Woke up in beautiful Banff today. Almost walked into a deer going to get food, he was just hanging out in the street, you don’t see that everyday. We had a dress rehearsal last night and we ended up going onstage at around 10 pm, which was midnight for us. Considering the late hour and our jetlag, it went well. A lot of the dance community in the country has gone through the dance program in Banff and a lot of them are here to celebrate the anniversary. It’s really exciting for Heather and I to come back here as past alumni and represent the National Ballet’s many past alumni.

Principal Dancer Heather Ogden and I are heading to Banff today. We are dancing in a gala for the 60th anniversary of the Banff Centre for the Arts. We have been rehearsing the Swan Lake White Swan pas de deux during free hours at the company this past week. I thought maybe we could show off our new singing ability with a rendition of “I Want to Live in America” but Heather thought White Swan was more appropriate.

(Photo: Etienne Lavigne, Heather Ogden)

All the dancers started back at work this week. The Mad Hot Ballet Gala was three weeks ago but it feels like my vacation started just yesterday. Still, it feels good to start moving again. When you don’t dance for a while, sometimes taking class again feels like coming home. Oddly enough there is nothing familiar about the rehearsals we have been doing this week.

West Side Story Suite rehearsals are fast approaching and we started some singing lessons, which are absolutely terrifying. Our teacher, Elaine Overholt, makes us sing one by one in front of everybody and, although she seems to be very nice, I don’t think I can ever forgive her for making me do that. As a dancer, I thought I was somewhat agile but when I’m asked to sing in front of people I seem to lose the ability to move, and I find myself close to falling pretty often. It seems that there are a couple of talented singers in our midst though.