Happy new year to all of you out there. We have finally lined up all our teachers for next summer, and will be posting a new front page etc by January the 14th.

Our teachers this year will be:

Julio Bocca (Argentinian Star), Cynthia Harvey (ABT and ROYAL), Robert Tewsley (Royal, Stuttgart, Canada), Elisabeth Maurin (Paris Opera former Etoile), Barbora Kohoutkova (Hamburg, Finnish Ballet), David Wall CBE(Ballet Master ENB and former star of Royal Ballet), Natasa Novotna (NDT) as well as Daria Klimentova and Christopher Hampson of course plus Nina Brozdova (Ex ABT) and Vaclav Janecek(Laterna Magika).

Will put up all details very soon so look out for them.

Warmest regards

Ian and Daria

Balletmasterclasses Week 1 by Daria Klimentova (version 1)

Balletmasterclass Week 1 by Daria Klimentova (version 2)

Daria Klimentova’s videos starring: Christopher Hampson, Beatrice Knop, Jan-Eric Wikstrom, Yat-Sen Chang, Ian Comer, Jonathan Still, Marianna (our pianist), Charles Mudry, Daria Klimentova and of course all our dancers.

ENJOY!

So there we were, everything going so smoothly, great interview with Daria Klimentova last night, all the teachers turned up and started swapping funny stories of things that go wrong during shows with all the dancers (lots of laughter all round, then we showed our private comedy tape. it always goes down well. Then back home for dinner with Sabina. Daria sat up very late making a video (which is on this page) when suddenly she got a phone call, at one o’clock in the morning, from a very emotional and upset TAMARA ROJO, who had broken her foot in the middle of ACT 2 in Manon, during a gala in Italy with Federico Bonelli. Obviously she wasn’t going to be able to make it over to Prague. (she had even checked in to the flight online before the show). Daria woke me up, and we had to get our thinking caps on. Agnes Oaks was on an island in the middle of nowhere in Estonia only accessible by boat, so wouldn’t make it in time, we put Beatrice Knop on stand by and asked her to find out if she could stay an extra week but then fortunately we finally managed to get hold of Barbora Kohoutkova (Prima Ballerina from Hamburg Ballet) through her mother and she was very happy to arrive three days earlier than planned (she was due to give general class on Wednesday and Thursday) to cover for Tamara Rojo. In the middle of all this I had to get back to the airport first thing in the morning to meet this weeks arrivals.

This is what to look out for at the airport. Ian Comer

I had also forgotten that Kevin Richmond (balletmaster of Basel Ballet Company) was arriving just to visit us all for a holiday. So he has now been roped into giving a couple of classes during the week, secretly I think he is very happy, he would much rather be working than being on holiday.

Whilst on my way back to the airport at four o’clock Beatrice Knop calls me to say the flight is delayed back to Berlin, did I want to meet for coffee. So we met up at the coffee bar with big armchairs right outside the arrivals in Terminal 2 so that I could look out for Tamas Solymosi our star teacher arriving from Budapest. Beatrice and Tamas are old friends so it was nice to be able to say a brief hello all round before we had to head off back into the city. Christopher Hampson and Jonathan Still had booked a table for all of us at Kolkovna off the Old Town Square (very Czech and nice) so we all went there before i had to shoot off to the airport again to meet two dancers from Malta and one from Japan (one of the dancers from Malta took this picture of me for the blog). Finally back home at 11.30pm to print out the new schedule with the new teachers. The final word of course is for Tamara Rojo from all her friends here in Prague and all the young dancers. GET WELL SOON XXXXXXXXXX

Well it appears at least two people read this blog according to the comments so I shall continue writing it and adding photos. Someone asked for some pictures of the pas de deux class which I shall add now.  There is no particular order to these photos and they are taken by a variety of ballet staff and teachers .

Daria Klimentova and Yat-Sen Chang demonstrating 1

Daria Klimentova and Yat-Sen Chang demonstrating 2

Daria Klimentova and Yat-Sen Chang demonstrating 3

 And now their go!

