Late, Late, Late....

G'day World,

Sorry for being so horribly late this week. I actually started writing this post on Thursday, but haven't been able to finish it. Shows all this week have taken up a lot of my time and the other days have been busy with class and Admiral work. I'm not complaining, it's actually nice to have a sense of purpose when I wake up in the morning.

Niobe opened last Thursday and we have now done a total of five shows. All has gone really well so far with no major dramas. The show got an interesting variety of reviews in the newspapers. The Stage didn't like it much calling it a "long and patchy evening" The Times and The Guardian gave it lukewarm press, but The Independent and The Evening Standard positively raved giving it 4 and 5 stars. Goes to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Unfortunately, now we only have one show left on Sunday. Sigh, back to counting pennies and poring champagne. I am looking forward to going to Luxembourg in November, but surviving until then is going to be a bit of a bore. Admiral is getting me some work which will help, but won't allow much room in the budget for classes.

On the subject of money and Luxembourg, we got our contracts for the Luxembourg part of the job. We have a separate contact because it's a different opera house doing the paying and we are having some an issue. Our original agreement and the audition notice said that we would be leaving on the 26 November, returning 6 December, and receive 60euros a day as a subsistence fee. Now they are saying that they will give us half a subsistence fee for the two travel days. So we are playing hard ball and going after the extra 60euros. This is not like me at all. I would have just accepted it because it has been like that on every other contract I've worked on. But the other dancers are keen on sticking to the guns as they can't exactly fire us. So, I've been writing some very legalistic sounding emails which has been keeping me away from this blog post.

The only other news is that I had a chat with Lola from Israel and she thinks that I should keep trying for stuff here and in Europe until the end of November at least before even considering Israel.

That's all for this week. Next time, (in three days, if I'm lucky) I'm going have a whole fresh batch photos up.

Speak to you all then,

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Why do good times go so fast?

Hi Everyone,

I've been rather busy this week. Rehearsals moved onto the stage this week, and as with all production weeks, it has been long hours of stopping and starting. All has gone well and we are all ready for the opening night tomorrow. Even the infamous "Blob" is ready to appear.

The only sad part about it all is that with performances starting it means the contract is coming to an end. Only a week and a half left working in this amazing building.

It's going to be very tight while I'm waiting for Niobe to tour to Luxembourg at the end of November. There is a lot of work coming though the Admiral agency so at least that will give me something to live off.

I did the audition on Sunday for the new choreography project and it went well. I am still yet to hear back from it, but even if it was offered to me I don't think I would do it. There must be somebody out there who's timetable and finances would be more suited to the job. The next audition is for the Royal Opera House's production of Tannhauser. I'm unlikely to get the job because it is major contemporary, but I'll turn up for the audition anyway. If that audition goes east and I have no further prospects, I'll make plans to work in Israel. Please pray to give me guidance on this matter as I'm feeling a bit lost about it at the moment.

Tomorrow night's opening show will be followed by a function for all the brass and the cast. A nice little treat to look forward to. I'm also going to be doing a workshop with a member of the Alvin Ailey company. Another exploration into the contemporary world.

That's all the real news from my end for this week. There are more pictures in the album and some especially nice ones of fellow dancer, Claire, in her big dress.

See you next week.

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

Week Three

Hey Everyone,

Just another week at the Royal Opera House. As if I would ever get tired of saying that!

Not a great deal to tell this week. The show is now on stage and we have been running through everything. There are a few bigger technical scenes in the opera, including 8 massive balloons and a very large fire effect. The balloons are my favourite bit of the show because we bounce them slowly around the stage to create this dreamy atmosphere. The dream is interrupted and we get to burst all the balloons with pins. Childish fun on the Opera House stage.

The only sticking point for us has been the infamous Blob. It looks good when it is stationary, but getting it to move well and quickly is difficult. That choreography has been changed so many times that I'm starting to get confused with all the different ideas and versions. We've come up with a solution but it isn't the best.

The job is such a cruise in many ways. The stage team completely spoil you and the stuff we do is very simple. The hardest thing is the class that the dancers do in the morning! Needless to say I'm going to miss working there.

I'm going to send my CV to Rambert Dance and Hong Kong Ballet this week. I'm not expecting anything from either, but I may as well roll the dice.

As for Israel, I've cautiously decided to take the job if nothing else comes up. I don't know why, but my gut is slightly uneasy about it. I don't know if it is just nerves or something else. At the end of the day I could always just leave if it wasn't working out. Plus, it would be more travel and another grand adventure.

I've got another audition this Sunday for a choreographer who has been commissioned by the Sydney Opera House to create a work. Because it's project work, rehearsals are only on Sundays till January and the payment is minimal. There are plans to potentially tour the work to Australia, but not until 2011. I would not mind doing the job, but would have to be working full time elsewhere to keep paying the bills. Sigh, such is the life of the poor artist.

