BOSTON BALLET
SPAIN TOUR 2007
Diary of the Tour
by Sarah Wroth, Boston Ballet corps de ballet member
August 2 , 2007
“It’s hot, hot, hot…whoa-ah-o-o”
Madrid feels as though someone left the heater on for too long in the winter and now all moisture is gone from the air. I was watching one of our Madrid stage hands wash the Marley (dance floor) before class. As the mop passed over the floor, the trail of cleanser left a streak of wet that only lasted a second in the dry heat before baking away in the breeze. My lungs burned two nights ago after a booming dress rehearsal of Serenade. Thank goodness for cardio vascular cross training or I might have ended up falling in a pale blue puddle on the floor. This festival provides the dancers with cases of small bottles of water – a blessed and most appreciated gift. After finishing an entrance we satisfy our sandy throats by guzzling water. When you are dancing full force you can drink enough to wet your whistle but too much of a good thing can also quickly lead to cramping.
By last night’s opening we had all adapted to the heat. It is amazing the ease knowing what to expect can add to your peace of mind. The audience was warm and shouted bravo with Spanish gusto at the end. A short survey of dancers (i.e. not just my own overly spiritually moved reaction) proved it was a tight show from the artist’s end as well.
It is hard to find food on tour. We experience it in every city we have been to. Shows end at 12:30am (00.30 Spanish time) and most restaurants are closed. In every city, so far, a large group of dancers will discover one particular after-show establishment, the owner of which will receive at least twenty dancers worth of business right at closing time. Most owners we have met were happy to unload all the leftover food for the day on the ravenous dancers. In Madrid however, we feel more of a burden than a welcome disposal of the day’s leftovers. Maybe small cities are better for late night eaters. Oh well.
Today I am going to try and expand my Picasso and van Gogh horizons at the Prado and Thyssen museums.
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Diary of the Tour
A dancer's view through the online diary of Sarah Wroth, Boston Ballet corps de ballet member.
Notes from Spain
Artistic Director Mikko Nissinen sends you his updates straight from Spain.
Photo Gallery
Behind the Scenes on tour...catch the dancers and production crew as they prepare for each festival.
Boston Ballet va de gira por Espana
Boston Ballet estará de gira durante seis semanas en España apartir de Julio del 2007.