Post Number 2 - London
Rambert Dance Company
A day after I got back from Zurich, I called the Rambert Dance Company to see if I would be able to attend one of their company classes. They were extremely friendly and said yes. However, they also let me know that there were no contracts available at the moment, but I thought it would be good if they saw my face, and saw how I danced just in case they need a male dancer in the future.
I made my way to Chiswick the very next morning and I arrived at 9:30am for the 10:15am class. The building is quite old, but very well maintained and very warm and cosy. The studio isn't massive, but big enough for the company. I was greeted and accepted very warmly. All the company dancers gave me a smile and a 'hello!', something that you would not expect from a ballet company.
It felt so good to be there. Everyone was smiling and laughing, and there was no show-off business. I felt so at home, and looking at the other guys, I noticed they were all about my height, and of similar builds. It just felt so strange to be in such a friendly dance environment. The ballet mistress was equally warm and friendly. She didn't look me up and down in a discriminatory fashion like so many other ballet masters/mistresses have done. I was immediately put at ease and I managed to do a very good class. At the Zurich Ballet audition, all the ballet masters were really bitchy looking and they looked at you as if you were scum. What is it with ballet people?
We did a ballet warm up class. That's all it was, it wasn't fancy or tricky, it just got you warm. Mark Baldwin, the aritstic director, came to watch class. I'm not sure what he thought of me, he seems like the kind of person who is very hard to read. At the end of class, I talked to the ballet mistress and she repeated that they didn't need any male dancers at the moment. She said to keep in touch, and keep an eye out for auditions. She said she would be happy to get an application from me if anything comes up. That was really good to hear.
On another note, I called up the Akram Khan Company as well. Apparently they are looking for Chinese dancers. Finally, my race may get me somewhere! They asked me to send an application, so I will do that on Monday and hopefully I will be invited to the audition workshop. I also applied for Retina Dance Company, Danish Dance Theatre, Norrdans and Club Guy & Roni. More updates soon.
A day after I got back from Zurich, I called the Rambert Dance Company to see if I would be able to attend one of their company classes. They were extremely friendly and said yes. However, they also let me know that there were no contracts available at the moment, but I thought it would be good if they saw my face, and saw how I danced just in case they need a male dancer in the future.
I made my way to Chiswick the very next morning and I arrived at 9:30am for the 10:15am class. The building is quite old, but very well maintained and very warm and cosy. The studio isn't massive, but big enough for the company. I was greeted and accepted very warmly. All the company dancers gave me a smile and a 'hello!', something that you would not expect from a ballet company.
It felt so good to be there. Everyone was smiling and laughing, and there was no show-off business. I felt so at home, and looking at the other guys, I noticed they were all about my height, and of similar builds. It just felt so strange to be in such a friendly dance environment. The ballet mistress was equally warm and friendly. She didn't look me up and down in a discriminatory fashion like so many other ballet masters/mistresses have done. I was immediately put at ease and I managed to do a very good class. At the Zurich Ballet audition, all the ballet masters were really bitchy looking and they looked at you as if you were scum. What is it with ballet people?
We did a ballet warm up class. That's all it was, it wasn't fancy or tricky, it just got you warm. Mark Baldwin, the aritstic director, came to watch class. I'm not sure what he thought of me, he seems like the kind of person who is very hard to read. At the end of class, I talked to the ballet mistress and she repeated that they didn't need any male dancers at the moment. She said to keep in touch, and keep an eye out for auditions. She said she would be happy to get an application from me if anything comes up. That was really good to hear.
On another note, I called up the Akram Khan Company as well. Apparently they are looking for Chinese dancers. Finally, my race may get me somewhere! They asked me to send an application, so I will do that on Monday and hopefully I will be invited to the audition workshop. I also applied for Retina Dance Company, Danish Dance Theatre, Norrdans and Club Guy & Roni. More updates soon.
Comments