Houston Ballet, WHAT???

I wish I could tell you that I was completely selfless in arranging this tour, but I must say I was equally excited to see the center and meet the world class ballerina- Lauren Anderson, as our personal host.

Lauren began our tour 20 minutes early, because we were all there early---and excited!  She took us from the top down, beginning at the 6th floor.  We were able to peek in on studios on the floor below and watch developing ballerinas and danseurs, yes, that is what  you call male dancers- not ballerinos :). They were color coded by leotard for their level and come from across the world to train here during the summer.  We were even able to see a pas de deux class (dance with male & female).  We got the inside scoop on composers and choregraphers too.  The live pianists were wonderful background noise.

Down, down we went- sometimes crammed lovingly into one elevator.  We saw AND walked on part of the new walkway leading to the Wortham and then made it down to....tah dah! the WARDROBE room.  While the Houston Ballet does have the majority of their thousands of costumes stored in a warehouse- some are kept on site- such as Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, and Giselle.  We were given strict instructions to not touch anything- the oils from our hands can ruin the costumes- yes we are talking $1500-$5000 custom tutus.  Beatiful tutu trees lined with black, teal, and pink tutus were organized in one closet.  We even got to see the sugarplum fairy costumes.

With choreographer permission, we were able to see the Dancer's Lab- a theater type setting with curtains, clocks, seats, and all, which is used for practices and studio series.  We quietly sat in while a choreographer was working with 4 dancers and were able to see a glimpse of beauty in the making.

Lauren was gracious enough to give plenty of hugs, take lots of pictures, and show us many things from each floor.  It was definitely one of the most awesome things I have done and I am so grateful that Lauren took the time to meet and greet our dancers this afternoon.  Lauren mentioned that she would like to come and give a class to our dancers as well, and we are definitely excited about that!

By the end of the afternoon, Lauren had spent over an hour and a half with us instead of the scheduled 30 minutes.  She was such a joy to meet and an inspiration to our group as a whole.  I hope this is the beginning of a long relationship with the Houston Ballet. 

In awe and in a very happy ballet place of life,

Leah

Houston Ballet Tour with Lauren Anderson 7.6.12