Back to Russia!

Well the summer holidays have now come to an end ….and what an eventful few months they have been!  Family reunions, shopping trips, hospital appointments, physio appointments, gyrotonics and catching up with all my friends.  Also a radio interview with Radio one, which will be broadcast this month.  These are just a few things which occupied my time at home and I could not have asked for a better three months!  The holidays flew by so quickly and I am certain that I could not have crammed in any more enjoyable things than I did.

I was lucky enough to be able to go on holiday to Greece for two weeks with my Mum, Dad and best friend Megan.  Beautiful island, sand, sun and most of all … relaxation – just what the doctor ordered! While my parents lapped up the sights and tranquillity of Greece, Megan and I had other things on our minds. We made a joint decision to explore as much of the Greek night life as possible!  Although we sampled a great deal, the holiday was for me to recuperate and I found it was also ideal for me to get back that quality time I had missed with my Mum and Megan.Being in Russia has made me realise just how close I really am to my family and friends and also how much I miss them when I am away. Being with them for the full summer holidays gave me the peace of mind that they are not going anywhere and every time I return home, no matter how long I have been away for, things will never change and they will revert straight back to the way they where – as if I had never gone!  Time passes so quickly and this makes you treasure every moment you have with everyone you love.

On top of all the excitement that Scotland had already provided I was overwhelmed when I received an email from a lovely lady called Elizabeth Ferguson who works for The Royal Ballet in London.  Elizabeth had previously read my blog and noted that I would be travelling to London to see the Mariinsky perform La Bayadère and kindly invited me to tour around the Royal Opera House before the afternoon performance! I honestly believed that I was having a behind the scenes tour of the Royal Opera House, which I was totally delighted to be invited too.  However, I was so excited when I was told by Miss Ferguson that not only was I allowed a viewing of The Royal Ballet’s company class but also the Mariinsky’s company class!  These two ballet companies are truly out of this world to watch and it was amazing to see the differences between Russian and UK technique.  I was also so privileged to be introduced to the Director of The Royal Ballet, Dame Monica Mason, and also Alexander Parish  from the Mariinsky Ballet Company.  All of the dancers that I saw participate in class were such an inspiration and I can’t thank Miss Ferguson enough for allowing me to have this fantastic opportunity! Thank you also for the lovely t-shirts which you gave me as a gift after my visit.

After my visit to the ROH I decided to travel a few stops on the tube station in order to visit a close friend, Emma Findlay, who is also a ballet dancer. Emma trained and performed with The English National Ballet and now lives in London and it was great to have a little catch up.   From there it was straight to the hotel in Covent Garden to get changed and meet with Mrs Maureen Findlay and her two sisters Janette and Evelynn, as I had said in my last blog Maureen had given me a gift of two tickets for the evening performance of La Bayadère performed by the Mariinsky Ballet Company. Maureen absolutely adores the Bolshoi  Ballet Company and travels frequently to see them perform. When she offered me once again to come to London to see the ballet, on this occasion the Mariinsky Ballet (I was lucky to be invited last year to see the Bolshoi Ballet Company also), I was over the moon and I am forever grateful to her and for all her kindness that she and her husband Brian constantly have shown me.

The Mariinsky company were absolutely beautiful and although they are such strong dancers they seem so light on their feet and their heavy pointe shoes certainly didn’t make a noise as they landed their jumps … putting me to shame!   I had such a fantastic trip to London despite it only being for a day and night! The trip  was even more special to me as it made me realise how much confidence I have gained since moving from Scotland to Russia.  I now have no issues what so ever about flying to London or any other country and being alone and also finding my hotel… if you had asked me to do all this a year ago, I am sure  I would have dragged my poor mum alongside me!

In my last week in Scotland I tried to cram in as many meetings and dinners with family and friends as I possibly could before I departed for Moscow.   The end of this summer was a complete contrast to last year, I managed to only shed a tear on my last night compared to my scheduled daily breakdowns last year – ha ha! This year I feel a lot more confident and settled, as I know what I am returning to and am now familiar with my surroundings.  Last year I was the new girl with so many dreams but no idea what I was about to embark on.

Saying goodbye to my mum and dad in Glasgow airport was as hard as ever… but what did I expect? I don’t think that part will ever get any easier! However, my mood was lifted instantly when I saw Natalie Carter in London and she was so surprised when I greeted her by running up behind her and throwing her up in the air!  This act proves  to me that sometimes I think I am better than some of the boys in my pas de deux class, as I seem to have such strength for lifting the females… ha ha – I am only  kidding.

