Jeffrey Cirio, Boston Ballet II dancer and Sylvia Deaton, Boston Ballet School Trainee Student, travelled to Denmark on an exchange program with the Royal Danish Ballet.
SYLVIA DEATON AND JEFFREY CIRIO IN DENMARK
Part 1
Greetings from Copenhagen!!! Jeffrey and I took our first steps in the Copenhagen airport yesterday after a long two hour delayed travel time! We met the director of the school. He drove us to the opera house to show us where we would be on Monday morning. We saw the studios and met some of the teachers. The company was rehearsing Napoli so we peeked in the rehearsal room to see our first taste of Danish dancing at its best. We came to the apartment which is in a really nice neighborhood similar to Boston with lots of lined up houses! Jeff and I unpacked. I think I got the nicest room in the place. I have a BIG bed, two huge windows, a standing closet and drawers. Jeff got the worst room and has a broken bed! He's just going to sleep on the floor. What a man! The apartment is nice there's a kitchen with everything you could ever need (COMPLETELY FURNISHED/DECORATED FROM IKEA), a dining room, a living room with a TV that doesn't work, a bathroom with an interesting corner shower that is pretty much in the middle of the room, that should be a challenge for me with my long drawn out showers, "Sorry roomies!", and 2 other bedrooms for the other students from PNB. We then went to the grocery and got the essentials some turkey (I hope its turkey, we picked the mystery meat that looked the closest to what we were used to), bread, cheese, yogurt, cereal, milk, bananas, apples, and Jeff got a Mango. Then we came back and met the PNB kids who had come home. They got in yesterday. The girl is 18 and the boy is 16 they are both really nice! We talked for a while and then we went to dinner at a little cafe. Today we decided to be tourists. We took a bus tour around the city we saw the famous Little Mermaid Statue which was even more beautiful than I had imagined it. We went in the Rosenburg Castle, the location of the impressive crown jewels and the winter home of the queen. We passed the entrance to Tivoli which we will deffinetly be visiting soon. We also had our first taste of Danish street food. Jeffrey had a French Hotdog (sausage wrapped in a french bread roll) and I got a ham and cheese sandwich because it was the only thing I could recognize on the menu. We attempted to go grocery shopping again but we found out that almost all the shops in Copenhagen shut down on Sunday. So, as a result, we trotted back home and ate at our very convienently located Pizza Husset it was an attempt to remind us of Emilio's Pizza back home. We have our first class tomorrow morning so I better jump into my CoCo Crisp Red Sox T-shirt, I had to bring along some of that strong Boston spirit, and hit the sheets. Jeff and I will keep you posted on how our first day is, at the ballet, and anything else exciting that is destined to come! We miss Boston already! Farewell for now from Copenhagen!
Part 2
Hello again from Copenhagen! It is incredible to think how many exciting things have happened to Jeffrey and me since our last note. After our long day of touring the city on Sunday, we awoke early on monday morning and realized "It is our first day of class with the Royal Danish Ballet!" We primped, polished, and put on our favorite dance clothes so we looked our absolute best for the first day. We set off to the conveniently located Metro stop. We rode one of Copenhagen's spotless Metro trains two easy stops to the Kongens Nytorv station. As we walk out of the underground (T stop), as I keep calling it, I can't seem to change my ways, we see the bustling city life at its strongest. We are surrounded by huge Danish department stores and businesses, people are zooming past us on thousands of bycicles(an extremely popular form of travel here in the city), and through all this commotion we see the ornate opera house. This building has withstood the modernization of the surrounding area and is a symbol of strength for the arts in Copenhagen. It could not be any more beautiful than I had imagined it. We find the entrance to the studios on the side of the building and enter to meet a very jolly guard who bids us "Godmorgen!" We both are ready to do what we came for, to DANCE!! Our first classes were so much fun for both of us! The company women and men were seperate on Monday so we had different teachers. I had Laura Alonso, the daughter of the famous ballerina Alicia Alonso. She is guest teaching this week. It was such a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet her and I really enjoyed her class. Jeffrey had another guest teacher that he didn't get the chance to meet but he also had a good first day! We spent the rest of our Monday exploring more of Copenhagen and riding two other lines on the sightseeing bus. On our second day of class, I had Petrusjka Broholm, a ballet master here with the company. She gave a Balanchine based class which I thoroughly enjoyed. Jeffrey had Laura