Thursday, December 24, 2009

Monte Carlo - Karl Lagerfeld, Princess Caroline and others






For the record, this is not how I intend on writing on this usually, but when I mentioned that I was going to start a blog, my boss asked me if I would write something for the last tour that we went on. And seeing as I need somewhere to start, here it goes.

Six Nights in Monaco

When one thinks of high society, class and glamour, there is one place that tops the list of cities; a principality that is nestled into the side of a mountain just one hour to the east of Nice, France.  When you stand near the top of the mountain, you look out at a city that is compiled of winding roads, escalators, a harbour filled with the largest of yachts, buildings with old French charm and a castle that over looks it all from high a top the mountain on the other side. And like the cherry on top of the sundae, you have a perfect view of the Mediterranean as a background to this magnificent city. It is a city-state ruled by the reining Prince Albert II and his sister, Princess Caroline, both children of the late American actress and wife to the late Prince Rainier, Princess Grace.
You are in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Well, the Trocks were at least. And though it is part of our namesake, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has never actually performed in Monte Carlo. That is till now.
And did we ever perform. Three shows of Les Sylphides, Carnival de Venice, Don Quixote, Go For Barocco, the Dying Swan and Paquita. We were in Monte Carlo as part of the Monaco Dance Forum celebrating 100 years of The Ballets Russes, Diaghilev’s ballet company for Russian refugees. Different companies from around the world, and the local Ballets de Monte Carlo, all came together for the dance festival. Due to The Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo and Princess Grace’s admiration for the art form, Monte Carlo has, and probably forever will be, a huge epicenter for dance. It was an amazing honour for the Trocks to be invited and to be a part of the festival.
We performed at the Salle Garnier, the theatre in the famous Monte Carlo Casino. It’s a smaller theatre but what you get inside is a feast for every sense. The house looks like the most ornate of all European houses.  Gold leafed designs of angels and candelabras swirl around the room with murals of old French scenes painted as their backgrounds. Rich, red velvet seats are hovered over by a large, fully working chandelier. On one wall, there are mirrors meant to reflect the windows from across the room, which have a view of the Mediterranean. During the day, sunlight fills the house as audience members take their seats. But at night, one can gaze out to millions of tiny stars, twinkling out over the sea. Resting behind and just above the audience is the royal box. It is about the size of a small apartment, with two thrones in it for the royal family when they decide to catch an evening at the theatre. A single large crown presides over the box to signify that this is the place of royalty. And that it was, for on opening night of the Trocks performances, two audience members gave us the honour of performing in their presence. The Prince and Princess of Monaco, both avid lovers of ballet, a trait passed down from their mother, came to the show. And from what I hear, they loved every minute of it.
The audiences did so too. We performed to packed houses each show and even had to add an extra show due to the fact that our first two shows had sold out almost immediately.  We were the only company in the festival to do so, another great feat for the Trocks. Stomping their feet and doing their rhythmical European claps, I think the shows were a huge success as we were most warmly accepted by the Monaco audiences.
Nothing compares, although, to the gala that concluded the festival. About 15 companies were represented to include the Trocks and as always, the Trocks were the highlight of the show, bringing the audience to a boisterous applause from the moment the curtain came up. Pas de Quatre was danced by Fernando, Raffa, Bobby and Claude and each one was at the height of perfection for the show, generating so much energy from the audience that they continued to scream and clap well after the curtain came down. Again, the Trocks were the only company to receive such excited feedback from the audience and it made us, even those of us watching from the audience, feel a sense of pride and joy to be part of the company.
The gala was performed in honour and in the presence of Princess Caroline with a party afterward hosted by the House of Chanel. Also there to bring in the celebration was none other than the House of Chanel artistic designer, Karl Lagerfeld.  Now, here I must admit that some of us were more excited to meet and greet with Karl Lagerfeld more so than with the princess, but to be sitting at such a glamourous dinner, five tables away from Karl Lagerfeld, Princess Caroline and Prince Albert II, all you can say is “WOW!” You have to pinch yourself to make sure you aren’t dreaming. But, meet and greet we did. Most of us got our picture taken with both Karl Lagerfeld and Princess Caroline. Italian being one of the many languages she speaks, Davide held a lengthy conversation with her. Something I’m sure he will keep with him for the rest of his life. I, on the other hand, spoke with Karl Lagerfeld for a moment, him being one of my favourite designers. They were both very approachable and elated to speak with some in awe ballet dancers.
The tour was a huge success. Enjoyed equally by the theatre, the audience and the Trocks.  It was a wonderful experience to be part of. But like every dream, it must come to an end and with a minor flight scare (there was a huge snowstorm in New York City that threatened to leave us stranded in Nice, France with no flight home) we all made it back to NYC just in time to make our connection flights to our various homes for the holidays.
To finish I’ll say what we always hold dear to our hearts. There are good times and there are tough times, but it’s times like this that make us always want to keep on Trockin’!

xoxo.
Josh








Let's get started

Hey everyone.

Let me start by saying who I am. My name is Josh, and I'm a traveling ballet dancer. I work with a ballet company named Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo based out of New York, but we are a touring company so we travel the world for about 35 weeks a year. I've been with the company for about 4 years now and so far I have been to every continent except Africa and Antarctica
with about 25 countries under my belt.

I love to go places and see new things and cultures. I'm starting this blog because I want to have a place where I can share my experiences and hopefully others may get some enjoyment out of it too.
I'm hoping this will be a bit more than a travel blog, but that it will also be a people blog. I am so lucky that I get to go around the world, and one of the most enjoyable parts about that is the people and the experiences that lend themselves to my everyday life. That's what I want to share with this. Life situations for the traveling ballerina.

Feel free to comment and post your own stories. There are many places that I have been and there are lots more that I haven't been to so maybe we can help each other out.

Looking forward...