We sat talking for 5 hours from London to Russia about all the shenanigans that occurred during both our summer holidays and before we knew it time had flown and we had landed in Russia. As we entered into the academy it felt as though I had never been away. The sound of the Russian language came as quite a shock to me, but I know I will soon get used to it again.  Three of the boys from the school kindly offered to carry our 5 overweight suitcases up the three flights of stairs in the academy as the lift had been closed an hour previous to our arrival. The dorms had been dramatically modernised over the summer and although they are not yet finished they are a vast improvement to how they looked in my first year. I am sure once completed the academy is going to look lovely and it is quite exciting to see how it is transforming.

This year I would like to welcome our new girl Heather from England!  Heather has joined us from Tring in London and the British Bolshoi crew are all doing as much as we can to make her feel welcome.  It was lovely to meet her mum, dad and brother, as Paula (her mum) had been in contact with my mum over the summer and it was great to finally meet them all. It felt absolutely amazing to be able to translate for Heather and her family, as obviously I was in her position this time last year and I know how scary it can be, so if ever she needs anything I am more than willing to help! I’m also sure there will be occasions when I will call upon her to help me!

I am in high spirits about the upcoming year at the academy and I am definitely looking forward to everything that will be thrown at me.  Today was my first taste of the second year course and we had to get our high heels and sophisticated dresses on to attend the welcoming/ graduating ceremony. It was scary to think that in less than two years Natalie, Daniel and I will be standing up there! I also briefly got to speak to my ballet teacher Revich and she is excited about getting her teeth stuck into our class this year and that task will begin from tomorrow!

I look forward to keeping you all informed about my second year at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and I have my fingers crossed that I will have lots of positive things to tell you about through the year. Until then … wish me luck!!

A rather hectic summer!

These past few weeks have been extremely hectic. Summer holidays are usually filled with relaxation and quality time with family and friends, and I had also planned some sneaky television viewing time with my mum … but unfortunately due to the amount of time spent attending hospital and physiotherapy appointments we simply haven’t had the time to fully relax… but I am hoping things will calm down once we have also completed my medicals etc for my return to Russia and we can eventually enjoy our last few weeks together.

The past couple of months I have been religiously attending physiotherapy and gyrotonic appointments, and I am extremely overjoyed to report to you all that I feel this have been a great benefit to my recovery. My physiotherapist provides ultrasound treatment which is placed directly on my hip for about ten minutes and releases tiny electric vibes into my deep over worked muscles in order to ease the tightness within the hip.

In addition to this I have also been attending The Penny Withers Gyrotonic Studio in Glasgow. With Penny I have been receiving one to one classes twice a week. Gyrotonic Expansion system is designed to stretch and strengthen muscles simultaneously while stimulating the connective tissues in and around the joints, the movements produced using the different machines are multidimensional providing the capacity to explore and increase an individuals’ maximum range of motion. It will also give me the strength in other areas of my body which will allow me to use more freely all muscles instead of putting all muscular stress in ballet through my hip and will hopefully prevent this injury from reoccurring once again. These two systems combined have been a great way for my hip to rehabilitate itself and so far I am so pleased with the results.

I also have some fantastic news!  The results for my MRI scan came back this week and everything within my hip joint is healthy and clear and the scan has shown my injury has been caused by an overly developed muscle imbalance. This can be fixed easily and can be done by re training my body and finding the muscles that have been a little lazy. These results provided me with piece of mind that this injury will not be detrimental to my future career … for a dancer … what better news could I receive! Ballet is such an important part in my life and to receive such goods news has lifted such a weight from my shoulders and now I can go back to what enjoy most … dancing!

Also while I have been home I have participated in Scottish Ballet open classes with my friends from The Dance School of Scotland. These classes are helping me to re gain my full strength and participate in full ballet classes. Just recently I was delighted to be asked to perform as a special guest for the Elma Whyte school of Dance. This dance school has a special place in my heart as it is where I took my first steps into the world of classical ballet at the tender age of 2 years. The performance was held in the Armadillo Theatre Glasgow.   I performed the pas de deux from the famous ballet ‘Don Quixote’ with a friend, Jonathan Milton who has just recently graduated from The Dance School of Scotland.

I miss everyone from home so much when I am away living in Russia so I am trying my best to meet with as many friends as possible as I know I am going to miss them so much once I return to Moscow. I am also thoroughly looking forward to travelling to London to see the Mariinsky Ballet performing ‘La Bayadere’ in The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. There is no doubt in my mind about how utterly amazing this company will be and I can’t wait to see some of the world’s top dancers. These tickets where kindly given to me as a gift by my very close friend Maureen … so a big thank you as this was very much appreciated!  I am so lucky to have been given two tickets, and I have invited Natalie to join me at the ballet. This will also give us a little time to catch up on our gossip, as the next time I’ll see her will be in London Heathrow Airport for our return to Russia!

