Post Number 13 - Germany

I arrived in Koblenz on a beautiful, sunny Monday morning. Having only slept for four hours the previous night, I struggled to appreciate it. I regret it now, knowing that to see the sun here is a very rare treat indeed. The theatre smelt old and muggy, and to be honest it was rather old and muggy (but in a very charming way). The artistic director of the ballet was downstairs sorting some papers out, so he lead me to the changing rooms and the studio (which was tiny).

I was tired, but I managed to pull off quite a fair class. I do like the company. It's very cosy, and all the dancers seem to get along with one another, and everyone seems to enjoy class like it isn't work. The dancers were beautiful, and I wondered if I would fit in. To my surprise, the director seemed very interested in me, and asked me for my CV. He told me he would call me once his premiere is over and done with, so that he could see me dance a little bit more and my partnering skills and all that. The company is quite a classically based company, but much too small to do the big ballets so it's mostly neo-classical. I can only push on for now and hope for a reply sometime soon.

By the time I got to Mainz to meet up with Nat again, I was about to fall over with the weight of my backpack and laptop bag. It was so good to know that I would be travelling with her again. It was so good to know that I could talk to someone other than myself. Saying this, I feel that I can be more extroverted when I need to be, and my social skills are improving somewhat. I'm not much of a people-person by nature, but I am finding the human species quite satisfying in small doses. 

The next day I did a class with Ballett Mainz. I was so impressed at the technical brilliance that almost all the dancers possessed. Not many of them had the 'ideal' ballet height, but it just proves that you can still be amazing no matter how your body is formed, and I was comforted by this thought. That afternoon we used our time to sort out our schedules for the next few weeks, which will be very busy (and productive). I have an open audition almost every weekend, and will try to get as many classes as I can. There will also be the Hivernales Dance Festival that we will be attending in Avignon, which I am looking forward to!

This morning, Nat and I caught a train to Giessen. I managed to arrange a private audition with the company, and Nat decided she would like to come also. The ballet mistress is from New Zealand, but went to VCA and was taught by Nanette Hassall back in the day. It's so normal to have some kind of connection with every single dancer you meet. The dance world is so tiny. We did the ballet class, and the artistic director watched a little bit of it. After the class they asked us to watch rehearsal and learn a little bit of a solo. He said he would like to spend a bit of time with us tomorrow and then we would go from there. He seems really interested in Nat, hardly surprising. Tomorrow I will just give him what I have to offer, and if he doesn't like it I really can't do anything about it. Or can I?