That's it for this week. Enjoy the photos of the beautiful ROH that are up through this link

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

I Love My Job!!

Hey Everyone,

One week in and I'm like a pig in mud. Working at ROH is such a rush!

All the dancing rehearsals have been going well so far. Like I said last week, nothing too amazing but enough to keep me interested. I didn't tell you about The Blob though. The Blob (also known to the cast as the condom of horror) is basically a way of making some entrances and exits a bit more interesting. It swallows a couple of the singers in one scene, spits them out in another and also has to carry one singer on. The Blob is a large black Lycra sock that the four dancers crawl into. When we stretch it out the sock comes alive in a very 'Doctor Who'-like way. So this is what all my training and work has come to: performing on the Royal Opera House stage in a over-sized sock!

I still can't get over how organized everything is. For example, we were doing a warm up barre in the back corner of the rehearsal room using bits of set and a couple of chairs, and out of the blue, two of the tech hands appear with a barre. We asked if we could have some studio space to warm up in, and 'poof' we have studio space booked. The next day, we wanted some music so I investigated the AV system and found that it had cable for hooking up ipods right there. Plus, we get techs queuing us for all of our entrances, so I'm starting to feel really spoilt. No wonder people worship working in this building.

We wondered through the ballet part of the building the other day and I swear that my eyes were on stalks! All these stunningly beautiful dancers wandering around in the rehearsal studios. They were rehearsing Don Quixote doing a lot of chorus work. Unfortunately I couldn't stay and watch, but as least I can say I've worked in the same building as them.

I have to say that one of my favourite experiences so far is eating lunch in the cafeteria on th top floor. It has a balcony that overlooks Covent Garden. As you are having your lunch the sounds and smells of Covent Garden come up to you and there is this panorama view that includes Big Ben, London Eye and Trafalgar Square! Incredible!!

As amazing as working for ROH is, it must come to and end and I've been thinking about what to do afterwards. There has been nothing happening audition wise and everything is really quiet. Even my attempts to do class with English National Ballet have fallen in a heap. I'm contracted to go to Luxembourg in November so I'm hoping that the events agency will generate enough to at least live on until then. The offer from Panov is starting to look very tempting. Sure it's not an amazing company or salary but at least it's work for at least a year. Plus, I can go home afterwards saying that my career has lasted as long as the time it took to study for it. I did send Panov an email ages ago asking when they would need a definite answer but, unsurprisingly, I haven't heard back from them. I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter. Any feedback would be appreciated.

There was a bomb scare in London yesterday and I just about walked into it. I'd just finished rehearsals and was heading towards the Embankment tube station. But I was prevented from taking my normal route by a police cordon that had just been put up. I walked around it by heading towards Trafalgar square and then became aware that the air was filled with sirens more than usual and police were everywhere. When I got to the tube stop, I could see that a part of The Strand had been cordoned off and was empty. I wandered up to the barrier and could see about seven of London's bus standing empty on the street and and a couple of police vans. The rumor sweeping through the crowd was that a 'suspect package' was on one of the buses. The bomb squad showed up almost immediately after that. It was really surreal because I could look towards Trafalgar Square and see London teeming with its normal peak hour traffic. But if I looked up The Strand, it was eerily deserted. Soon it was declared a false alarm and the street reopened. Within a minute The Strand was snapped back to life as the traffic resumed its normal peak hour frenzy.

That's all my news for this week. I'm sorry that there are no pictures yet, but rest assured that I will get them.

Till next week,

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser

First Day

Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday was my first day first day working at the Royal Opera House, and it was awesomeness! We didn't do that much because we spent a lot of time learning about the opera. It's called Niobe and is a very old baroque opera with a very contemporary staging. The plot (such as it is) is based on Greek mythology were Niobe boasts to the gods about her wonderful children and is punished by having her children killed and being turned into stone so she will weep forever. There are also a heap of other characters that appear at seemingly random and incidental points. In general it's all a bit confusing and very arty. The modern set is pretty cool with all it's quirky gimmicks. A massive mirror ball descends into one scene, and another is filled with oversized balloons.

As for the dancing, there is lots of bits involved as well as a lots of being living props. It's is all very contemporary and quirky. Last night we were working on a section where the girls imitate dolls and we manipulate and throw them around a bit. So I'm a bit sore this morning from doing all the partnering! Ooooh, haven't had to do that in ages! It's great because it's all a bit of a challenge and will definitely keep me focused. Definitely looking forward to today's work.

In other news I went to the Notting Hill Carnival with some friends at church. The carnival is a bit crazy were people dress up in over-the-top costumes, dance in the parade, dance on the street and generally go a bit nuts. It was cool to see and be a part of though. The photos are in the usual place.

Ok, I've got to have some breakfast now and sort myself for day two in the ROH :-DDDDDD

Rodney Cuthbertson

DreamChaser