....and it's everything I imagined and more!
I have finally arrived at Giffords Circus and completed my first official week of rehearsals at circus headquarters in Bourton on the Water (Gloucestershire), England in the Cotswolds. It has been a busy and fun-filled week of dancing and band rehearsals as well as watching the other acts rehearse in the ring. This year's show is called "Yasmine A Musical" and it revolves around the life of horse-trainer Yasmine Smart (playing herself in the show) in three stages of her life. Sophia from Russia will be playing little Yasmine, Emily from England will be Yasmine as a teenager and in her twenties, and Yasmine will be playing herself. The musical is set in a glamorous 1940s setting for our costumes and set design as well as the musical score written by Sarah Llewellyn. The costumes are to die for! I won't give too much away but I had such fun with my fittings this week.
Most of the band members are from France and a few from England, the other dancer Roxane (I have been practicing my French with her) is from Paris, we have a Chinese ball and tricycle act, Olivier from Belgium's "Freres Taquins" act where he plays a puppet with a performing partner, Sarah Schwartz from Germany is our high-wire act, Gabor from Germany is a comedian, and Bibi and Bichu are Ethiopian jugglers. In addition to running the warm-ups and rehearsals with Molly Molloy (our American director who I am assisting) I've been notating all of the choreography and helping direct some of the comedic interludes with Barry Grantham. When I learned that Barry had been in the film "The Red Shoes" (which inspired me to dance) as well as "Tales of Hoffman" I was flabbergasted. What an amazing man! His comedic timing and dance and theatrical training are so vast yet he is so humble and fun to work with. He directed Roxanne and the band and I in "Run Rabbit Run" and the "Classical Music" interlude. In two other interludes expect some hilarious surprises in the form of role reversals. I won't say more!
At night when rehearsals are over for the day and the meetings I attend with Molly are over, the cast has a chance to relax by a campfire and the band members play the guitar and drums while others sing and I sometimes get up and dance. A night last week a flamenco tune began to play on the Spanish guitar as Emily began to sing a song about her sombrero and the rest of us chimed in and improvised. The song took a dramatic turn as I got up and began my overly dramatic flamenco dance around the fire with flamenco arms, footwork, and intense facial expressions. It was priceless. On another occasion Gabor tasted his first toasted marshmallow and his reaction was "amaaaaaiiiiiizzzzzziiiiinnnnggggg!" We all, of course, broke out into song following Gabor's hilarious response.
This weekend we've had a bit of time off but unfortunately it rained last night and today, though it didn't stop a few of us from going into nearby Cheltenham to do a bit of shopping, and today we went in two cars to downtown Bourton on the Water to do a bit of sightseeing and go out for British teatime. What a gorgeous and historic little village Bourton on the Water is! All the old stone buildings and little river with bridge running through the downtown are picturesque. I will be sure to post some of my own photos in my next post as soon as I upload them. Disclaimer: the photos won't be of a sunny day as we are in England after all, but the village is just lovely!
Finally, I must share a bit about caravan life. How amazing the caravans and wagons are! I'm in a shared wagon but everyone in the circus has their own bedroom. There is a little cooker, sink, shelves, and bed in each bedroom and room to hang and store things. It is just what one needs, with a heater inside for cold nights, and two windows per room. Some of the trailers are larger and are for the veteran performers and staff. I am so exited to have gourmet meals prepared for us by cook extraordinaire Lance and his assistant cook Evie. The dinner car will travel with all the wagons and trailers as we begin touring in two weeks time, and every night after the shows audience members can join the cast for dinner on a large country table set outdoors in a covered tent. Tickets for this can be purchased online when show tickets are purchased.
I am so thrilled to be a part of this adventure that is Giffords Circus, a theatrical and vintage circus that is well-known across England and the UK. Apparently some celebrities have come to the shows such as designer Vivienne Westwood (Nell Giffords's good friend), model Kate Moss, actress Kate Winslet, and Prince Harry to name a few. We've already had quite a bit of press anticipating the 2010 tour, and I look forward to reading more press once our shows begin! For tour dates and tickets please visit http://www.GiffordsCircus.com.
More to come and thanks for your support!
with love,
Lina the now traveling Ballerina
xx
Most of the band members are from France and a few from England, the other dancer Roxane (I have been practicing my French with her) is from Paris, we have a Chinese ball and tricycle act, Olivier from Belgium's "Freres Taquins" act where he plays a puppet with a performing partner, Sarah Schwartz from Germany is our high-wire act, Gabor from Germany is a comedian, and Bibi and Bichu are Ethiopian jugglers. In addition to running the warm-ups and rehearsals with Molly Molloy (our American director who I am assisting) I've been notating all of the choreography and helping direct some of the comedic interludes with Barry Grantham. When I learned that Barry had been in the film "The Red Shoes" (which inspired me to dance) as well as "Tales of Hoffman" I was flabbergasted. What an amazing man! His comedic timing and dance and theatrical training are so vast yet he is so humble and fun to work with. He directed Roxanne and the band and I in "Run Rabbit Run" and the "Classical Music" interlude. In two other interludes expect some hilarious surprises in the form of role reversals. I won't say more!
At night when rehearsals are over for the day and the meetings I attend with Molly are over, the cast has a chance to relax by a campfire and the band members play the guitar and drums while others sing and I sometimes get up and dance. A night last week a flamenco tune began to play on the Spanish guitar as Emily began to sing a song about her sombrero and the rest of us chimed in and improvised. The song took a dramatic turn as I got up and began my overly dramatic flamenco dance around the fire with flamenco arms, footwork, and intense facial expressions. It was priceless. On another occasion Gabor tasted his first toasted marshmallow and his reaction was "amaaaaaiiiiiizzzzzziiiiinnnnggggg!" We all, of course, broke out into song following Gabor's hilarious response.
This weekend we've had a bit of time off but unfortunately it rained last night and today, though it didn't stop a few of us from going into nearby Cheltenham to do a bit of shopping, and today we went in two cars to downtown Bourton on the Water to do a bit of sightseeing and go out for British teatime. What a gorgeous and historic little village Bourton on the Water is! All the old stone buildings and little river with bridge running through the downtown are picturesque. I will be sure to post some of my own photos in my next post as soon as I upload them. Disclaimer: the photos won't be of a sunny day as we are in England after all, but the village is just lovely!
Finally, I must share a bit about caravan life. How amazing the caravans and wagons are! I'm in a shared wagon but everyone in the circus has their own bedroom. There is a little cooker, sink, shelves, and bed in each bedroom and room to hang and store things. It is just what one needs, with a heater inside for cold nights, and two windows per room. Some of the trailers are larger and are for the veteran performers and staff. I am so exited to have gourmet meals prepared for us by cook extraordinaire Lance and his assistant cook Evie. The dinner car will travel with all the wagons and trailers as we begin touring in two weeks time, and every night after the shows audience members can join the cast for dinner on a large country table set outdoors in a covered tent. Tickets for this can be purchased online when show tickets are purchased.
I am so thrilled to be a part of this adventure that is Giffords Circus, a theatrical and vintage circus that is well-known across England and the UK. Apparently some celebrities have come to the shows such as designer Vivienne Westwood (Nell Giffords's good friend), model Kate Moss, actress Kate Winslet, and Prince Harry to name a few. We've already had quite a bit of press anticipating the 2010 tour, and I look forward to reading more press once our shows begin! For tour dates and tickets please visit http://www.GiffordsCircus.com.
More to come and thanks for your support!
with love,
Lina the now traveling Ballerina
xx
