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Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 9.

On the bus to Inverness we had to stop in Perth because of road closures and the snow! We waited only 15 minutes until we were on the move again, some of us not thinking we would actually reach our destination as we past fields of thick white snow!

I was very prepared and wore my wellies….but surprise surprise once we arrived in Inverness, there wasn’t a flake in sight -  it didn’t even rain and I had to wear wellies all week - ah well!!

We stayed in a cute B&B which was taken over by company members – it was like sharing rooms again at boarding school! The owner was very kind and laid out fantastic breakfasts every morning. Inverness is a very quaint, picturesque place with the trees lining the river and fairy lights draped around their branches! We went out for dinner on that first night to a restaurant which had a lovely view over the river. 

When we arrived at the theatre I immediately liked the stage, it was quite big and isn’t raked! The auditorium is quite modern and from the outside I thought if you removed the windows you could place the theatre building in the woods and it would look like a lovely cottage…much like what I picture the house to look like that Hansel & Gretel come across! There is also a cinema within the theatre nd I would definitely have gone if I had time, tickets were only £2!

Remi Andreoni debuted as the Prince this week, dancing on two occasions and big congratulations go out to him! He danced with Sophie Martin on both occasions and the Grand Pas was so lovely to watch and yes to begin with there may have been nerves (of course!), but it was not noticeable at all and he (and she) danced wonderfully! I think I have watched different casts perform the Grand Pas on all but maybe 5 occasions…it’s just really interesting and you can learn so much from watching different dancers all interpret the same choreography!

I think a major difference between school and company life is that there is no one there to tell you how your body should feel, so you have to decide what is best for you and get on with it.  I feel I have learnt so much from having this contract and the company is so lovely, a really great bunch of people!

In each venue the dressing rooms of people vary depending on the size of the rooms but generally our changing room consists of Nicole, Sophie, Heather, Irene, Megan and me.  

We have started the ‘complaints cup’ haha! Every time one of us moans or generally complains once we step inside the theatre building, we have to add 10p to the cup…oh and the occasional swear word! By the end of the tour when we are in Newcastle, we are using the money for celebratory drinks (yes it’s pretty much a win win situation!!)

Belfast has got to be my favourite tour venue so far…Newcastle has got quite a lot to live up to! Firstly our hotel was literally a hop, skip and a jump away from the theatre which meant slightly longer lie in before breakfast and class on stage.  The dressing rooms were a good size and we had quite a bit of space to put out our skips and personal belongings!

A massive congrats to Lewis and Brenda for their debuts as Drosslmyer and Mouserink - both danced so well!

The theatre in Belfast was really pretty.  There were little statues of elephants decorating the auditorium and the stage was a really good size - bonus! The audiences were amazing, so enthusiastic, and the theatre was always packed which is great! I can’t believe we have done over 40 performances, the time has gone by really quickly and it’s crazy that next week will be the last week of tour and where we hit performance 52!!

I was very lucky this week as well as I was cast as one of the Poppies! I was so excited to have a change and dance as a Poppy in the Waltz of the Flowers for the last three performances.

On the last show in Belfast, Laura Joffre did my make up (a much needed lesson in stage make up and some really helpful tips!) So thank you again Laura for doing it! What a difference it made!

We found so many great places while there - a delicious cupcake store (cupcakes are definitely my weakness!!) and two restaurants.  One called Made in Belfast that I think was new to everyone where we went on Saturday night.  The portions were huge and the food was so good! The other, Zen was an old favourite of the company’s.  A japanese restaurant whose sushi was absolutely mouth watering (we ate there Friday night) and downstairs was turned into a dance area on Saturday night for everyone.  Great fun!

I love the Irish accent and the people have been really friendly! I even got to try  Tim Horton’s, a company famous in Canada that does coffees and has a bakery.  My uncle who lives in Vancouver has brought me over mugs from there and is always telling me about it.  It was worth the wait because the drinks are so yummy, especially their hot chocolate!

Next stop for The Nutcracker is Newcastle, I’m really looking forward to it! I hope anyone that’s coming enjoys it!

Suzy x

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 8.

 “It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.” – Muhammad Ali

By Suzy Halstead.

