Day Forty-One

I apologize for not getting an entry in yesterday. There was simply not enough time after the performance. Speaking of which, it went well. Some pieces of it were better than opening night while some were worse, but that is only to be expected .
I found myself accidentally in tears after bows. I even gave Tim a big hug, despite the fact that he deliberately cracked me down on stage again. I admit that I was dying to be done with this summer at the beginning of the week, but now I miss the rush of the performance and the friends that I made. I feel like the cast became a family. Also, I find it satisfying to know that I was there to absorb the details of this Bossov experience and the drama that went with it . I feel like, even though I never saw the show from the audience's point of view, that I did see a show-- an entirely different show.
Now I am off to Acadia with my whole family and prepared to have a great time!! I look forward to relaxing at the coast. I'm glad to finally escape Pittsfield. So, this is the end of my Summer at Bossov Ballet. Much thanks to everyone who followed the blog. I sincerely appreciate it. Goodbye for while!! I hope to write in the future. Who knows?? Maybe I'll be in Pittsfield again!!

Day Forty

Today is actually day forty-one, as it is 12:31 am. This entry will be short. The show went well. I think everyone was in a high-energy state, which always makes a performance good.

I goofed a few times and expected Ms. Natalya to scream at me after, but instead she confessed that she was almost in tears because of how good the show looked. I hope she will be as sweet for the next one.

I must sleep now. Good night... or good morning. It doesn't seem right to say that I have a show today. At 9:10 I have a meeting with Mr. Bossov and Ms. Natalya. I can't wait to hear what they have to say; I just hope that some of it will be good.

Day Thirty-Nine

Today was as long as yesterday, but not nearly as hard. We rushed to board the bus in time to be back on campus for dinner, which the chef held off for thirty minutes by Col. Wylie's request. As expected, Mr. Bossov took some parts away. I find it a little hard to understand, but I trust his decision. Overall, I am confident that the show will be great!!

I have begun to like the theatre even better as I have spent more time in it. It's small, but I kind of like having everything so close. It's much harder to get lost in this theatre than in others I have been in... which has happened to me before. One thing that is different than I am used to, as I noticed early yesterday, is that the dressing rooms are not organized by position (corps, soloist, principle). Actually, I think they were filled at random. I share a room with four star dancers, including Johanna (Aurora), Caroline (Lilac Fairy), and Kristen (Bluebird). May I remind you that I am simply a corps dancer. I like the arrangement because everyone around me knows exactly what to do and where to be all of the time.

Aah!! Tomorrow is opening night!! I'm not nervous yet, but I will be. I hope more than ever that it goes well for me. Merde, Abby!!

Day Thirty-Eight

I didn't sleep very well last night, and I woke up on my own at 5:58 am. I think I was wide awake after falling during our game. To my surprise, I was wide awake during today's rehearsals too.

The theatre is beautiful!! It has the old look-- everything is well-crafted and the woodwork is intricate. I liked the feel of it. There are only a few downsides. First, the area backstage is tiny. It is literally only wide enough for about two people to stand next to each other. Second, the steps are literally about two feet across, and almost vertical. And last, the biggest dressing room is literally about six by six feet. Not to mention, the stage can only compare to the smallest studio on the MCI campus.

After an hour of class, we prepared for the Prologue. I think we actually began rehearsing at about 11:50. Lunch is supposed to be at 12:00, but obviously we weren't that fortunate. Lunch was at 1:10 instead. In fact, the whole day was very slow. By 5:30 we had just finished Act II, leaving Act III to go, and had to be on campus by 6:00 for dinner. So, to Mr. Bossov's dismay, we had to leave the ballet at Act II. Tomorrow we will begin with Act III to make up for lost time. I like the idea. Act III is, by far, the best of them all.

There were a few discouraging moments of the day. This morning a stage hand, who had a role in the show, quit. He was pretty good for having taken only a few classes. He really knew how to be graceful.

Kirril has the role now. Mr. Bossov just threw him into it without giving him the slightest idea of what to do. I'll have to get used to this method. He did the same for me as a lady in the Prologue, and for a few others throughout the ballet. Even those who have been here for only a week have some nice parts. To me, this fact just proves that their judgement of a dancer depends entirely on skill, not on connections. I don't yet know if I consider it good or bad. I'll have to think about it some more.

One more big day at the theatre and then a performance!! I'm so excited!! I just hope that I make them happy. Wish me luck!!

Day Thirty-Seven

Today marks the end of being in the studios here at the school. I'm so excited to see the opera house for the first time. I've heard that it's small, but that it has a lot of character. I think tomorrow will be good. We are happy just to have a change of scenery.

Tonight was majorly fun!! At 8:15, a group of us met at Park's Gym to organize a game of "Man Hunt." The rules are simple: Stay away from the "its." If one of them tags you, then you join them to find everyone else. The concept reminds me a little of a pack of vampires or werewolves... or zombies. No, I have not seen the new Twilight movie. Unfortunately, I fell down a few times. The grass happened to be slippery. I'm ok, just a little scraped up. Some bandaids and a shower will make me as good as new.

I must leave my entry as it is, because I have to sleep. However, I will have some great news tomorrow of my experience at the theatre. Thanks to everyone who is reading!!

Day Thirty-Six

I expected to have to be on pointe all day, but Mr. Bossov used the second cast. My roles for second cast are character, so today was a pleasant surprise. I cannot wait to be at the theatre!! I just absolutely cannot wait!! These two days will be the slowest yet.

Abby and I made our last trip to Rite Aid this afternoon-- our last awkward conversation with the Irish clerk and our last opportunity to observe downtown Pittsfield at its quietest. It was bittersweet to both of us, but I know that we'll be glad to be in North Carolina again.

In conclusion, today was really uneventful, and I apologize for not having much to say. Oh!! There was one thing. Gentry did a flip in class by accident. I think he was going for an assemble and missed the ground. I just turned around and he was into a forward roll. That was the best class ever.

Day Thirty-Five (Five Weeks)

Today was pretty much the usual lazy Sunday. We went to church, then brunch, then mozied our way downtown to Reny's. Today was actually a little hotter than it has been because it never rained, which was my purpose for going to Reny's in the first place. Reny's has a wonderful selection of rain boots and umbrellas.

Col. Wylie opened the game room to us this afternoon, so we had some fun playing air hockey and pool. I don't think I should ever play pool again. I STINK!! I tried to break and only tapped the balls hard enough to send one rolling. Speaking of "break," last night at the Egg Festival, a sign advertising a game of "balloon dart" read: "One Brake= One Point, Two Brakes= Two Points," etc ("brake," not "break"). Cheyenne, a year-round student here, whispered, "Welcome to Pittsfield. Abby added, "It's almost like someone cut the real world into two pieces and put one in a snow globe." I laughed, but I have come to like Pittsfield a lot. It reminds me a little of my town: every house is old, and every house is unique.

Apparently rehearsals for tomorrow and Tuesday will be here on campus. We'll be in the theatre for our first tech rehearsal on Wednesday. It doesn't bother me, I just don't see how we can manage. The crew took the marley floor out of Park's Gym, which was the biggest area that we had to dance in. Now we'll have to be squished into one of the smaller studios. I guess this week will be somewhat of an interesting experience. I'm all up for adventures!!