Where HAVE I been?

Well, last night I was at Sadler’s Wells in London watching ABT perform Symphonie Concertante, Spectre de la Rose, Swan Lake Act II Pas de Deux, and In the Upper Room. Unfortunately the Winger’s own David H. was having a well-earned night off, so I didn’t get a chance to see him dance and offer you all a fresh critique of his technique! I’ve not seen ABT perform before and I felt this programme was interesting because it consisted of a range of pieces that showed what the various members of the company did well. The only thing that was new to me, was In the Upper Room, and it was this that I had chosen the programme for. I am a huge Twyla Tharp fan - I think the style is so natural, so energetic, so fun, so athletic - and having read David’s posts about this piece I vowed I would take the first opprtunity I had to see it performed. I didn’t realise I would have a chance so soon! I thought it was truly wonderful, the best thing in the night, one of the best things I have seen. The costumes and the smoke were very effective but it was the dancing I loved. I have no idea where those dancers get their stamina from. It was a marathon, but we wanted more when it ended.

Previously to this, where have I been? Being between houses for the last three or four months has rendered me slightly incommunicado - no wireless broadband to fuel my fire. As it is I am posting this from the train to Glasgow, which has been my home for the past four weeks. The joy of a first class ticket: broadband and free tea.

So far, in Glasgow I have:

• Taught European History (the very precise 1500-2000 variety) to first-year university tutorial groups
• Been to a nightclub on a boat on the Clyde that played swing dance and rock n’roll music and let me in for a discounted price because I was “fabulous enough”
• Had debates in old man’s pubs about postmodernism
• Eaten Tunnocks Snowballs
• Revelled in travelling on the mini subway trains

And a whole bunch of other things which I promise to post about soon. I have not yet taken a dance class, but I will check out the classes at the Scottish Ballet, as I have heard they are good, and I am not entirely enamoured with going to the smelly university gym all the time.

So this weekend I was only in London for a few days. I took the opportunity to say good bye to my friends, and to various other things. My husband is still living in London because we haven’t managed to sell our house yet (grr to the lawyers) so we went on one of our inflamously long walks around London yesterday.

On Saturday we met friends at the Museum of Childhood - they brought a child. Their child, Saskia was two and a half and had been taken to her first Nutcracker at Christmas. She and I danced in the car park.

Then in the evening we met many of our friends in The Duke of Cambridge to say goodbye. This is an organic pub quite close to Sadler’s Wells, in Islington. The food is great. We had great fun but were very sad to be leaving everyone behind. Here’s me with two lovely friends, looking slightly worse for wear…

I will miss my friends, the shops, dance classes at The Place and the Royal Ballet most. Most of the stuff I see at Sadler’s Wells comes to Edinburgh or Glasgow so I won’t miss too much in the way of touring companies. But for the glitz and glamour and excitement of Big Ballet I will have to go to the Royal Opera House, which will just so happen to involve staying with friends, perhaps hitting the shops and taking a class or two, so I am not complaining. My new life in Scotland just means I get to do everything I do, nation-wide.