Scottish Ballet dancer Louisa Hassell writes about life on the road as the Autumn tour comes to Glasgow.
After a tiring 1st week in London there was no time for a rest as the company went straight into rehearsing for the Glasgow week of shows. I always really enjoy performing in Glasgow because it’s where Scottish Ballet is based, meaning that I can stay at home. It’s nice to be able to finish the show and get home to my own kitchen to cook something and then sleep in my own bed. The Theatre Royal feels very familiar to us all as we perform there three times a year, the longest time being over the Christmas period when we can be in for up to four weeks. We all tend to get the same dressing rooms and like to sit at the same desks to do our hair and makeup. We are creatures of habit!
Vassilissa Levtonova gets ready for Rubies.
Costumes for Rubies.
Quite a few cast changes happened this week meaning that other dancers got the opportunity to dance in each piece. It can make you pretty nervous doing a new part in a stage run for the first time. It doesn’t matter how many times you go over the steps, it always feels different when you dance in the proper space. You have to adjust the movements to suit the stage and get your placing right in relation to other people. We’re all well practised at this though so it usually doesn’t take too long.
Quenby Hersh, Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Luciana Ravizzi
Lorena Fernández Sáez gets ready for the show
The first show went really well and the audience was fantastic, and there was another post-show party for all the company and orchestra. The second show had quite a few new people in so there were a few nerves and some going over steps in the wings before entrances. Makes it all the more exciting! All went really well though and it can feel really nice to get a chance to do something different. For Saturday, there were a few more cast changes with new principals going in for Rubies, so there were lots of rehearsal that they could have a chance to feel what the stage was like. Then it was back to Scottish Ballet HQ for a couple of days before we got ready to head to Edinburgh.