I am looking forward to my return to The Bolshoi Ballet Academy and also my second year course. Thank you all for reading my blog this past year and the support that has been given, and I hope my blog this year will be full of interesting and exciting news for you all to enjoy!

My year has sadly been cut short but I will return in full health!

For those of you that regularly keep up with my blog you will be aware that I have been struggling with a reoccurring hip injury for the past 4 months! Although in recent weeks I felt that it seemed to be on the mend or at least was feeling slightly better, after a consultation with my doctor in Scotland I am so disappointed to inform you all that I have had to return back home to Scotland to have treatment and allow it to fully heal.
I have been referred to an orthopedic consultant who will decide whether I need to have an MRI scan so that they can fully see what is going on deep within my hip and the muscles surrounding it, but at present they believe there has been overuse of the hip which has resulted in a sprained and strained joint and I also have tendinitis. I am also attending physiotherapy on a weekly basis and have been given a wide list of strengthening exercises to get me fit and well to continue my full training within the academy later in the year.
Due the the nature of my injury, Scottish doctors and the Academy doctor have both agreed that participating in my end of year exams will only cause me injury and deteriorate or cause more aggravation to the hip; rather than improving the situation it will only make the injury worse. The good news is that all of my teachers within the academy have graciously provided me with class marks for my full year and I am delighted to say I have passed all my end of year assessments!
This great news will enable me to gain entry onto the second year course at the academy and I will be able to return to my full time training after the summer term.
I am so very thankful to everyone who has supported me during my first year at the academy as without you all I genuinely don’t know how I would have survived some of my darker moments! I have met some extremely talented dancers at the Bolshoi Academy who are now graduating in June into the professional world of ballet and I wish them the best of luck with their future careers.
Living in Russia for a year has taught me a lot of life lessons which in turn has pushed me to mature mentally and physically. I have had to learn how to cope with difficult situations such as illness, hospital visits and injuries, and also do things for myself and make decisions rather than depending on parental figures holding my hand every step of the way . I have had to grow up very quickly and manage it all on my own. I would also like to thank Miss Natalie Carter for being there every step of the way and guiding me through some tough times which we have managed to keep laughing and smiling through ! Also, what can I say about my wonderful ballet teacher ‘Revich’? I can do nothing but compliment this amazing woman as the information and guidance she has provided me with this past year will remain forever both in my head, my heart and also in my dancing. This wonderful woman is like a second mother and truly always looks after her students and their welfare and I cannot thank her enough for everything she has taught me. I am grateful and excited to know that she will be my teacher next year and the few tears that she shed as I left the academy indicated to me that I am a student within her class that she is fond off and that she also has faith in my abilities as a dancer and this means everything to me! Finally, my grateful thanks to The Genesis Foundation for having the belief in me to support and guide me through this very exciting part of my life.
I would like you to know that I am so disappointed that I could not finish my year as I would have loved to have taken part in my final year exams. No-one could feel any more disappointed as I do now because I feel I have let down so many people who have been rooting for me to do so well this year, but I must say that I would much rather regain my full strength and and be injury-free for entering second course, rather than being injury ridden for a further year and possibly doing more damage to my dance career as a whole. If it had been at all possible to finish my year injury-free I would have proceeded as I have so much determination to succeed, but I have to think about my body and its capabilities when injured and what it can cope with at this moment in time. You may only be provided with one fantastic opportunity in a lifetime and I have been given mine now and I will strive to be all I can be within it… my life and whole career is based around it and I want to succeed!
Thank you for keeping up with my blog throughout my first year in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and I can only hope that after my summer holidays when I am refreshed and ready to return for my second year at the academy my blog will continue to be filled with many interesting stories for you all to read and enjoy. Have a great summer and I will keep you updated on my injury.

Russian language exam success!

Life at the academy is never dull as classes take up your every moment but at present everything feels very real and I feel slightly lost! This because my room mate/surrogate mum Miss Natalie Carter has had to return back to London for a well-needed operation and I have to say the tears were flowing very heavily when I came back into our room after finishing my ballet class and all of her things were gone! I am going to miss her more than words can say (but it is only until September) and I can’t wait to give her a big cuddle when we eventually get to have our own little reunion in the summer holidays. I do wish her a very speedy recovery and I’ll be thinking of her every day. However, although she isn’t in Russia she won’t be getting away from me that easily, I will be constantly in touch via facebook and skype… and my Russian homework will be sent via email hahaha… only kidding Natalie!

On a brighter note I have just completed my Russian language exam and I am very pleased to announce to you all that I managed to achieve 81%! This came as a great shock to me as I honestly thought that my Russian skills were not that good and I am still struggling with certain aspects of the language, but it just proves that ‘eenie meenie minie mo’ does work sometimes when choosing answers… just kidding! It was really stressful trying to prepare myself for this exam as I had to study so much grammar and new vocabulary and apply it to various aspects of the language, which was not easy at all, and on top of this – try to keep it all in my head! In the long-run though this will prove beneficial to me as it will help me gain more confidence to speak to the Russian children and my peers and not panic anymore beforehand about what tense and grammar to use and what style of sentence it should be in. The level of Russian I am currently studying has become more intense as I have just received my new second year book from my teacher. I am determined to learn as much as I can before I finish for the holidays in June and also during my summer so that in my second year I will be a lot more comfortable and confident to be able to join in on more complex conversations.

Ballet this week has been quite positive and I am very happy with how I have been performing. Following my hip injury I have just returned to full class timetable; I really feel the physio and medical gels which I received here at the academy did me the world of good and I am now fighting fit and working as hard as I can for my teachers. This week Revich finalised the combinations for our ballet exam and I am under no illusion that the combinations she has given us will not be easy and she will probably tweak or completely changed styles before the exam but the fact that we now have a set class syllabus can only mean one thing… EXAM TIME IS LOOMING!

All of my other teachers have also begun to finalise their exam classes. Narha and Historical are completely dance and performance based; the only distinctive difference is that Narha style varies from different countries national dances, whereas Historical is based on different time periods that dance has come through. Acting on the other hand (when I am in second and third course) requires you to act out different scenes from chosen ballets, however, since I am still in my first year it’s much more focused in finding yourself and what you’re capable of performing. For the exam this year I am required to act as an animal and also act different day to day scenarios i.e. a call for help in a fire scenario. However, after seeing my interpretation of a “gay hairdresser” my teacher has now realised that comedy is what I do best and also love to do, so she is thinking about putting this forward for my exam… it should be interesting!

I look forward to telling you all how the next few weeks work out and anything else exciting that happens in Russia! Bye for now and I will keep you all posted!

I’m in the Renfrewshire Gazette this week!

If you’re able to buy a copy of the Renfrewshire Gazette this week, there’s a double page spread on my adventures at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy which concludes in next week’s issue!

A lovely time in the UK but exams are looming!

After the last few very exciting, stressful couple of weeks at the Bolshoi ballet Academy, it was nice to de-stress a little! But not for long… lessons began as soon as I arrived back at the academy after my short holiday back home in Scotland. As usual Revich (my ballet teacher) began to work us hard to prepare for our exams which will be in the next couple of months. However due to a hip injury which occurred in gymnastics last week, Revich has decided to limit the amount that I am allowed to participate in within class at the moment … she is only allowing me to do barre or light centre. Although it upsets me not to do full class I understand the importance of being fully fit for the up and coming events which are all too important for me. This has not dented my enthusiasm as it is nothing a few physio treatments, exercises and muscular gel won’t fix. I am taking a few more days to rest my hip and fingers crossed by the end of the end of the week I will be fighting fit and back doing what I love to do and giving it 100% once again! Revich has been amazing, not only is she a a fantastic teacher but she can also sense when I am feeling a little homesick. At the beginning of last week she took me to one side and gave me a gentle talk which I am so thankful for! Her words of wisdom and moral boost truly do mean a lot, and I feel at times she is almost like a second mother to me… only a more ballet-minded and less obsessed about a clean bedroom!

On a less cheery note I have been told that my Russian Language exam is on the 6th of April! I am really nervous as there is so much grammar involved in this very difficult language, so I am having to study 24/7 to try to get everything into my head so that I am prepared on the day. The saying ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ pops into my head now and gain which keeps me on my toes. I have also arranged to sit down with two of the girls in my class from America for some intense studying sessions so hopefully everything will work out and I will be confident in 2 weeks time! Wish me luck!

