New Adventures |

"So the last week of rehearsals is over. From now on we go straight into the technical rehearsal for the first show at Sadler’s Wells. I can’t quite believe that it has come already! Through out most of the rehearsal process the prospect of actually having to perform it seemed like a bizarre dream, but by the end of this week I think we were all itching to get on stage and actually start doing shows.

We spent the first part of this week staging the remainder of act 3. It turned out to be the most difficult act to put together, or rather the most time consuming. This is for a number of reasons; most of the cast are on the stage throughout the whole act, each person has to learn their pathway into and out of all the dances and also what they are doing in between each one. For this reason it could take up to half an hour just to stage one scene so that no-one bumps into each other and it all flows smoothly. I’m quite lucky in this act, in that both the tracks that I do are completely different from one another. In one I am a French escort to the French Princess; in the other I am a waiter and a Spanish dancer (we’re still waiting for Etta to tingle with the Spanish dance… only three days left to make it happen!) I had a sharp reminder to keep my attention on what was going on all around me when as a Spanish dancer I pulled a table out away from the Stranger who was about to do a lift whilst supporting himself on it, I was minding everything but what I should have been minding! It got a few giggles from my colleagues, but shows why we take so long in putting these scenes together so that accidents don’t happen.

By Thursday afternoon we had finished staging Act 3 and so had finally finished the show. We then began doing runs of the entire show with three different casts. These casts weren’t our usual ones, but a mixture of all three, the organization of which I’m sure had the management pulling their hair out for hours on end trying to sort out. I wasn’t in the first one so was able to watch it. It was great being able to see everyone bring their characters alive, and noticing the differences between people playing the same character. This show is very different to any I have personally done before, in that most of us don’t play just one character throughout, but have to keep changing all the way through. In fact the only people who play just one person are the Prince, the Private Secretary and the Queen. This seems to make the show pass much quicker than you might think it would, even being four acts long.

My hair is all gone now, and my head is cold. For those of you who may want a laugh at my expense here is a before and after shot of my hair.

There have been a few people who have asked if I might try to mention them by some tenuous link… I’ve tried racking my brain as to how I might go about this but, alas; I have come up with none. And so all that is left for me is to simply name them: my mother, my sisters, and Matt Malthouse. I do however want to mention our great dance captains Pia Driver and Kerry Biggin, who whilst having to teach us all of our material, also had to learn all of theirs too!

I’m sure the opening week will most definitely be quite exciting and eventful, but if you want to know how that goes then you’ll have to come watch us!"

JACK JONES

"Into the final week of rehearsals and the staging of act three kicks off with a vengeance. At this point there is still a handful of materiel still to be learnt and the end of the week seems very close indeed. Although there are big ensemble dances in act three there are also many pathways to be negotiated. Once these are worked out with a cast, another cast needs to run it. This usually brings up fresh problems and so ironing out the creases in each cast (of which there are three) takes some time. As most people are learning at least two roles, you have to be in the right space at the right time, in the right character you are for that cast but next run, you’ll be someone else, on a different count on the opposite side of the stage! It would be incredibly helpful to have eyes in the back of your head at this point!.

During the week the cygnets were kept busy with press duties, appearing on the Paul O’grady show and in the windows of Fortnum and Masons in Piccadilly Circus.

So, by Thursday the last pieces of materiel were learnt and we were able to run acts one and three. Friday we went into full runs of the show and instead of stunned faces, individual characters started to appear!

It is quite amazing how far the entire company has come in five weeks, it feels like the stage, lights, costumes and audiences are calling and we are ready, hopefully with a refreshing, earnest and moving story to tell.

On behalf of all the dancers I would like to thank the artistic team and stage management for all their direction, dedication and most of all patience during the rehearsal period. It’s a privilege to be a part of the Swan Lake family and we look forward to taking you on the journey of the Prince and his Swan! Opening night Thursday – break a leg everyone!"

DAISY MAY KEMP