Saturday 11th, Last Day

Well last night all the teachers headed off for dinner at our favourite restaurant, STOLETI, it is owned by a Czech Lord (6' 5ins) who also owns a lot of vinyards in Moravia, and even though it is only 200m from Charles Bridge it has remained remarkably Czech in its prices. Staff are very friendly and the ambience is perfect. Daria Pavlenko was wandering around the city before we met for dinner and got caught in a sudden downpour, she turned up looking very very wet, so we waited for her to change and dry off before setting off the 150m from the studios with plenty of umbrellas.

Got in earlier than usual this morning to set up the tables for tonights party and to sort out the fares for the dancers to be able to get back to the airport on Sunday. Vaclav Janecek and Daria Klimentova for the final general classes today. Someone left a rather nice Chanel watch in the studios last night, amazed no one has asked about it yet. I shall find out after class to whom it belongs. Several proud parents looking in today, it is always nice to see support for dance (and sneak a holiday in at the same time (who can blame them)).

Jan-Erik Wikstrom stayed half an hour after his solo class working very hard with 7 or 8 boys who didn't want to stop. Jan-Erik has discovered he loves coaching, and now he only has 40 minutes left before Pas de Deux. Daria Klimentova got caught in the rain with only a small umbrella to cover her new handbag so I had to dash out to rescue her with the big one. I of course then end up with soaked trousers. The watch was Chantal's. Peter Smida has left his wallet behind in public places twice so far and left cash on the floor at the studios, and has somehow got it all back in tact every time, talk about lucky.

The party food arrived on time. The applause today at the end of each sesion has been extraordinary, the teachers and pianists should be very proud of themselves. Pas de deux had to be brought to a close 20 minutes after it should have finished, they would have gone on all night. We did our usual give away during the party, lots of calendars and ballet clothes and programmes, and a cheer goes up for every recipient which is very nice to hear. This year the dancers seem to have gelled very well together, a lot of friendships have been formed with large groups going out together instead of just twos and threes. Daria P, Amy and Jan-Erik got trapped in the studio signing t-shirts and brochures non-stop for about an hour and seemed genuinely happy to do so. I think they have enjoyed it as much as the dancers, really. So finally I finished tidying up and gathering together all the Masterclass paraphenalia at about 22.00 and ordered a taxi to take us home. Jonathan and Amy and Jan-Eric returned to Stoleti's once again and Daria P headed to her apartment to call her mother and boyfriend. Daria K has to get up early to go to Czech TV to meet with the editor of the documentary to make sure that the dancing bits are edited correctly before we go to Italy on Monday for a beach break with our daughter. I hope you all have enjoyed reading a little bit about what it is like to be with us in Prague ,the only thing left for me to do is to be on hand tomorrow in case there are any problems for any of the dancers getting to the airport. So it is good night from me and I shall add some more a little later in the year. Have a great year and enjoy your dancing.Ian.

POST SCRIPT:

Of course Sunday didn't go quite as smoothly as one would have hoped. I get a phone call at 08.45 from one of our dancers from Poland. Her passport and bus ticket and money and jewellery were stolen from her last night. Police had to be called to enable her to get a crime number, so that when the Polish Embassy opens tomorrow they will issue her with some identity documents so that she can get home. Obviously upset when I meet up with her but being comforted by another two dancers who don't leave till later in the day. So I give her all the details for the Embassy and how to get there easily in the morning, pay for her room for another night, get her another bus ticket and give her some spending money. As there are no buses to Warsaw on Mondays her father tells her to take one to Liberec, in the northern Czech Republic, and he will drive down to pick her up from there. Luckily there are some other dancers staying on a few days so she will share a room with them tonight. Poor girl, it is always horrible to be the victim of theft, or any crime, especially in a foreign land. This was her second year with us, and even with all this she says she is determined to come again next summer. Take care to you all and have fun. IAN