Meg Williams, a student in the Queensland Ballet’s Pre Professional Program (PPP) has recently returned from London where she performed with the Queensland Ballet (QB) in Peter Schaufuss’s La Sylphide. Her first overseas tour was made all the more special because she celebrated her 18th birthday while in London. Meg kept a diary of the trip so that she could remember all the special moments of the tour.
London 2015
Friday 31 July
The day had finally arrived to leave for London. I couldn’t believe that we were going to jump on a plane to head overseas to perform La Sylphide. It was definitely a dream come true. There were still lots to be done before we could jump on the long plane trip.
In the morning we had class at 10:30am and then we were sent home to finalise packing before heading off to the airport to meet everyone at 8:30pm. Our plane didn’t leave until 11:30pm that night so we were exhausted by the time we had to board. Since we were travelling overseas we had to get into their time zone so we were not allowed to sleep until the second flight.
Saturday 1 August
We finally landed in Singapore after a long eight hour flight. We were only half way there and still had another twelve hours to go! Looked like I was going to watch a lot of movies to pass the time.
It was 3:40pm London time and we finally arrived. After making it through customs we jumped on a bus to go to the hotel. The jetlag was crazy, we were all so tired and just wanted to sleep but we couldn’t; we had to stay awake. Once we checked into the hotel, unpacked and showered some of the Jette Parker young artist students and the other PPPs went to dinner. It was such a good way to celebrate finally landing in London.
Sunday 2 August
I woke up at 5:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep - I had a terrible case of jet lag. So I decided to make the most of my time and explore the streets of London before heading back to get ready for rehearsals at the Royal Opera House! I never imagined that I would take a class in the same space that the Royal Ballet do. It had finally sunk in that I was in London to perform with Queensland Ballet.
We had class at the Royal Opera House at 11am with Ballet Mistress, Mary Li to warm up before a full call of La Sylphide from 12:30pm to 2:30pm. The artistic staff were so impressed with the ballet that they sent us home early whilst the principals and soloists rehearsed with Peter Schaufuss. This was very exciting as we got to go explore London. On my afternoon off I went to the famous Harrods with some of my friends before heading home.
Below right: Company warming up. Below left: Me warming up.
Monday 3 August
Once again I woke up at 5:30am and rehearsals didn’t begin until 10am so I thought why not go do some sightseeing. So I headed off to the Buckingham Palace to have tea with the Queen and her Corgis, unfortunately she was away on summer holidays…maybe next time.
Today we had class with QB ballet master, Greg Horsman to warm up before starting another full on day. We did two full runs of the ballet with two different casts so the choreographer, Peter Schaufuss could see and correct each cast on the final details before it went to stage. He was very happy with how much we had improved since performing the ballet in Brisbane, so he sent us home early! I decided to go and visit some of London’s iconic sights, the London eye and the Big Ben. This was definitely something on my bucket list.
Below: Me outside Buckingham Palace.
Tuesday 4 August
Today we went to the London Coliseum! This was the same place that Peter Schaufuss’s La Sylphide was first performed 36 years ago, so it was very special. We had class on stage and had an amazing view of the theatre - I wish class was like this every day.
After class we began the technical rehearsal in the morning to place everything on the stage and make sure it looked spectacular for opening night. It was a little stressful having to bump in to the theatre and then having to perform that night but it was all worth it because opening night was very successful.
Wednesday 5 August
Today was a busy day full of rehearsals so we went straight to the theatre to have class on stage. After class we had two full calls to run through the different casts and clear any concerns that may have risen since opening night. It was amazing to watch the two different casts and how they performed each character on stage.
Show two had begun and everything was running smoothly and then I got called on to do Sylphs unexpectedly. This was a little stressful and I had not yet run it on the stage so I was a little nervous but in the end all went well. Just goes to show how you must always be prepared because you never know if you may have to go on.
Below: Pre-show costume line-up.
Thursday 6 August
We had a double show day today so we didn’t have class until 12pm so I tried to fit in some sightseeing – I went to the beautiful Westminster Abbey.
Today we had class with Maina Gielgud (former artistic director of the Australian Ballet) as a guest teacher. I loved having her teach as she was so inspiring – definitely a treat. After class we started getting ready for the matinee show, I was a Sylph again. This time round I wasn’t as nervous, as I did it the night before and was able to prepare for the show. I didn’t have a lot to do in the second show so it gave me an opportunity to watch the ballet from the wings. It was amazing to see the ballet come to life with the set, lighting and costumes.
Friday 7 August
Today I went straight to the theatre for class at 11am; we had Maina Gielgud again - she was amazing. We had another rehearsal on stage with the cast for the Saturday matinee performance so we all knew the spacing on stage. Then we had a break to explore London again. This time I went to the London Tower Bridge, and walked inside the towers whilst skyping the family back at home.
We were up to show number five and just over half way. I couldn’t believe how fast it went. Tonight we got to watch the beautiful Yañela Piñera as the Sylph and Qi Huan as James – truly inspiring.
Saturday 8 August
Today was a little bit different to the others because it was my 18th Birthday! I never thought that I would have turned 18 in London whilst performing with Queensland Ballet. It was definitely a dream come true. In the morning the young artists and the PPP’s all surprised me with breakfast before heading off to the theatre for class at 12pm. Li Cunxin taught us this morning and at the end of class they all sang Happy Birthday to me on the London Coliseum stage. The closing night performance was amazing but was definitely a bittersweet moment finishing the amazing production of La Sylphide. Once the performance was over we all attended the closing night function to celebrate the end of the show and the end of the tour.
Sunday 9 August
I can’t believe it is time to leave London. We were up bright and early to get on the bus at 7am to catch the plane home. Everyone was exhausted from the closing night function. To get back into the Australia Time zone we couldn’t go to sleep until we got on the plane so everyone was exhausted.
Monday 10 August
We landed at 7:30pm - finally arrived back home in Australia. London was amazing and was definitely one of the best weeks of my life. I was able to see London and still do what I love. I don’t think I will ever be able to thank Queensland Ballet enough for the amazing experience and giving me an amazing birthday - I will never forget it.
You can follow Meg on Instagram: meggles_88