with two other 'individuals'. They were both Americans who had been working as ballet dancers in Europe. One of them was a bit older, and in a ballet company in Dusseldorf. He wasn't happy as a ballet dancer (even though he was a stunning classical dancer) and wanted to try out for contemporary companies. We swapped contacts and he is going to put me in touch with a dance union in Germany, where I can find out whatever is happening in Germany. What is really good about open auditions is the people you meet. 

I didn't expect to get a job straight away. These things take time, and I need to get to know more people. It's difficult coming from so far away, and when nobody has seen you perform, to get a job straight away. My mother says to have patience. Something will come up when the time is right. I have learned through past experience to always listen to my mother. I know she will be right yet again. 

So now I'm back in Zurich. I cancelled the extra night of accommodation in 'nice' Bern. Good thing I did that, because if I didn't, my friend wouldn't have pointed out that I was going to the wrong place tomorrow. I had planned to take a train to Koblenz, in Germany to do a private audition. I didn't realise my plans (I thought I did a pretty good job with them, too) would lead me to Koblenz in Switzerland! I don't have friends in Bern, and nobody would have pointed that out to me. I would have ended up in a small country town in Switzerland thinking I was in Germany. Strange how things fall into place, eh?

My German adventures begin tomorrow, but tonight I have to go to Basel and spend a night there before I catch my train to Koblenz, Germany. Not Switzerland.