Another lovely sunny warm day. This is of course the last day for some of our dancers, and you can see the look of regret in their eyes, that they are not here for both weeks. Daria’s mother has hand made lots of unique leg warmers, trousers and full warm up outfits, and they are going like hot cakes, she will be pleased. She wants to go with her brother and his wife to a Spa in Hungary and this will help her pay for it.

Very busy weekend coming up. I have given full instructions to all those going back to the airport, as to how to get there. We use the official CEDAZ Mini Buses. They pick the dancers up from a stop around the corner from the hostel, and then go directly to the airport only. They run every half hour, on the hour and half hour, from 05.30 until 21.30. Very reliable, and nice people. I only have 12 to arrive tomorrow but they are spread out between 07.00 and 22.30. Elisabeth Maurin, our former Etoile from Paris Opera coaching next week, is driving from Paris with her husband and 18 month old son, and Julio Bocca is coming via Madrid. Cynthia Harvey and her son are leaving quite early for the Easy Jet flight to Stanstead. She prefers Stanstead as she lives in Suffolk. Robert Tewsley is a much more leisurely mid-day flight.

Solo work today for the boys will be each choosing the variation they prefered and showing it. They have a choice of four that they have now been coached in. After pas de deux today is our interview with Daria. This is always a lot of fun, we show some clips of her and then give away some random prizes, and Cynthia Harvey has chosen one girl to receive the Gaynor Minden goodie package. Then we have to say goodbye to the 16 leaving.

Daria has made a couple of short videos on her flip, hope you like them.

I have no idea if anybody reads this blog, it feels like I am writing to myself. Sunny again today. One girl who arrived by train last Sunday finally came to see me today (but not until after I put a sign on the notice board asking her to). I pay for their taxi from the station to the hostel if they arrive by train. I give them the phone number of a very good taxi company who speak English; they give you the number of the car to expect (by text) and tell you how long it will be before it gets to you. Either that or take a taxi from a taxi rank right outside the front of the station. The price will be about CZK300 at most, but I tell them I will reimburse them up to CZK500 with a receipt. Unfortunately some chap speaking English persuaded her to go to his taxi around the corner (unlicensed of course) and then when they got to the hostel he charged her CZK1200 (four times the price). She tried to argue but this is a foreign city and she is a young woman and she thought he may be right somehow. I don’t blame her, but it is always best to use official transport in any city and follow the given instructions. She was most embarassed to tell me of course, because she had not done what I had said to do.

Christopher Hampson gave one of his non stop barres in his class today and Barbora Kohoutkova gave the other. For the boys solo today Robert Tewsley is running all four that they have been coached in, and Cynthia Harvey is continuing with Themes in the large studio 1 with the girls downstairs. Lunch in the canteen today is 3 types of salad, a hot pasta dish, a chicken breast wrapped in bacon, pork steak, a mixed vegetable stir fry, rice, cauliflower in batter, jacket potatoes, roast potatoes and veg. There are also many rolls and sanwiches available, all drinks, biscuits, chocolate, yoghurts, ice creams. The place is packed with dancers between 12.00 and 15.00. It is good to see them eat so much. They need it.

Christopher Hampson taught his Double Concerto to the larger upstairs group today, whilst Daria Klimentova and Robert Tewsley had a one by one session with couples doing Apollo pas de deux. They looked great and it is lovely to see them all supporting each other so much, the applause at the end of each pas de deux was very heart warming.

Christopher Hampson gave one of his non stop barres in his class today and Barbora Kohoutkova gave the other. For the boys solo today Robert Tewsley is running all four that they have been coached in, and Cynthia Harvey is continuing with Themes in the large studio 1 with the girls downstairs. Lunch in the canteen today is 3 types of salad, a hot pasta dish, a chicken breast wrapped in bacon, pork steak, a mixed vegetable stir fry, rice, cauliflower in batter, jacket potatoes, roast potatoes and veg. There are also many rolls and sanwiches available, all drinks, biscuits, chocolate, yoghurts, ice creams. The place is packed with dancers between 12.00 and 15.00. It is good to see them eat so much. They need it.

Christopher Hampson taught his Double Concerto to the larger upstairs group today, whilst Daria Klimentova and Robert Tewsley had a one by one session with couples doing Apollo pas de deux. They looked great and it is lovely to see them all supporting each other so much, the applause at the end of each pas de deux was very heart warming.

My goodness doesn’t time fly, spent the morning, before the dancers arrive, posting all the maps and plans as to how to get back to the airport for the ones leaving this weekend. Christopher Hampson goes for a 5K run every morning at 08.00, Jonathan Still spends an hour at the piano rehearsing for the dance pianists seminar he holds in Japan regularily. All in all between 8 and 9 while it is nice and quiet, we get a lot done.

It is going to be another warm day today, the sun is so warm through my office window at 8 that I have had to bring in a sheet from home to hang in front of it. I have no doubt that normally this office is not occupied before 9 when the sun has by that time passed by.

Nothing to really report today, tonights little trip is for a boys night out bowling. Everything is going very smoothly, too smoothly. I am waiting for the fan to get hit.

Wednesday is always a funny day for everyone. There have been two days of everyone really going for it and today they normally wake up a bit sore and wanting to take it a little slower. The realisation that this is how hard the coaches and stars work everyday, all the time, their whole career, is dawning on them. We are not a school, we are an adult course for professional dancers. Now they believe us.

