What a week this has been! There is so much to write about that I could fill pages with stuff.

I must begin by introducing you to all the new people living in our self styled mansion. Yasha from Khazacstan and Sean from Scotland have been here for a while now. Yasha has been hired as a soloist, is a great dancer and an all round top bloke. Sean is here on a two month trial contract. He has been working on cruise ships for the last year so is a bit out of touch with the ballet world, but hopes to make a home here. And this morning we had Layla, Yasha's girlfriend, arrive. She has come from Israel adding a whole new dimension to our very diverse group.

This week we had the climax of all our work for Siberia to Moscow, premiering the ballet last Thursday. As far as I can tell the the shows when well. At least I didn't have any major dramas with my small role as Officer. Kept the lines straight, didn't step on the ladies' dresses, mimed endlessly through the second act; all good stuff. I nearly got chucked into the first act Cossacks dance again when Igor gave his leg a light twist, but he was fine and was able to do the show. (Whew!)

The premiere was actually quite a bit deal with a whole bunch of dance critics and brass coming to Tbilisi and watching the performances. We had a couple of small functions and I ended up speaking (simply because I spoke fluent English) with people from England, France and Denmark! They all said that they had enjoyed the performances and their time in Tbilisi. Hopefully they will repeat those remarks in their respective publications.

The last show was on Sunday, and we were all glad to be free of the ballet for a while. (At least I was!) Just for the occasion I learnt to say, "Today I am happy because last performance," in Georgian. It's quite an effort, but least it gave me something to practice while waiting for the second act.

Oliver is quite good with people and loves parties so we ended up hosting a small get together at the mansion. It was quite a good night with good food (Oliver made some awesome pizzas), a bit of improvised dancing by everyone and all round good times.

There are of course photos. (I'm going to need another hard drive to hold them all soon) You can view them on the side bar of the blog or via this link.

That's all for this week. (Romeo and Juliet with sword fights next week!)

Rodney C.
DreamChaser