Things Are Starting to Move

Hi Everyone,

The performance of Scheherezade has been and gone and was a heap of fun. Big pants, bling heavy costumes, simple dancing, great music what's not to like? The audience was packed, everyone wanting to watch the aging Russian stars, Rusimatov and Irma, dance. Irma Ninoradze (spelling is my best guess) is complete ballet superstar in these parts but is also complete diva. The whole show was about her showing off. True, she is a principal at the Mariinsky, but I'm sure having a filthy rich husband to sponsor her career doesn't hurt. Rusimatov was a very with-drawn character. I only ever saw him at one rehearsal and at the performance. Each to his own I suppose.

What did strike me was the contrast in personality between the Russian pair and David Hallberg from America. They are all superstars and you argue the level of technique till the cows came home, but for being approachable human beings, David wins hands down. American friendliness trumps Russian snobbery.

Speaking of things American, the count down is now on! Ten days till we leave. It's a shame that we are not going to have much time there. Four shows in Five days does not leave you much room. I'm probably not going to do much sleeping. Finish the show, lets go to the beach! I haven't gone swimming properly in ages and Charleston looks as if it has some great beaches.

This week, I FINALLY cornered Nina and had our little chat. It was actually very easy. I said that I needed to move on with my life because I'm not a great dancer and I'm not really productive here. She agreed, speaking with her mother hat on, that this is probably a good idea for me. But, I have made a big improvements, have done a good job here and they will be sorry to see me leave. (Yay!) I don't have an exact leaving day yet. They may need me for a gig have in early July, but if they don't I will probably be free to make my return after America.

What am I returning to? Well, I don't know. My rough plan at the moment is to head back to London and attempt to get some casual retail work. Heading back to serving customers has all the appeal of a rotting potato at the moment, but then I would be able to make use of the rest of my working visa, and actually live in London for a bit. If I can't find work by the 28th of July I have my ticket back to Australia. I'll just have to see what happens.

That's all the gossip from this week.

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Back In

Hi Everyone,

I've had a massive turn around since last week. I was in a furry because I thought I was being unfairly sidelined for the performance of Scheherazade. I'm now back in the starting line up; this time dancing a slave role. Whoop whoop!

So what brought about this sudden change? The fact that I can to the jumps they can't, no. That I can count to eight, no. That I asked Teona why I'm not dancing anything these days, no. It's because the guy I'm replacing couldn't fit into his costume! How sick is that???

The Russian stars arrived two days ago. I can't pronounce their names so I'm not going to try and spell them. They are both very mature dancers who are very passionate about their art and complete divas. I can't really say anything else about them because I don't understand anything they say.

I've still been unsuccessful in having my chat with Nina. She is a really hard woman to catch. I sat outside her office for 3 hours yesterday so I would be there when she came in. But she only dropped in for five minutes while I was in rehearsal and gone by the time I finished. Very frustrating! Today we have a dress rehearsal in the theatre so I'll try again to have our little chat.

The whole company trooped out to the US embassy to get our visas. I can never get over how imposing embassies are. This one especially looked and felt like a fortress. Security to get in was very tight and the whole process was rather intimidating. We all had to give finger prints and have a short interview. The guy interviewing me was such a stereotypical American it was funny. He said I had some explaining to do and asked why I had Australia passport. (I don't know, I found it on the street yesterday!) I had to explain briefly how I came to be in Georgia and why I was there. Just the normal stuff to ensure that I was who I said I was. He said my visa has been approved so fingers crossed we won't have another drama at immigration.

That's pretty much it for this week.

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Rage Quit

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorry, but this is going to be one of those posts where I just dump. For the last two weeks I've been working on the upcoming production of Scheherazade which will feature two guest principle artists from Russia. A guest teacher from Russia is setting the work and has been with us for the last four days.

The cast needs 18 chore men: 6 'hat boys' (they wear funny upside-down-pot-plant hats), 6 slaves and 6 guards (a walk on part). Initially, I was dancing as one of the hat boys. It was a cool part with lots fun running and jumping. But then came the revelation that instead of having two performances, there was only going to be one. Today, I was told by company manager, Teona that I was only going to be a guard and covering the other parts.

Ok, I'm not one to praise my own dancing or rubbish other's, but this is nothing short of a slap in the face. The hat boys cast is not too bad. They can count and keep together even if they lack line, work ethic and technique. The six slaves on the other hand are mostly horrific. Some of these boys look like they have just been pulled off the street. Not only do they lack the line, work ethic and technique; they can't even count to eight as a group. There is one section where they have to run towards the audience and do a turning jump together. The teacher has been over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over this section. She speaks very rapid Russian so I don't understand much she says, but even I can understand 1,2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and can do the move correctly.

I don't know how I kept my cool when Teona told me because I just wanted to explode! To see that sort of dancing being presented when I'm perfectly capable of doing so much better is very frustrating! Not to mention the 4 hours I spent today sitting in the window watching rehearsals. If I put up a big enough stink I could probably get her to change her mind, but she is just not worth the effort. At the end of the day, the credit on my resume will look the same.

I'm more than ready to leave this place. Having my dancing and intelligence insulted like that is just too much. The problem is I can't tell the queen bee. Nina said that she would be able to speak to me on Saturday. She didn't show at the theatre, which is not unusual. Sunday she obviously wouldn't be there, but when I asked where she was today, I was told that she was in America till the end of the week! It's a trap I tell you!!! A trap!!! I could just tell Gvansta, but gossip flies around this place faster than Jack Russel on Red Bull and I don't want her hearing it from somebody else.

