It’s been a busy couple of days here. The weather is warm and humid (88% today), and there hasn’t been much blue sky, but it’s so amazing being here.

Wednesday was our Free Day. Some of us took the bus the has been chartered for us to class. It was a real kick to watch it drive up to our hotel with a huge nutcracker ad on it’s side.
We had an optional class in one of the studios in the theater complex. The studio is much wider than we are used to, but not quite as deep. The floor is pretty slick, even with rosin, so we’ve been trying to dance as full out as we can without slipping.
After class a group of us took the subway first to the Universal Ballet’s studios to try and contact an old friend of Brett’s, and then to Insa-Dong. Trying to figure out how to buy subway tickets (even with the machine on the English language setting) was somewhat tricky.
Martina made from friends on the subway.
We found the studios, but Brett’s friend wasn’t there (I think they are on a break right now). However, another company member was there and called Brett’s friend and they were eventually able to meet up. Oh the small world of ballet.
Yesterday (it’s Friday here) we had our first day of rehearsals with the kids. They are sooooo great. They are incredibly smart and well trained, and just really delightful to work with. I’ve already made friends with the boy who is playing the Prince/Nephew, which I’m really happy about since I’m doing quite a few Drosselmeiers while I’m here. I’m really impressed with the Port de Bras (carriage of the arms) of the kids, especially the boys.

On the break I checked out the plaza outside of the entrance to the theater (we’ve been entering through the stage door) and it’s really beautiful up there. There are restaurants, art exhibits, and even a little astro-turf area for playing.
Because we have 2 Sugar Plums out right now, we’ve hired Maia Mackateli (you may remember her from Dance United 2, she’s from Dutch National Ballet) to dance with us. Here she is rehearsing with Chauncey and Christopher.
Finally, here are some shots of the AMAZINGLY huge theater. I still can’t get over the size of the both the onstage and off stage areas.


-Steven