Première

Tonight is my performance premiere both in Washington and at the Kennedy Center, and I'm very excited to have been cast as one of the four sailors in the Marinski Theater Kirov Ballet production of Le Corsaire. I'm home now for a quick break and my feet are killing me! We have dress rehearsal at 3, and then the production opens tonight at 7:30 and runs every night through Saturday, plus a Saturday and Sunday matinee.

We're dancing in the Opera House, and it is a thrill to be in there. The stage itself is almost as big as the stage in the Chapman Music Hall in Tulsa, but it is much taller, and the backstage areas are huge, with probably the same size area as the main stage to the left, right, and rear. Dressing and rehearsal rooms are on four levels, and it's so confusing trying to remember what is on what floor. It's also a little scary looking out into the house where there is not only a large orchestra section, but three balcony levels, and the seats are surprisingly visible from the stage (usually when I'm singing, all I can see out in the house is a big black hole and maybe a few rows at the very bottom of the orchestra section). I hope I don't miss any calls. The backstage announcements are all being made in Russian! Our casting session and first rehearsal were also done in Russian with a Russian lady translating the ballet master's comments into English for us.

My costume is a little scanty. We're in cream raw silk blousey knee breeches with a matching vest and a bright blue sash with red leather pointy-toed shoes and a pill-box type hat with a big silk tassel on the side. The vests are designed to show off our big, muscular chests. LOL

The Russian dancers are spectacular. The company is quite large, and I was rather surprised to notice a lot of tall, handsome, Russian male dancers--most of the dancers I know in the U.S. tend to be rather short and slender. I was watching the company class (a/k/a warm-ups) this morning, and several of those dancers are positively breathtaking with legs and butts to die for! And, many of the "pirates" dance shirtless on stage, and they have surprisingly good upper body musculature for dancers. You'll drool. I certainly am! A couple of them are even flirting with me onstage. I've got to learn some Russian real quick!

Try to come see the show if you can. I've already asked about free passes or cast discounts, and there are none, so you'll just have to pay for the tickets yourself. For more information, online ticketing, etc., click here.