Happy New Year!! I wish you all a prosperous year ahead!
Christmas at home was really lovely! For morning class on the 24th we all dressed up with something Christmassy and donated money to charity! My parents came to watch the Matinee performance - all the excitement about going home for most of us afterwards definitely had kicked in!! Flights and trains to catch meant there was a big rush after and I made a quick trip back to my flat to pick some things up before heading home. Two days off was definitely something to look forward to! My brother has been offered a job which he was supposed to be going to the States on the 21st December but fortunately it’s changed to a later date which meant he was home with us all for Christmas! I don’t think the family been altogether for so long so I was so happy to be going home! The first thing I did once home was wrap all my presents!

Christms morning and by 11am I had to go and jump on my brother and sister’s beds to get them up – definitely no more 6am starts at Christmas for us!! I got two amazing books I’d heard about; ‘Dancers Among Us’ and Henry Leutwyler’s Ballet.  Two books full of photographs, so different, and inspiring! I also received some Designed By Alice skirts - very happy to finally own some for myself!!

- Designed By Alice skirts.

My Mum’s cooking was incredible as always and she had made so much! Just being at home was so lovely. Boxing Day and some family friends came over for dinner and by the time they left, I realised I had to head back through to Glasgow the next day!

It was all go on the 27^th, especially after a few days off! 5 shows left to go in Glasgow -  I couldn’t quite believe it!!

Some friends in my year at the Conservatoire came up for New Year’s and I was so happy they were here! I had 4 people staying in our flat, so it was very cosy but so good to see them all again!! They watched the last show we did on the 29th – it was really comforting having them in the audience but also made me really nervous!! We have been so lucky with our audiences in Glasgow, so appreciative of the performance.  I can’t wait for the rest of the tour to begin -  31 shows to go and if they go anything like they do in Glasgow, I’ll be really happy, although I hope it doesn’t go as fast! I don’t want this opportunity to end, it’s honestly been amazing!! Loved every minute!!

Definitely looking forward to what 2013 brings, another year to be doing something I love…bring it on!!

Whereever you are in the world, have an amazing New Years! Hello 2013!!!

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 7.

Dreams do come true…

As you can imagine, being in the theatre has meant I have been super busy and although I wanted to, I haven’t managed to post any updates! So this one will be nice and long for you all!

Our first rehearsal in the theatre last Wednesday evening was really a technical rehearsal primarily for the stage crew. The set in The Nutcracker is quite complex (I won’t spoil any surprises if you are coming to see the performance!) so we went through the first act to sort out any difficult moments. From where I was standing, we went through this swiftly – everyone was on the ball! This was probably the first moment that properly hit me and I realised how excited I was to get started!

In Glasgow we are performing in Theatre Royal, a theatre I had worked in for the past year - finally getting to be on the other side looking out into the auditorium was a dream! I had served the company for post show drinks after the opening night for Autumn Season and some had joked saying ‘it’ll be you next!’ It’s amazing how time flies by!

From last Thursday onwards we take  takes place on stage – the first class was quite daunting as it’s amazing the difference from having a mirror in front of you to four tiers of seats bearing down on you. Saying that, you get used to it pretty quickly. Shortly after class we went into running Act 1 twice (the two casts) and Act 2 twice. A tiring day but it gave us two chances to sort things out in each act.

We each have our own desk in the changing rooms to put everything we need, from hair pins to lucky charms to make up.  I have bought myself a little Christmas tree to keep the Christmas spirit going…any excuse really! Behind us are costume rails and space to leave our skips that we packed a while back when we were in HQ! My rail is taken up mostly with my pointe shoes flung over to dry them out and keep them organised! We each have a drawer and little cupboard too where I have put warm ups etc! Obviously there are too many of us to all be in the same room but they are at least a dozen girls in the room I’m in, so there’s always laughter and chatting going on! There are 3 dressers with us who are lovely and very helpful!

After a long day on Thursday, I was excited to start the dress rehearsal on Friday! The masks we have to wear for Mice are really intricately designed and can be hard to dance in, so we needed to get used to them! It was also our first run with the orchestra! I had seen them and heard them practising in HQ and they sounded beautiful! There is nothing, in my mind, better than dancing and listening to a full orchestra! What a difference to the piano! Don’t get me wrong, the pianists we have at Scottish are amazing players and really lift your spirits in classes in the early mornings but to hear the orchestra was something else!!

The dress felt like it went well, as always there are things to perfect and changes to be made but in all it felt good! What made it that little bit better was knowing that the students in the Modern Ballet course at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland were watching (a great perk of the school!) and to see some familiar faces out there makes you relax…if only a little bit!!