Alonso and again women and men were seperate for class. After class, we headed home and made a stop at a little playground to revert to being seven year olds. After all that ballet we needed a little playtime. So as a result, we swung on the swingset and Jeff made some brave attempts at jumping as high as he could off the swings. He was then dubbed by me as the "flying squirrel." Don't worry he didn't hurt himself! We then went to a Blockbuster and rented some classics such as Monty Python, Mean Girls, The Bourne Identity, Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, and last but not least, everyone's favorite School of Rock! On wednesday morning, I had a smaller class just with the Apprentice women with Laura Alonso. It was such a fun class, lots of jumps and turns! Jeffrey had his very first Bournonville set class with the ballet master Eva Kloborg. He was very quick to show me all the intricate combinations he learned and I couldn't wait to try them myself. Directly after class, we made our way to the theatre which is connected to the studios and watched the company's Dress Rehearsal of Napoli. They are doing one performance on Friday night which we will definitely be attending. We were in complete awe of the dancers and this thrilling ballet which is full of energy from start to finish! Today, sure enough, I also had my first Bournonville class also with Eva Kloborg. She was such a nice woman and very understanding to take time and explain the tricky combinations in detail. Jeffrey had another class with Laura Alonso and was pleased again with her exciting fast paced class. Today was our first day with two classes. We had a special class with the apprentices this afternoon. Our teachers were Christina Olsson, a ballet master, for me and Niels Balle, the director of the Royal Danish Ballet School, for Jeffrey. We are both pooped after a very busy and exciting week. I am continually amazed at the hospitality of the people here especially at the ballet. All the dancers are so helpful with showing us around the large opera house, giving us positive corrections in class, and just being great new friends. However, its not just at the ballet, all over the city people are willing to help us crazy Americans with anything we could need! Everyday we find out something new about this city and I can't wait to keep exploring! Until next time, this is farewell from Copenhagen!
Part 3
Hello from Sylvia and Jeffrey in Copenhagen! It is still hard for me to comprehend that I am here in Copenhagen having so many unforgettable experiences with these new friends that I have made. I wake up every morning and realize that I am one of the luckiest people in the world for these three weeks. Jeffrey and I are having the time of our lives! After my last note, we had two more days left of our first week of classes with the Royal Danish Ballet. It is also hard to believe that a week has already passed. On Friday morning, it was guest teacher Laura Alonso's last class and we were lucky enough to be in it. She went all out and it was one of the best classes I have ever taken! We were all sad to see her go after so many fun filled classes in our first week. On Friday afternoon, we had a modern class with the apprentices. The teacher taught a Forsythe based technique and it was mainly modern partnering. We did an exercise where the guy partner had to move the girl all the way across the room by lifting or anyway he could. That was pretty easy for me because all I did was stand there as my very strong Danish partner flipped my over his head, lifted, and slid me across the room. I don't really know how I got across that studio but it was fun whatever he was doing! After our Improv classes over the summer with Helen Pickett, Jeffrey and I were right at home with the individual improving, cross hemispherics, and experimental movement. However, I think we did a little to many deep knee bends, slides, we might have shown off just a little, and were not used to moving our bodies in so many new ways. As a result we all got extremely sore and I got a few floor burns! After class, we limped home and took some much needed Advil/naps and we were ready to go see Napoli!! The ballet was seamless. From the detailed mime in the first act, to the ethereal sea nymphs in the second, and the fast paced energetic ending village scene it has become one of my all time favorite ballets. It was also so much fun to see all of our new friends on stage performing! On Saturday morning, we took the optional company class and that concluded our first week. We were all pooped after our exciting week so we did some much needed souvenir shopping and got all the essentials. Everything from hats, T-shirts, magnets, and well I guess I shouldn't say much more or it will ruin the surprise. We went out for an Asian meal at a Chinese restaurant right across from Tivoli. It was some of the best Chinese food I have ever had. Jeff tried to get me to try a strangely shaped piece of fish that looked similar to a sponge and even tempted