Tuesday sees me returning yet again to the Airport to meet Cara from the USA. return in time for lunch to find that a lady who owns a restaurant next door to the studios wants to give all the dancers 50% off on production of their pass. She likes to support dance apparently. Daria and Chris have now gone to check it out.

Interviewed Vaclav Kunes from NDT this evening and showed some film of his choreography and some of him dancing a solo of Jiri Kylian’s. He is such a nice man, and recently became a dad for the first time (his partner is still dancing for NDT). After the film some very interesting questions were asked leading to a big discussion about the future of dance and financing as opposed to the artistic vision of a dancer and companies. VERY DEEP. We seem to have a very serious bunch of dancers this year and it was great to have such an important aspect of what we do for a living at the front of the agenda. Vaclav and I enjoyed it very much.

Afterwards Daria and I went to Tescos for some shopping (where we met several dancers) before dinner at the LOUVRE restaurant. Very old fashioned dining and tea room with billiard hall on Nahrodni Trida. Very Czech with smart Grosvenor House tea room type outfits, still very cheap as well even with the pound at only 27 Kronos at the moment.

Daria Klimentová and Christopher Hampson

Monday saw a slight problem for one of the Central dancers (who were late due to a performance in London on the Sunday), who was refused exit from the UK because of a problem with an out of date Italian ID card or something. anyway they let him out later and he arrived at 21.30 instead (missing a very good first night party which saw the prescence of some famous Czech actors, Artists and film directors who came to say hello to Daria, greatly impressing the local Czech dancers). Christopher Hampson met him from the airport in a taxi and checked him into the hostel before finally collapsing with jet lag.

Terminal 1 arrivals hall

So Jonathan has just managed to set up a new look blog for us, and this is the test out moment. It all went remarkable smoothly on Sunday. Me at the airport all day and Jonathan at the hostel to meet and check in. Alitalia only delayed one flight from Rome bringing Giorgia, and Marion was the only only lost bag victim, (but she did have a change over in Munich from Marseille), and even that turned up by 8 o’clock so she was able to return to the airport and get back into the city with myself Beatrice Knop, Christopher Hampson and the bag.

Jonathan Still

Christopher had been travelling non stop since Friday in New zealand, where he had been restaging his Romeo and Juliet for the Royal NZB over there. 6 hours at home in London to change his clothes over from winter to summer then a dash to Gatwick to come to his other home here.

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