 

pas de deux 7

pas de deux 16

pas de deux 8

 

pas de deux 6

Yat-Sen Chang demonstrating

pas de deux 1

Yat-Sen Chang demonstrating 1

Yat-Sen Chang 1

Yat-Sen Chang 2

Yat-Sen Chang 4

Well that will do for now. I have to spend some time arranging taxis for this weeks teachers to get back to the airport tomorrow, lending dancers money till they manage to have time to get some and hopefully making myself a cup of tea. Tonight we have our interview with Daria Klimentova which is always a lot of fun. We give away lots of goodies and private stuff such as calandars and old programmes to the dancers, plus Gaynor Minden and Dancia donate fabulous prizes for extra hard working dancers and most improved from the previous year.

We also show some old comedy film of mistakes in ballet we have collected over the years. There is a 50 minute documentary by Czech TV of Daria (which they made by following her for 3 years) but we don’t put them through that. They can watch another day if they are interested. They are still following her for another 5 years as they want to document the transition of a dancer into retirement from the stage.

Christopher Hampson class

Last nights film and interview with Beatrice Knop was the logest one we have ever done. She had some very funny stories about her career, and of course starting out in East Berlin under communism not knowing anything about the West at all, and yet so close. There were lots of questions afterwards as well. I had to cut it short because of needing to get to the airport again to meet Yat-Sen Chang. Daria had it easy, all she had to do was attend a film premiere in the city, all right for some.

Charles Mudry class

Christopher Hampson and Charles Mudry both giving morning class today, Chris downstairs and Charles up. Last nigth also had Robbie Bird phone me in a panic as he lost his wallet. He thought it had been stolen from the studios but I told him that that is very unlikely as only other dancers are here and we have security on the gate. Anyway when Chang and i returned from the airport we searched all the studio complex but could find nothing, so i texted Robbie to tell him to cancel everything asap just in case. he then phones me back at 11.30pm to tell me that Maude (a Belgium dancer) had found it on the floor of the studio and had picked it up to take it back to the hostel to give to him. He was very happy. Moral. DON’T PUT YOUR WALLET DOWN AND WALK AWAY.

My daughter comes in today for the first time this year, so we shall go for lunch somewhere. We also have to order the food for the last night party before I forget. Interviewing Yat-Sen Chang tonight and then all the teachers will be going out to our favourite close restaurant, Stoleti’s.

I though I would just add some pictures today, to try to give you an idea of the daily routine of a dancer here with us. it has been rainy today, warm but wet. i will add more throughout the day before i have to go to the airport once again for Yat-Sen Chang.

Beatrice Knop taking girls solo class

Daria Klimentova with Tereza Podarilova (Prima ballerina at the National Theatre here in Prague) with her baby son.

Beatrice Knop demonstrating in solo class

The Notice Board

Most dancers end up in Tesco’s at some point, it is more like a department store here, but handy.

Christopher Hampson, Beatrice Knop and Jan-Eric Wikstrom outside the studios by the river.

The view as you leave Tescos. With the National Theatre in the background.

The statue in the middle of the Old Town Square that you have to walk pass every day on the way to the studios.

WEDNESDAY 23rd July 2008

Office corridor between studios 2 and 3

A reasonably uneventful day. Charles Mudry received huge applause at the end of his class, and Jonathans playing is wonderful to listen to. Beatrice Knop has hurt her foot, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. At five o’clock I had to head back out to the airport to meet Robbie arriving from London.

Cedaz Mini Bus booth girls

I don’t think I’m hard to find, I stand between the glass exit doors and the transport booths, just in front of the vending machine in the picture below.

Where I stand to meet everyone

 Arrived back at the hostel at 19.00 and ran into all the dancers returning from their interview with Jan-Eric Wikstrom, hosted by Christopher Hampson tonight, the boys went up to get Robbie to take him out to eat.