Barbora Kohoutkova and Christopher Hampson giving the class today. Cynthia Harvey for girls solo and Robert Tewsley for boys. This is Cynthia before class checking the application forms of the dancers to try to work out who is who. After the solo today Cynthia and her son and husband are joining my daughter and myself in going to the AquaPalace for a swim. We will be leaving Daria and Robert to the pas de deux, and Christopher and Natasa with the repertoire and the Contemporary. Tonight Robert Tewsley will be interviewd by Christopher Hampson and they will be showing some of his dancing, Manon and Apollo I think.

Daria Klimentova and Cynthia Harvey giving class again today. It is colder and slightly overcast today. Cynthia’s husband arrived at lunchtime, he is a race Director for a Formula 2 team, who were racing in Hungary this last weekend.

Daria’s mother has a little cottage industry going with making leg warmers, these are proving to be very popular. Today I spent the whole day trying to get the blog working with picture galleries, and of course had to upgrade the system which in turn made everything stop working. Jonathan Still, our Director of Music, luckily managed to eventually sort it all out. A worrying moment though.

We have a Czech Television crew fliming here all day today and tomorrow, they have been following Daria for about six years now, and eventually want to make a film depicting her professional career into retirement. They have already made four films about her (which you can find on this site or You Tube. This is a photo of the second day pas de deux group. I shall post tomorrows group then.

After the days dancing we interviewed Natasa Novotna for the dancers and showed some film of her dancing with NDT (Jiri Kylians Company) and some of her own works for her own company “420People”. They asked a lot of questions afterwards, which is great. She is very artistic, and very together, two qualities not always found together.

I am off now to release a frog my daughter found, back into the lake by the forest near to our house.

Took my walk to the hostel this morning at 08.15 to go and collect the dancers that have not been before, but instead of describing the walk I have made this photo gallery for you. It starts with the last picture and works backwards as I can’t work out how to arrange the order properly.

Just before class and American girl (Amanda) turns up straight from the airport. She had not received my email asking her to get a taxi from the airport directly to the studios and giving her the address etc, but had very cleverly got a taxi to the National Theatre and then asked someone where the studios were, she had then walked, with her bag along the cobbled streets, along the riverside towards Charles Bridge and found us. Very well done. She then changed very quickly so as not to miss the first class with Daria Klimentova, that was very brave after no sleeep and a long flight.

After the first class of the day the dancers had time to try to get their bearings a little. Cynthia Harvey and Daria Klimentova gave todays general class, all the teachers are chipping in with extra classes to cover for David Wall, who was taking very ill just before the Masterclasses and is unable to make it over. We are very upset, as David is a close friend and even Daria’s surragate father since her own father died when she came to England in 1996. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope he will be well enough to join us another year. The boys solo at 12.00 with Robert Tewsley went down a storm, he says they are very good and so will have to revise his plans and coach even more solos this week. Cynthia Harvey is coaching from Themes and Variations in the lower studio, 12.00-14.00. It is very hot today and so lunch is spent by most of the dancers sunbathing in the courtyard with lunch from the canteen.

The afternoon is split between Pas De Deux with Robert Tewsley and Daria Klimentova in the lower studio and repertoire with Christopher Hampson in the Studio 2, and Contemporary with Natasa Novotna in Studio 3. We actually have four studios but tend only to use the fourth for a warm up area for the coaches.

The applause at the end of pas de deux was amazing and went on far too long, Daria and Robert got embarassed. Reception in the upper studio 3 tonight, some parents came along as well. Martin Rypan, the administrator of the National Theatre Ballet Company, came along and made a speech thanking us all for seven years of opportunity for the dancers, he said he was very proud of our association. We are of course also very honoured to be allowed to do what we do in these fantastic facilities, in this amazing location, and to have the support of Martin and the National Theatre. I know it seems expensive for the unfortunate parents who pay for their son or daughter to jon us, but we do not make any money doing this at all. Daria, myself, Christopher and Jonathan do this every year to try to put something back into the profession we love, and allow the next generation of young Czech dancers, who could not possibly afford to do anything like our course, benefit from and be inspired by the greatest dancers from around the world. I hope they know how lucky they are one day. We of course also have great fun meeting up every summer with all our old friends who come over to coach for us.

Arrived at 01.00 this morning. Got up at 06.45 to go and collect hire car. Not hired one before, thought I’d give it a go. Bought a SATNAV in England and it worked perfectly for about 5  kilometers, then it died before I got home due to the fact the power socket doesn’t work. Loaded up car with office stuff and headed straight off to the studios, to set them up. That’s when things started to go downhill a little.

The studios were in very good shape, however the office was completely empty, with all the furniture and equipment in a bundle in the corridor. They had been decorating, messily, and so I set about lugging it all back in and plugging it all back up. Just when i finished the chap arrived to machine wash the floor. Perfect. So once we had moved the bigger stuff back out into the corridor I set off to meet the first arrival from the US.

On the way to the airport I stopped in at the hire car place and they replaced the fuse from the power socket, so I am all SATNAVed up now. After waiting for 1 hour 40 minutes past the arrival time I guessed something was wrong. So headed back to the office to check the emails (many American phones won’t work in Europe) and sure enough he missed the connection in Frankfurt and will be on the next one. Go back to the airport and meet up with him in perfect timing. Then we have a coffee while we wait half an hour for two to arrive from Turkey.

All good, all in their rooms, and now off to meet one or two that are staying in apartments  in the Old Town before I can head home to attack the jungle that used to be my garden. First arrival tomorrow at 09.00.

Good night.