On Saturday the Education department had organised The Little Nutcracker, where about 800 children and their parents came to watch Act 2 of our final dress run! In the interval once we had finished rehearsing Act 1, 4 of us went out into the audience, Kyle and Ivan in their Chinese outfits and Megan and I in our Snowflake costumes, to say hello to everyone! It felt like Disney, it was so cute! Loads of little girls came over (I was definitely like this when I was wee!) to see the costume and have their picture taken! After we had to walk down the aisle waving at everyone! Of course young children are going to chatter away so dancing in Act 2 was a great exercise to block out the noise but it was also really lovely to hear all the comments coming from the audience! Especially when Beth and Eric danced the Sugarplum pas de deux and variations! Every time I watch this pas de deux I am mesmerised, it’s still so magical (yes I am 20 but I don’t think I’ll ever grow up when watching it) I loved it as a child and I love it now!

Saturday night = Opening Night!!! :) The butterflies kicked in around 5pm just after we finished the dress so I just stayed in the dressing room relaxing, having a bite to eat before the show and reading some magazines to distract my mind!! My family, uncle and neighbour were coming to watch and I was so excited for them to see me in my first professional performance! About an hour before the show, I began warming up, rolling out any aches and pains! The half hour call was shortly announced and with no time at all, the curtain was up and we had begun…

I don’t know how to describe how I felt after the show and we had taken our curtain calls but whatever it was, I don’t want the feeling to ever go away! Of course I felt there were things that could of gone better but that’s always the way.  Sophie and Adam, our Principles for the evening were so elegant and captivating! Their Grand Pas was so enchanting and I loved watching it from the wings.  The whole company did a great job!

The next performance can’t come soon enough! I am so excited to be performing again and be on stage…bring on the rest of the shows!! :)

Suzy x

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 6.

Last weekend was the best weekend I’ve had in a long time! After work I caught the train home and arrived to a fantastic Haggis meal made by Mum! That evening I went along to the Find Your Feet ‘Behind The Scenes’ talk at the Julie Young Studios which was a really good insight into what else happens within the company…I found it really interesting! Afterwards, I met my sister and her friends in town but went home early, I was erally tired! Sunday was a quiet, relaxing day -  my brother came home too, so the whole family was together which was so lovely and hasn’t happened in so long!

Mum’s homemade roast dinner went down a treat and we finished off with a birthday cake for her (it’s her birthday today so we celebrated it early seeing as we were all there) A quick stop at Tesco and I was back in Glasgow preparing for another week! 

The week began with class and I was back on pointe! Very happy!! I had no rehearsals in the morning so spent the few hours off sewing much needed pointe shoes and then ate my chicken thai noodles for lunch!

The afternoon was filled with Snowflakes into French into Poppies! 3 and a quarter hours later and we were finished and I was shattered! The Nutcracker’s choreographer Ashley Page is coming to rehearsals from tomorrow until Saturday so this week will be very full with many full runs, so I’m very glad my toe is completely fine now

Constance Devernay, Quenby Hersh, Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Amy Hadley as Poppies in Ashley Page’s The Nutcracker. Photograph by Andrew Ross.

On Tuesday we had ladies class with Chris to start the morning! His classes stretch me but are great for strength, stamina and pointe work so it was a great way to begin the day! And then it was into a full run with the 1st cast in front of Ashley.  I had prepared myself for a day of practising from the back and sewing pointe shoes…buts when I checked the board and i’m 1st cast now - I really hope it stays that way! I am doing Mice in Act 1 and French in Act 2.  I’m so happy about this and grateful as my Mum had gotten too excited and bought lots of tickets for opening night, so hopefully this way I will be on and she’ll see me!!

To end the day, Kyle, Sophie, Heather, Nicole and I went to Nandos as a treat for dinner.  We had to walk through the quaint Christmas market that has been set up in St Enoch and I have to say, hats off to Glasgow for their lights and the market this year – both very very good!! I can’t wait to go and wonder around….I LOVE Christmas time, our tree is going up on Sunday!

Suzy x

Let this day be positive and filled with lots of happiness, as it will set the stage for your week to come.

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 5.

So my sore toe has pretty much cleared up and I managed the whole of class without even thinking about it - very happy today!  I always try and think positively whatever the situation because it’s 50% your mental attitude as well so you can make things better just by the way you think about it.  I’m still dancing in flat shoes but within no time I’ll be putting on those pointe shoes again.