So that's the news from my end of town.

Anyone know of any vacancies in Brisbane?

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

I Smell A Rat...

I know, late again.

Our internet is still not fixed so we have taken to free loading off the local supermarket eating area's WiFi. The school has been showing very little interest in fixing the internet which is very frustrating. Especially as we are still paying for the service.

Anyway, on to the the major story of the week, the rat. We have a thief at the theatre. This isn't really surprising with human nature being what it is, but this isn't a case of petty theft. Will came home one night to find that he was missing his wallet. He thought that he had just left it at the theatre, but when he checked it the next morning, it was gone. He went to the bank to cancel his cards only to find that a four figure sum had already been taken. Someone has allegedly gone into his locker at work and stolen his wallet from his bag. The police have been become involved and yesterday arrested a suspect based on CCTV footage. There is obviously a lot more to this story, but I can't say any more in this public space.

There is going to be a rotten apple in every barrel, but this is quite serious. Georgian is definitely not a dull place. From unpaid electricity bills to hotels with no hot water to tours with drunken antics, this country in never short on dramas.

I have scheduled my chat with Nina Anaiashvili for tomorrow. The company basically goes on summer holiday after the American tour in June and I have to give a least a months notice. I don't want step on any toes and with my plane ticket to America booked and paid for, I don't think there is a lot to worry about. It's going to be an interesting conversation. I'm aiming to say that I love working for her and loved living in Georgia, but I'm just feel like I'm a waste of space here. They only use me to do basic work and which could easily be done by the boys they currently have. She would be better off spending my salary elsewhere and I would be better off investing my time somewhere else.

It's rather scary jumping off the cliff into unemployment again. This ride does not dull with repetition. I really have no idea what will happen, but I'm open to whatever God chooses to put out for me. Even if it means going back in Australia, I'm happy with that too.

That's all for next week, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I'm a bit late this week. The persistent rain over the last week has found it's way into the building's telephone wires and for the moment we are disconnected to the world. So today I've taken my machine down to the trendy cafe on Rustaveli Street. The girls walking by the window and the couple making out behind me are a frequent distraction, but I feel at the height of sophistication with a coffee at my elbow and my fingers poised to do 'important business'

The only real story this week is David Hallberg's visit. He came to be a part of the Gala that was performed last Thursday and along with Nina Gogua receive the "Nina International Prize". He only with us for four days which was a shame as his dancing was completely divine. He is one of those people who were just born to dance. Legs, feet, technique, grace and presence, he has it all. Watching him is like watching a living piece of art. ALL the girls where eying him off and I'm sure that a few of the boys had similar ideas.

Not having many English-speaking people here is often a downer. But when a guest like David comes, it has the magic of giving you exclusive social rights! So after our first days of rehearsals with him we formed a group and invited him to join us for a few drinks. As well as being a fabulous dancer he is also a really nice guy. It was just so cool!! There we were, in an up town bar sharing a drink with an American Ballet Theatre principal. The conversation did get a bit surreal at times. Exchanging long haul travel tips. Comparing the work ethic of the Bolshoi Theater (where he was guesting last week) to the ABT. Telling him who to say hello to when he spends three months with the Australian Ballet later this year. Listening to his stories of working with Sylvie Guillem. How incredible is that?!

The Gala was a great success. I only had to walk on stage for the final do-da, so I spent the performance taking pictures of the performance. Everyone does it here, so I thought it would be a fine opportunity to get some great photos. And the pictures I got have to be seen to be believed! Here is the link or they are in the side bar of the blog. David was impressed with the photos and even requested a copy of them which I was very pleased to forward to his personal email address. ;-)

Following the performance we had a little cake and champagne to celebrate the giving of the 'Nina Prize'. But ater this, we were able to highjack David and share some food at a restaurant. It was just as incredible and surreal as our first outing. Life is meant for days like that.

In other news, I finally got the second draft of my video filmed. It it is live via this link or in the side bar, awaiting your critic.

The next thing on my list is a performance of Sheherazarde. The company does not know this ballet so we are all learning it from scratch. I'm enjoying the part I have which is a good bit of fun and actually causes me to break out a sweat. The sad part is that because the technique of the chore is so 'meah' they are dumbing down the choreography. Doubles are now singles which I find very frustrating. In school if you couldn't do something you learnt or at least gave it a try. Here it's just a case of 'it's too hard, just do a single.'

It's very ironic in a way. On the one hand I have these incredible experiences of touring to Japan, meet and hang out with fabulous stars, living in a foreign country and earning a decent salary. But on the other I get next to no job satisfaction or social life. Why can't you have your cake and eat it too? Having David here nearly made me change my mind about staying on for another year, but I realized that while the short term benefits (tours, salary, famous people) are great, the long term things (medical care, social life, job satisfaction) are not catered for.

Oh, for a parting piece of gossip, I've heard from the administration that my tickets for America have been bought and they've got my picture and passport to process the visa application. So I'm definitely going to America for Giselle performances, but not for Jacob's Pillow.

My coffee cup is empty and night has fallen so it's time to wind this one up.

Thanks for reading,

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser