On Sunday night, the other company members and I flew to home to snowy Calgary, after three days of performances in Victoria. We were told it was going to be raining during our whole stay in Victoria but lucky for us we had sunny skies with the exception of one rainy day. There is such a glorious atmosphere in downtown Victoria. The architecture is such that I almost felt as if I had left North America and landed in a European town. I had a wonderful view of the city from my room at the Grand Pacific Hotel. I only wish I had had more time to check all the cafés, restaurants and boutiques. We will be back to Victoria in the New Year, so I will be sure to hit a few more spots then.
We arrived late afternoon on Thursday, checked into the hotel and then it was off to an evening rehearsal. That night we met the students we would be performing with in Victoria and spaced as much of the ballet as we had time for. The stage is higher and narrower in width compared to our Calgary stage or even the studio. In each city we have a different group of children performing with us. The young students actually make up a good portion of the ballet. They had been working on their pieces for The Nutcracker for a few months prior to our arrival.
The next day we had a dress rehearsal and the opening night show. On Saturday we had two shows and on Sunday one matinee performance before heading out to the airport. I got to perform the Waltz of the Flowers five times in Victoria. I was also a parent at the party for two shows.
The trip was a lot of fun. I have never flown with a group of this size. It was nice to have friends and colleagues around to make the flight more enjoyable and it was really great to spend a little time in my home province.