Incheon Seoul, South Korea

Hello World,

Just a quick little update to let you know that I have arrived safely in Seoul. It was a long, but uneventful flight. I was lucky and was able to sleep a large chunk of it away. It seems that the Koreans have a taste for the finer things of life. All the magazines on board the plane were full of articles relating to fine arts and sophisticated fashion. Most of the magazines even had an article about ballet in them.

Incheon Airport is something else. For a start it is huge! Taxing up to the terminal, we must have gone past at least 30 jumbo jets just lined up on the tarmac. Inside is just as vast as the outside. Endless corridors that stretch out of sight, and every inch of it gleaming as if it had been built a month ago.

The climate here is very warm and humid and being in the middle of summer it makes sense.

The hotel, Hyatt Regency, they have put us up in is just a little bit posh. Bell boys speaking perfect English and wearing pin stripe suits are all around. See the photos for a further idea. The hotel is five minutes from the airport so unfortunately my exploring of Korean culture will be limited to the money grabbing tourist focused attractions downstairs. Once I've finished writing this and had a shower I'm going to explore further.

Speak to you again soon,

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Destination UK

Hello World,

It has been a while between posts, but now the time has come for me to start the first of a new series in the DreamChaser history.

It has become apparent over the last couple months that there is not enough dancing work in Brisbane to keep me in business. My hours of searching the internet were not producing any auditions, yet alone jobs. All my calls to local talent agents only turned up dodgy operators and places that would not return my phone calls. I tried to get into classes with Expressions Dance Theatre but was continually told that there was no room. I did manage to do a couple of classes with Queensland Ballet's Professional Year, but it was quite obvious that they are just using the paying Professional Year students to prop up the company. If I wanted to get into that company I would have to go through their system, which after completing three years of full time study has all the appeal of a kick in the face.

The only job that I did manage to get was working as an extra for the Paris Opera Ballet when they were performing La Bayadere in town. It was quite buzz to be in amongst one of the best ballet companies in the world. It was also one of the easiest jobs that I have ever done. I was one of eight "Rajah Carriers" who carried the Rajah onstage and then I had to help push the all famous elephant across the stage. Total stage time was all of about 30 seconds!! They still had to pay me for the minimum of 3 hours or each show which was very cool. Even cooler was being able to watch every show and see this fantastic company from up close and personal. I've posted a couple of pictures to give you an essence of what it was like.

So with nothing serious really happening in Brisbane, I have made the executive decision to move to London and try my luck there. I've got myself a two year working visa, meaning I can to any type of work in the UK for that time. The plan is that I will have to get some sort of bill paying job to support myself for the initial period. Once I have built this foundation I will be able to branch out a bit and, God willing, get dancing employment.

Another reason why I'm doing this trip is that I have grown very sick of living in between worlds in Brisbane. Having to live off half an income in a job that I didn't train for is not very rewarding. By pursuing this adventure, I will get a result that tells me whether it is time for me to stop trying to be a dancer. If I do get employment, the dream has come true. If it doesn't happen I will be able to look myself in the eye and say that I did my best.

So I hope you enjoy the stories of my adventures. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Dream Chaser

Rodney Cuthbertson