October 24th, 2014
Thus after two amazing tours to St. Pölten and New York earlier this month, we are on the road again. This time we are travelling to Paris, the City of Love, and to the origins of classical ballet. We will present a slightly changed »Ein William Forsythe Ballettabend« program at the Théâtre de la Ville. The Théâtre is famous for showing outstanding contemporary programs. Choreographers such as Pina Bausch and Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker have already worked there – and now it’s our turn to show us and our program. Currently, we are very busy packing everything together. Costumes, technical equipment, CDs, everything needs to be ready for our departure on Sunday!
October 26th, 2014
Au revoir Dresden – Bonjour Paris! After one last, intense rehearsal on Saturday morning, we started our journey to the French capital today. Without any further problems we reached Paris Charles-de-Gaulle. After leaving our luggage at the hotel we spread out to breathe a bit of the Parisian lifestyle. Maybe we get to watch the Eiffel tower at night or the Arc de Triomphe and even the Louvre! Tomorrow, our schedule is full of rehearsals. And we will be seeing the stage on which we are performing the day after tomorrow: exciting times!
October 27th, 2014
There is hardly anything more amazing than walking along the river Seine, drinking a hot cup of Café au lait and eating a warm, freshly baked Pain au Chocolat. Sounds like the best trip in the world? Well, yes! Tomorrow we will have our premiere of »Ein William Forsythe Ballettabend« on the stage of Théâtre de la Ville. Today we will be in the studios all day for rehearsals – of course, we want to look our best for the Parisian audiences, who are all but inexperienced in terms of ballet and contemporary dance. Moreover, technical rehearsals are on the schedule today, too. Light and sound need to be set and we need to get used to the new and different stage. Hopefully all the costumes survived their journey. Luckily we have our lovely dresser ladies with us, who may fix any problem in this department.
October 28th, 2014
It’s premiere day! After a long day of rehearsals yesterday, we start our day with corrections. Is there anything we have to change in regards to the unknown stage; anything that can be improved? Everything needs to be perfect for tonight! On our schedule in the afternoon: A technical run-through to double-check that everything is set up for the show; that music and sound are working. We dancers spent our afternoon at the hotel to relax and get ready for the evening. At least there is a chance to have Benjamin Millepied, the new Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet, in the audience. Toi Toi Toi everyone and let’s show Paris what we’ve got!
October 29th, 2014
What an amazing premiere! We gave everything and the Parisian audience loved it – at least that’s the latest buzz on Twitter and Facebook! We are so happy to get to perform our program tonight and tomorrow again!
Apart from the little shock in the afternoon, when the fire alarm went off and we had to leave the stage really quickly, everything went perfectly smooth today. Moreover we took the time in between rehearsals to explore a bit of the city. We went to see the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe: what a sight by night! A healthy diet is really important for a dancer – but, honestly, who could resist the amazing, delicious Macarons from the famous Parisian cake shop Ladurée?
October 30th, 2014
Third time is a charm, they say: one last time we will be on stage with »Steptext«, »Neue Suite« and »In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated« at Théâtre de la Ville tonight. We feel grateful and blessed to have the possibility to perform in this amazing old building full of dance history. In the morning we have daily class like every day. Afterwards, it’s the time for reviewing last night’s performance and a chance to receive corrections. Was there anything we need to change? How about the light and the sound? Second and third performances are always a bit tricky. Let’s say »different tricky« than the premiere. There’s less tension, the stage is (a bit) more familiar and – if all went well – the audience loved the program, so the atmosphere is a different one. Now it is even more important to keep your nerves, to leave no room for mistakes! A supreme level needs to be maintained. In consequence, we will definitely give our best to bid our Parisian audience goodbye with a successful performance tonight.
October 31th, 2014
»It is a field day for critics when a little-known company arrives on the dance scene with a bang. The name to remember this time is Dresden’s Semperoper Ballett.« (Financial Times) – What an amazing review! We are thrilled at Paris’s response to our performances, our program and at least our company. Amazed by the successful tour, we are on our way home now. Something very special awaits one of us in Dresden: Principal Elena Vostrotina will receive the Mary-Wigman-Award of the Stiftung zur Förderung der Semperoper (The Foundation for Support of the Semperoper) on Sunday, November 2nd. With dance partner Raphaël Coumes-Marquet she’ll be dancing Pas de deux from George Balamchine’s »Diamonds« and William Forsythe’s »In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated« on the stage of the Semperoper. Toi toi toi, Elena, and congratulations! For the rest of us, this will be a weekend to relax so by Monday we’ll be back in our studios full of fresh energy. Rehearsals with David Dawson for his new creation of »Tristan + Isolde« and our first performance of »Legends – Homage to Richard Strauss« on November, 8th are coming up soon!