China Diary

Arrival in China
First Performance in Hangzhou
A challenging day in Hangzhou
Two Days in Shanghai
Shanghai to Beijing
First Performance in Beijing
Final Two Days in Beijing

Final Two Days in Beijing

Thursday 26 January

Another later start today for most of the company with more sightseeing and shopping being pursued. We had agreed to work with two International schools today. Ballet Master/Principal Dancer, David Kierce went to the north of Beijing with a group of dancers to work with 10 Students at the Beijing International School. Some of the students had some formal ballet training so David was able to teach a simple ballet class for them in their Studio Theatre. 6 of our dancers also took part and added to the occasion. The school buildings were quite magnificent and the event was enjoyed by both students and dancers.

Back at the theatre, we were pleased to welcome 44 students from Years 7 & 8 plus a couple of 6 formers who had persuaded their teacher to add them to the group from the Harrow International School. The students had been to the performance the night before so were eagerly waiting to ask questions. Ballet Master, Daniel de Andrade introduced Hannah, Vicky and Natalie (Leftwich) who were going to work with him and a lively Q&A sessions followed. The students were delighted to see the costumes and props up close and were even let into the secret of how the jewellery box is thrown into the wings at the end of Act 2!

Dan led a basic warm-up session which ended with a rousing line dancing routine to Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer played by Company pianist, Craig Edwards.

The students were then split into 2 groups. Natalie taught a group of girls the 'Flora' stepsthat come after the Gypsy pas de deux in Act 3 and Hannah taught a section of Anina's steps that come before the final pas de deux in Act 3. Each group were pleased to perform what they had learned to their schoolmates

At the end of the session, the students showed their appreciation and thanks and Dan was presented with a mini school 'boater' - a school tradition to show appreciation.

I asked the students what they thought of the performance and also the workshop

"Show was really good. Dancing very strong and great fun. Workshop good although had not been sure what to expect." (Ellis - 6th Former from Wales)

"Once in a lifetime opportunity" (Henry - Chinese/American)

"Show very dramatic and hooked you in. Made you feel you were watching somebody else's life.Enjoyed the music. Also liked the dance in the workshop" (Daphne - Chinese American)

Once the Students had left, it was back to normal with class and then another excellent performance danced this evening by Keiko Amemori and David Kierce. An enthusiastic audience once again. Leeds Met had their last event this evening and seemed delighted at how their sponsorship of the tour had worked for them.

Friday 27 January

Yet another late start for the company with class not scheduled until 3.30pm. We arranged another excursion - this time to the Summer Palace. Less takers than usual but then there was still the unresistable call of the markets and shops. The Summer Palace was very interesting although much of it was closed for renovation - presumably in anticipation of the Olympic Games in 2008. Everybody felt they just had to take that risk and walk across the frozen lake. It must look wonderful in the Summer!

Class was uneventful other than giving out customs forms, immigration forms and health forms and reminding everybody that we weren't able to transport their excess purchases back to the UK in the set containers!! We have to pay a large bond for import and I was not prepared to take any risk of penalties for unauthorised items appearing.

Before the performance I made a presentation to Young, our Promoter, thanking him for a wonderful tour. We gave him a crystal decanter and goblets, which we felt was a fitting gift from the UK. Having carried it around for 2 weeks, I was pleased to give it to him!! He is talking very positively about our next visit to China in 2007 or during the Olympics in 2008

The performance again went very well. The cast tonight was Hiro and Chiaki. The Company really have pulled out all the stops to show NBT at its best during the China Tour.

We were honoured by a visit this evening by The British Ambassador to China, William Ehrman and his wife. They both came on stage afterwards, in front of the audience and said they had very much enjoyed our performance and looked forward to our future visits to Beijing.

Earlier I talked with some of the dancers to gauge their reactions to the Tour. These are a few of their comments:-

"Had a wonderful time. Standing on the Great Wall of China is something I will remember forever"

"Good tour. Unlike most touring, we had a substantial amount of time to do things. Made it feel more like a vacation as well as work. I ate dog and was propositioned by a prostitute at the Summer Palace!!"

"Definitely enjoyed the tour. Taxi rides were scary (life threatening)!!"

"China has changed since our last visit in 2000. Has moved on - less bikes!"

"I was at a market trying to buy a bag and they set fire to it to prove it was genuine leather"

"The whole experience was fantastic. Theatre facilities have greatly improved in five years. Language barrier still presents challenges"

My own assessment is that it has been a great tour for the company. We have given some excellent performances and there is a feeling now that their will be competition for our services in future. (We enjoy working with Young at Milky Way - so why change) The tour certainly has had its challenges and I probably had one or two of the worst working days of my 18 years at NBT but then this is Overseas Touring and life would be too dull if it was too straightforward.

I must pay tribute to the excellent work of our Technical Department and particularly, Andy Waddington, our Chief Electrician and his team who have certainly had a challenging time over the last couple of weeks but delivered magnificently

This is my final report from China and we fly home on Saturday 28th January. Please continue to watch this space for further comment and feedback from our very successful China Tour.

Also please feel free to send us your thoughts and comments about the type of reports we send on our foreign tours so that we can serve you better in the future.

Mark Skipper
Northern Ballet Theatre Chief Executive