me with Kroners ($ Danish money $) That was where I drew the line. On Sunday, we took advantage of our day off and slept in. You will never guess what we did for the rest of the day! We went to the Zoo of course! Or as they call it here the "Zoologisk Have." I believe we saw every animal exhibit on the property. Luckily for us, we came at the perfect time of year. It was BABY season! We saw baby monkeys, seals, tigers, lions, zebras, and the list could go on a really long time. However, strangely, everyone's favorite exhibit seemed to be the rabbit hill and even more interesting its location in the Children's Zoo hmmmm... After long pauses at the roudy polar bear exhibit, complete with plastic ice blocks, we were ready to call it a day. Today, we started our second week of classes. This morning, we had a combined apprentice class with Christina Olsson teaching. This afternoon, we had a new guest teacher who is here for two weeks from the National Ballet School of Canada. Her name is Eva Draw. We enjoyed her class very much. It was my night to make dinner so we had a delicious meal, if I do say so myself, and now everyone is preparing for our day tomorrow. Tomorrow starts with a mime class at 8:45. I have never taken a mime class so I am really excited to see what it is like. I guess that is all for now. Until next time, this is farewell from Copenhagen!
Part 4
Hello again from Sylvia and Jeff in, as Danny Kaye would sing in his famous song, "Wonderful, wonderful, Copenhagen!" It is such a wonderful city filled with some of the nicest people we have ever met. After my last note, we were prepared for our first mime class with the Royal Danish Ballet. Early on Tuesday morning, we had the character artist Flemming Ryberg for a fun filled energetic class. He definitely made us forget that it was 8:45 in the morning and opened our sleepy eyes to a whole world of intricate mime. Mime, we learned, is characteristic to the Danes and he told us the whole history of how mime got its start and how it continued to develop over time. We learned the basics such as miming "What do you want?" and "Oh, I'm scared look away!" We even learned a scene from a ballet. It involved two angry men who quarrel over their wives who they have seen cheating on them and the two jolly wives who skip into the scene completely oblivious to their husband's anger. We didn't complete the scene so I am on the edge of my seat for the next class. I can't wait to see what happens to these drama stricken lovers. That same morning we had a full company class. Those classes are always my favorite! I love being able to watch and learn from all the talented company dancers. That afternoon, we had Eva Draw, the guest teacher from the National Ballet of Canada, for a full apprentice or as they call it here "Aspiranter" class. On Wednesday morning, we had Eva Draw again for "Aspiranter" class and were able to practice all the details she had given us the afternoon before. Wednesday afternoon, we had our first Pas de Deux class. The teacher paired the American guests with "their corresponding cities and countries" so I got Jeffrey! We did class work and the teacher helped us refine our partnered turns and much more. On Thursday morning, we had a guest teacher for a smaller than usual company class. That day the company started rehearsing at the new Opera House for their contemporary show next Wednesday and Thursday. The class was small but we enjoyed the personal attention. Thursday afternoon, the women and men apprentices were separate for class. We had Eva Draw for a pointe/variations class. We learned, one of my favorites, the Gamzatti variation from La Bayadere. We also learned a Kitri variation from the first act of Don Quixote. Jeff had the school director, Niels Balle, for men's class. He said that they were going to do variations next time. Friday morning, we had Eva Draw again for morning class with the apprentices. It was Alban, one of the apprentice guy's, Birthday. We learned the tradition that the person having a Birthday brings a HUGE bowl of candy for the class. Unfortunately, the Danes have a strange obsession with Licorice candy so me not liking Licorice involved picking through the pile until I found a strange tasting candy shaped exactly like a frying egg. Friday afternoon means modern class! We had the same teacher we had the week before. He asked us to pair up with a guy. I paired with Andrew, the other exchange student from PNB, and Jeff paired with Eliza, one of the apprentices all the way from Australia. The teacher lined up random objects in the front of the studio including a piece of paper, a chair, sunglasses, a bowl, a yoga mat, a croc shoe, a thera band, and a remote control. He asked us to choreograph movements as to what we thought of when we looked at the individual objects and put them together to form a dance. Andrew and I clicked right away and began brainstorming on a million and one ideas we had. I think we almost had to many ideas and we ended up having the longest one. However, the teacher really enjoyed both Jeff and my short masterpieces. It was so interesting to see all the ideas individual people came up with. Today, our morning class was separate for men and women. We had the ballet master Anne Holm-Jensen Peyk. Emma and I really liked her class. Jeff had the same guest teacher we had earlier in the week. Now, its the weekend! Tomorrow, we plan to go to the famous Tivoli Gardens! Words can not express how excited I am for this anticipated adventure! I guess that is all I know for now. Until next time, I will sing, not very well I might add and no comparison to Danny Kaye, goodbye from "Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen!"