I had a costume fitting today for French Maids which was so exciting because now I’m potentially 2nd Cast so I’m very happy about that. Today has been a long yet a very good day, we rehearsed French – they dance with large tea pots and the Governess too so we were making sure everything worked together with spacing and finalising the positions and holding of the tea pots. After we went straight into Waltz of the Flowers with Poppies, Courgettes, Orchids and the Rose. With so many dancers on stage it can get very busy so you have to be aware of what is going on! 

The party scene from Scottish Ballet’s The Nutcracker, photograph Andrew Ross

Lunch and we were back into rehearsing the French Maids finale. The practise tutu I wear for rehearsals is too big for me so I have finally got a piece of elastic to tie around the top and now, thankfully it sits up on my waist and I don’t have to keep fiddling with it…perfect!!

A quick break and I decided I was going to go home at the weekend after rehearsals and once I’ve caught up with a friend. Scottish Ballet have been touring with the Find Your Feet Project which has been a great success and they are going to my hometown of Perth this weekend to finish the tour off! So if you are in the area, definitely check it out as they are there from Friday until Monday, a full weekend of activities for everyone to get involved with! They are talking at my first local dance school - Julie Young Dance Studios on Saturday night from 7-9pm so I’m going to be going along - come and say hello if you are there! A lovely excuse to go home to family, friends and old comforts and I’m very much looking forward to it.

To finish the ay we ran from the beginning of Act 1 to the interval. They used a mixture of people and although we did stop and start, it gave me a good idea of what it would be like to go from Children to Mice and then to Snowflakes too. I sat watching in a part of the Party scene and I thought about the beginning of the tour starting in just over 2 weeks and I really can’t wait! To think it was only 3 weeks ago that I started with company and we are nearly at opening night – to describe any kind of excitement and emotions I’m feeling wouldn’t give them justice; I literally can’t wait! 

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 4.

Suzy Halstead has joined Scottish Ballet for The Nutcracker winter 2012/13 tour and will be blogging her way through the next few months with the Company. Stay tuned for more updates of Suzy’s day to day in the run up to the tour!

Everyone has different ways of preparing their feet for pointe shoes, little rituals of their own.  Mine is simply just put on toe pads, the shoes go on and I’m ready! On Tuesday however I forgot mine. I remembered an old teacher of mine showing us how to make make-shift toe pads out of paper towels.  I went and grabbed a few of the hand towels from the bathroom and got to work.

Snowflakes rehearsals straight after class on Tuesday and the afternoon rehearsal also involved pointe shoes! The house scene at the beginning of Act 1 is starting to come together and looks really good!! Dancing as the Children in the party is loads of fun and I really enjoy doing it!

The day came to an end and it was time to meet my Mum and brother! We went to Carluccios, one of my favourite restaurants to go to here! It does lovely food, from breakfast through to dinner and coming in makes everything even more tempting as they have a bakery/shop right at the entrance! Their home made meringues and panettone look and smell delicious! I enjoyed a fish stew in a tomato sauce and shared a chocolate fondant to finish (I ate most of it!!) The conversation as usual was none stop which made the evening even better!

Yesterday’s rehearsals were more about piecing everything together in the 2nd Act.  Back home and I soaked my feet and made a rice dish for dinner! I was told by Sophie Martin in the company that garlic is good to eat to reduce inflammation for when you have sore feet so I’ve been trying to make dishes containing it - as they say, every little helps!! 

As it’s so near to Christmas too, I’ve been looking into Christmas presents for family and friends (and also to have a look if I fancy anything!) We tend to give Mum and Dad (obviously for Santa..!!) hints on what we would like! I have a younger sister and an older brother so we tend to buy each other one or two really good gifts instead of loads of little things! It’s just how we do it and I find it a lot easier when you have hints! Of course, my sister is very good at this and I have quite a list from her!

 Suzy x

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 3.

Suzy; a Season at Scottish! Post 2.

Suzy Halstead has joined Scottish Ballet for The Nutcracker winter 2012/13 tour and will be blogging her way through then next few months with the Company. Stay tuned for more updates of Suzy’s day to day in the run up to the tour!

Prepared for a long day today.  Class, 1 hour and 45 minute Poppies rehearsal and then 3 hours and 15 minutes Mice/Battle scene rehearsal! With a 1 hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks in between everything, I knew it would be tough! Coming into work early and going on the cross-trainer, I managed to get a 10 minute Gyro session, working only my upper body with one of the instructors, Finn before 9am! This really helped as I felt quite sore after my massage the day before and just wanted to open up my shoulders.

