Hello, I’m Amanda Grimm, press intern at Scottish Ballet for the summer. I’m going to be writing a weekly blog, relating what I’m learning about the Company through helping out in the press department. Hopefully this will give you some insight into some of the many things that the Company does, other than dance.
I’m just finishing up my second week here, but I’ve learned so much already. I did ballet until I started university, so I already had extensive knowledge about the ballet world from a dancer’s perspective before I started this internship, but in my first week here I got to experience that same world in a completely different way. On my first day I met many of the thirty-some non-artistic staff, who work day in and day out to keep everything running smoothly, so that the dancers are able to focus on their dancing and give the best performances possible. I got to read through all the documents in the Marketing folder on the computer, which included a lengthy Marketing and Press Strategy, details about every ballet ever performed by the Company, and old press releases. But two events really stand out from my first week.
The first exciting event was a photoshoot, of principal dancer Sophie Martin. The photos are going to be used on the publicity (posters, flyers, programmes etc) for a new production, which we’re not allowed to reveal yet, but which, by the looks of the photos, is going to be beautiful and fun. My task at the photoshoot was to take behind-the-scenes photos. At first I was a bit nervous, and felt like a member of the paparazzi, going right up to Artistic Director Ashley Page and Sophie Martin and taking pictures of them, but I was assured that I was supposed to be doing just that, and was encouraged by everyone to get right in there and snap away. Once I got into it, it was really fun, trying to capture the atmosphere of the shoot (while simultaneously learning what was involved myself!). Here are just two (I can’t show many, as they reveal too much about the production!):
Tools of the trade...
Make up artist Ainslie Currie perfects Sophie's look.
The other highlight of my first week was sitting in on a meeting with renowned costume designer Sandra Woodall. Sandra is designing the costumes and sets for Val Caniparoli’s new piece, which is part of the Geometry and Grace programme. She showed us some of her drawings of the costumes (pictured in the previous blog entry), and explained her deep, philosophical ideas behind the designs. Sandra wants the piece to evoke the flux, change and movement between two periods of stillness, and the struggle that results from “that all-too-human refusal to accept things for what they are”. These ideas will be expressed through the costumes, sets, music and of course, choreography. It was amazing to me to learn how there is a common thread behind every aspect of the piece that holds it all together and contributes to the intangible feeling that the audience will get from it. Today was a great opportunity to dissect such a feeling and understand the ideas behind a piece in more intellectual detail. And it was interesting to learn that the costume designer can contribute so much to the overall idea. I’m learning that the creation of a new production is the result of a massive amount of thought and work from a multitude of talented individuals, more than I realised even as a dancer.
After my first week of such varied activities, my second week mainly revolved around one specific project. The Education Department is going to be holding a series of summer workshops in July, for children with little or no ballet experience, to learn about dance and explore the upcoming production of Cinderella. My task was to publicise this event, so that as many kids as possible will get to take part and be introduced to the wonderful world of dance. Therefore, my second week consisted of writing a press release, compiling a list with the contact details of local newspapers and radio stations, and then emailing and phoning them until many of them agreed to run the story. I also posted the event on many internet websites, such as Gumtree and Eventful.com, so maybe you’ll come across it! I was happy to see this morning that the workshops were already mentioned in today’s Daily Record. Life in the press industry moves quickly!
Well, that’s it for this week. Check back next week to see what else I, and the Company, have been up to!