Part 5
Hello again from Copenhagen! Its our last week :.( I can't believe that we are returning home in three days. Our time here has gone by so fast and yet it feels like we have known a lot of the dancers here for years because everyone is so friendly. After my last note, it was time to spend another fun Sunday out on the town. Early on Sunday morning, I could not sleep a second longer on my last Sunday in Copenhagen and I decided to venture out while my snoozing roomies got a few more hours of sleep. I decided to go to the Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum. The museum was formed from the collection of the famous Danish brewer Carl Jacobson's son in 1888. It was one of the prettiest museums I have ever visited. When I first walked in, I entered a huge sanctuary room with a towering dome overhead. The room was filled with tall palm trees and plants of all shapes and sizes. In the center of this greenery, was a marble statue of a graceful woman in the middle of a pool of water lilies. Light was pouring in from the large bay windows and reflecting of the glimmering water. It was more beautiful than any painting I saw the whole day. I went to every single exhibit and saw great works of art and sculpture from Greece, Egypt, Rome, Denmark, and my favorite France with its vast collection of Degas paintings and sculptures of ballerinas including the famous "Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer." I finished my visit by exploring the rooftop deck which overlooked all of Copenhagen. The panoramic views were breathtaking and it was a perfect finish to my already magical morning. My day continued to improve when we went to Tivoli, Copenhagen's old and very famous amusement park, that afternoon! We walked into the gates of Tivoli and we were like "kids in a candy store." We were overwhelmed with everything around us and decided just to take it slow and do every single ride at least twice. We started out slow going on the small rollercosters and kid rides. Then it got pretty intense! I was with two crazy boys and they convinced me to go on my first upside down rollercoster! ahhhhhh! I was scared to say the least but I did it! It was a rush of adrenaline riding the perfectly named "Deamon" rollercoster. Then it got even better! I went on another ride that rocked us back and forth and all the way upside down. I can't believe I am admitting this but I rode it four times in a row! After all those rides we needed to cool off with some of Tivoli's soft ice cream that Miss Tracey told us we had to try. She was so right about how yummy it truly is! Tivoli has become one of my favorite places I have ever been. I will never forget that beautiful day in Copenhagen and it was the perfect ending to our last weekend in the city. It was back to class on Monday morning. Jeffrey and I went to the new Opera House which is located across the water. The company is over there right now for their production this Wednesday and Thursday. What an adventure that was to take a ferry boat on a rainy Monday morning to the huge newly built Opera House. I have never taken a boat to class before. This building is a constructional work of genius with its modern design which makes it look on the outside like a giant fishbowl. The inside was equally as impressive with its spacious studios and countless rows of dressing rooms. We took class from a guest teacher from the Czech Republic. Jeffrey and I are so blessed to be getting the opportunity to work with Petrousjka Broholm, ballet master for the company, on "The Flower Festival" pas de duex. We have been told that this was her signature role when she was dancing and we were not surprised from all her knowledge about the artistry and character of this pas de duex. She helped Jeffrey and me so much by telling us to be ourselves and to relax into the story. We really enjoyed our first rehearsal and are so excited for the others to come. That afternoon, we had an apprentice class with Eva Draw which is always a treat. Tuesday, we had class again at the new Opera House with the same guest teacher and then afternoon again with Eva Draw. Today, we had Eva Draw for morning class and Jeffrey and I had another outstanding rehearsal with Petrousjka. Right now, I better go and get ready for pas de duex. I need my stretch time! Until next time, farewell from Copenhagen!