Class went well, the massage definitely paid off and I was constantly thinking about broadening my upper body and lengthening my arms! We began our Poppies rehearsal leaning the coda in Act 2 which is fast and there is one tricky bit where we have to coupé jeté past each other.  Although it doesn’t look like anything out of the ordinary, it’s rather scary when you are in a confined space and you see someone else practically coming at you in such a short space of time too!! We then went back over the separate entrances - there are 6 in total.  This was a good refresher as we began back at the beginning and it had been a few days since going over these earlier steps - it just shows how much you have to keep unearthing everything you learn because there isn’t enough time in the day to rehearse everything you learn, we have to remember it all! It was also a great session, as I am dancing in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th casts so I had to dance most of the time which was a great stamina exercise! Hopefully by the performances, I won’t be so out of breath! 

A lunch break that seemed to fly by and we were all back in the studio to go over the Mice in the Battle Scene! With the soldiers now incorporated, it looks like it’s all coming together and to begin with there were a few collisions! We have to be aware of all the scenery too which is marked out by different tape all over the floor! Together though, the battle looks really impressive! Although it was the first cast dancing throughout this rehearsal, I found myself wanting to get really into it - you can certainly get into the acting of it all which is a lot of fun! Being a long rehearsal and only one cast dancing, you have to be really attentive as once it’s all worked out for them, i.e. spacing and direction, the other casts are expected to know exactly what they are doing.  We can’t afford the time to go over it again and again! This was difficult but we actually ended up finishing earlier than planned which was a lovely feeling knowing we could go home a little earlier and have a relaxing evening! 

My pointe shoes have arrived which is really exciting, not only because I really really needed them but knowing I’ve been given them through the company - an amazing perk!!

After relaxing in the sauna for about 10-15 minutes, it was definitely time to go home to wind down.

Suzy; a Season at Scottish!

Suzy Halstead has joined Scottish Ballet for The Nutcracker winter 2012/13 tour and will be blogging her way through then next few months with the Company. Stay tuned for more updates of Suzy’s day to day in the run up to the tour!

By Suzy Halstead

My first contract and I’ve already completed my first week.  I’d waited 18 weeks from when I was initially offered the contract so the first day was pretty nerve racking to say the least.  I had been fortunate enough to take class with Scottish Ballet while I had been attending the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, so the building was familiar which meant I didn’t feel like I was stepping into the unknown! Even though this was the case, if I’m honest, I was petrified! I had been so excited for months and the day was finally here!

Class for the week was excellent but tough.  We had a fantastic teacher, Ivan Dinev, a former soloist at Scottish and now a teacher at English National Ballet School.  His classes pushed me but I didn’t quite feel myself.  I was scared to be in anyone’s way and was so self-conscious.  Thankfully, everyone here is lovely and so welcoming and with this being a relatively small company, you can get to know everyone!

We were thrown straight into rehearsals with my first day not finishing until 6pm.  As a seasonal I didn’t expect to be learning as much as I am.  Within The Nutcracker, I’m covering 2 roles and cast in 5! I We started with French and Poppies in Act 2 and then moved onto learning the Children’s dance in Act 1 at the beginning of this week which is so much fun.  To begin with my feet throbbed and blisters appeared - they just weren’t used to all day pointe work after such a long summer break but ice buckets every evening have most certainly helped.  

At Scottish Ballet, we can have Gyrotonic sessions (a mixture of exercises combining both ballet and pilates) and massage treatments which is a such a privilege.  I didn’t realise at school how important these little things are.  I have become a little obsessed with Gyro, having taken classes with Kerry McLellan for almost 2 years at Penny Withers Studio in Glasgow.  I really feel it helps to improve my dancing and keeps the niggles at bay.  My old teacher, Oliver Rydout at the RCS is also a Gyro teacher at Penny’s and he taught Gyrokinesis to us at school (Gyrotonics without the use of any machines) I find it’s a great warm up too!

I’ve so far had one Gyro lesson with another this week and a massage to look forward to!

The costume department here, in my opinion is like a magical grotto! It’s fascinating to see all the various costumes from over the years from different productions.  They are all so creative and are made with background inspiration to them, so a lot of thought goes into them.  For example, I’ve been told that the mice have been inspired by the Suffragettes, mostly women frustrated by their social and economic situation! To me this just adds to the role giving them much more of a depth to the initial character in mind.

I’m absolutely loving working (even if I do have to call it that!) Getting up in the morning is much easier knowing I’m going to dance with the company I’ve always dreamt about!