The date for our ballet exam has also recently been announced. It looks as though we will be putting on our new black leotards and we will be spraying our hair to our heads for the occasion on either the 2nd or 3rd of June. I am slightly excited and also nervous for this exam as it will give me a chance to show how I have progressed in my first year at the academy, and will also show me what I need to improve on and strengthen for my second year. Approximately 2 weeks after this date I should be on my way home to bonnie Scotland to begin my summer holidays and I can’t wait wait to see all my family and friends for what will be a much needed rest after all my exams and I will also have a much longer spell to spend with everyone as it won’t be just a few days but a couple of months, so I will be able to recuperate and recharge fully. I hope it doesn’t sound bad that I am counting the days already as I do enjoy my time here (very much) but I also miss everyone back home and I think that it is something which will never change no matter where I am in the world.

This weekend we all had the chance to dress in our best clothes to celebrate two birthdays, Daniel Dolan’s 18th and Niklas Blomqvist’s 20th. I had a very enjoyable evening in a restaurant called Sky Lounge and I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it felt great to be all dressed up and out having dinner with the group. The food was absolutely beautiful and the view from the windows is simply divine as the restaurant is situated 22 floors high and you are able to gaze into Moscow and all its glory!

Today Natalie, Daniel, Alex and myself have all came to McDonald’s cafe to take advantage of the free Internet, as at the moment the Internet connection in the academy is very unreliable and I haven’t had a proper conversation with my mummy in what feels like forever! So fingers crossed she will get her tired little self online (she works a night shift on a Saturday) before I go back to the academy for dinner. I would also like to say a big congratulations to all of my friends in the Dance School of Scotland as they have all secured places in various top London schools and I am very proud of them all! They have all worked so hard and I can’t believe it is now their time to finally graduate and go their separate ways in their individual career paths. They are all about to embark on the biggest and most enjoyable and rewarding journey of their live and I wish them all the luck in the world for their future, but I hasten to add; don’t forget little Stobo in Russia okay! Love you all!

I will write another blog very soon to update you all in the coming weeks about my preparation for my exams and also let you know how I get on with my language exam! Wish me luck guys!!

The performance was amazing!

I am pleased to inform you all that the performance in the school was possibly one of the most exciting moments of my life! From the moment the curtain was drawn the mix of emotions running back stage was insane as you could truly feel everyone’s adrenaline pumping. It was amazing for me to finally see all the other children on stage doing what they love and I felt so inspired by this years graduating students as some of them are simply out of this world and gave me a real boost of confidence to work towards becoming as strong technically.

From our tiaras down to our pointe shoes everything had to be perfect before we stepped foot on stage and of course our tutus were beautiful. From the moment we were in costume I began to feel like a proper ballerina and this feeling was the most satisfying of all!

Although the variation was not as clean as it had previously been in rehearsals I was still so proud of myself and Natalie as this was our first performance with the Bolshoi and we truly gave it our all. It was such a rush to be on stage dancing in front of an audience once again and being in that kind of environment, having people there preparing to watch you dance is a feeling that words cannot describe.

Here is a link to Natalie and myself performing our variation so you can all have a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Hto4OSV9E

Dragging yourself out of bed every morning, class, rehearsals, pain, homesickness, tears and so much more is all made worth it when your walk out on stage and that rush of sheer love and affection for your chosen career path fills your body. Having a career that you’re proud to be doing every day makes me realise how lucky Natalie, Daniel and myself truly are and how many opportunities we may possibly be awarded with within our next 2 and a half years if we keep working to our absolute hardest everyday and proving why we should be here.

The performance which was meant to last for 2 hours ran for a grand total of 4 and it’s safe to say i felt like curling up into a little ball and not moving for the next few days. However, I was over the moon to be told very last minute that we had a 3 day holiday for Russia’s “International Woman’s Day”. So after the performance it was straight to ram store for taxi money, pack my holdall, shower and travel to the airport alone at 2am. I was a little anxious to be traveling all the way from Moscow on my own as i would have to rely on my broken Russian if anything were to go wrong but I managed it fine and landed in “sunny” Scotland on Saturday morning.

Being home was exactly what I needed and I had so much fun with my friends and family. Just sitting down with my friends from Dance School of Scotland and talking for hours felt great and it turns out i had missed quite a lot of gossip in 9 weeks ha ha. Family time was also treasured as I really do miss everyone back home so much when I am gone. However, I do know that they are always there if I need a wee chat and when skype decides to work they even have to put up with seeing my face… what a shame!

Today I am on my way back to Russia for the 3 month stretch before summer which I am sure will go very quickly as it will be filled with exam preparation! The Russian exams are more like a mini production than an exam but none the less they are of course judged very harshly and your dancing is closely scrutinised. Although right now I am feeling relatively calm, I can be sure you will be able to sense some nerves in my up and coming blogs!

I look forward to informing you all soon how everything is going.