More from Amanda Grimm about her internship with Scottish Ballet.
I had a nice surprise this weekend when I walked by the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh and saw a huge poster for Geometry and Grace hanging in the window. That was really cool to see, now that I know the team who designed it, and have witnessed part of the process of creating such a poster (when I attended the photo-shoot for the secret new production). It was such a stunning, professional-looking finished product, and made me feel even more proud to be working for Scottish Ballet.
However, the work of an intern isn’t always very glamorous. Over the past weeks I’ve done a few tasks that may not have been terribly exciting but are essential to keep the Company running smoothly, so I’m happy to help. For example, last week the Marketing Department needed to send out Geometry and Grace brochures to all the regular attendees of Scottish Ballet’s performances. This sounds easy enough, but we had to send out 1,700 of them! The Marketing intern Sophie Boardman printed 1,700 addresses onto sticky address labels, and printed the beautiful photo used on the Geometry and Grace posters onto 1,700 envelopes. Then the two of us spent a day folding a letter, placing the letter inside a brochure, putting the brochure into an envelope, labelling the envelope with an address sticker, and stamping the envelope…1,700 times! When we finished, everyone in the department gave us a round of applause.
But most of my time here is spent working directly on press, which includes writing press releases about events and productions, and getting those press releases out to newspapers, radio and different forms of media. I’ve been letting the press know about The Dance Challenge this week, which is a unique opportunity for the public to go behind the scenes at the ballet, watch the dancers rehearsing in the studios at Tramway and even take part in a beginner’s ballet class. I know that I’m very fortunate to be given this opportunity to learn by doing, and to gain vital experience while working with such a prestigious company.
And my most exciting project so far is still to come. I’ve just been told that I get to write an article that will go in the souvenir programme for Geometry and Grace. The programmes for the last few productions have all contained an article titled ‘A Day in the Life’, a series looking a working day with different departments in the Company, such as Technical, Wardrobe and Education. I have the exciting opportunity to write about members of the ballet staff: the ballet master Nicolas Blanc and the ballet mistresses Maria Jimenez and Hope Muir. These talented individuals teach daily technique classes and run rehearsals, among many other duties. Next week I’m going to interview Nicolas to find out the details of their roles and how their career paths led them to their amazing jobs with Scottish Ballet. I’m really looking forward to talking to him and finding out myself what it’s like to be part of the artistic staff of a ballet company, although I’m a bit nervous as well! Now I have to think up some good interview questions. Pick up a programme at Geometry and Grace to see what I found out!