Part 6
Hello for the last time. It is sad but true... This is my last blog :.( After my last note, Jeffrey and I saw another outstanding performance by the Royal Danish Ballet. The show consisted of two contemporary works L'Homme de Bois and Le Sacre du Printemps and was performed at the new Opera House. We took a slightly larger ferry boat, than we had taken the last time, out to the Opera House. We ended up going out to the theater at the same time as our teacher, Eva Draw, so she dubbed herself as our chaperon for the evening. We were all amazed by the magnificent decor of the Opera House from its two huge glass mirror balls hanging from the ceiling of the entrance hall to the shiny red wood contrasting to the blue velvet chairs on the interior of the theater. It was very modern in design and it truly took our breath away. The show continued to impress us. The first piece was slightly hard to follow but it was fun to hear everyone's interpretations of it when it was over. Le Sacre du Printemps was very intense and exciting to watch. Jeff was dancing in his chair to the music he had danced to in Mr. Ballard's unforgettable men's piece for the Spring Showcase. Jeffrey and I finished up our last few days of classes. Our very last technique class was with Eva Draw. She too was going back to Canada the day we were leaving. On the last day, we took as many pictures as we could with our new friends, ate as many of those delicious Danishes as we could manage (Yes, Mr. Alexander, I did try many Danishes and they were all equally as yummy. I wish I could have brought you a whole box of them!), and said our tearful good-byes to all our fellow dancers and teachers. We were going to miss the place where no matter where you were located you could here music whether it be from a piano in a ballet studio or the voice of an Opera singer. The day we left the Opera was having a show and the onstage rehearsals were piped throughout the whole building. It was so inspiring to hear those beautiful voices and we were never bored because it was constant entertainment. On our last evening, we had our going away dinner, from our buddies the pizza guys, at the Pizza Husset. They even let us come behind the counter and take pictures with them! Then, we had to have that amazing soft ice cream, one last time, from our little candy shop next to our apartment (Thank you so much for that recommendation Ms. Tracey!) We finished packing all those last minute items and suddenly realized, "We are going home tomorrow!" We couldn't believe our time was up in this beautiful city we had called home for three weeks. We said good-bye to our PNB friends, Andrew and Emma, who had to leave at 2:30 in the morning to catch their flight. It was so sad to be saying good-bye to the two people we had gotten to know so well. The four of us could not have been better roomies. We bonded so much over the three weeks and made so many wonderful memories together. Jeffrey and I woke early on Saturday morning for a long day of travel. After a ten hour flight, layover in Atlanta, and a short three hour ride to Boston we were home! We were very ready to go to sleep in our own familiar beds. We had Sunday to rest up and Monday we were both ready to get back to work at the Boston Ballet School! It was one of the best feelings in the world to see all my friends and teachers and tell them about my adventure to Denmark. It is so great to be back in Boston and to be starting another exciting year with the Boston Ballet School! I am so thankful that I had this opportunity and I will truly never forget this once in a lifetime experience!
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