Contents:

Registration Day Information
Residential Students and Rosebery Hall Information
Travelling between Venues
Royal Opera House Information
Meals
Dance wear
Massage Bookings and Treatments
Final Day at The Wells
Directions
Faculty Information

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24th 2008

Sadler’s Wells Theatre Stage Door
Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4TN
Stage Door Reception Tel: 020 7863 8198

ALL students should register at
Sadler’s Wells Stage Door
at the following times

Age 14 and under -  2pm– 3.30pm
Age 15 and over -    3.30pm – 5pm

You will be told which group you have been placed in at this time, and during the afternoon/evening there will be a short ballet class for each level.

Any injury concerns should be discussed upon registration with Jennie, our sports massage therapist.

Wells dance tops, bags and fleecies will be available to buy throughout the afternoon/early evening at Sadler’s Wells Stage Door Reception

There will be a welcome talk for all students at 5.15pm in the Baylis. (This is the cue for parents to leave..!)

The day’s programme will be on the Wells notice board, and you will be given your registration pack which will include;

• Information and timetable for the week
• Your name badge (which should be worn at all times!)
• Your Royal Opera House backstage pass
• A video/DVD order form
• 4 tickets for your own group’s final day master class
• 1 ticket for the final evening demonstration and prize-giving

TIMETABLE

The timetable will be given to you upon registration. We try to fit in as much as possible to the week, which leads to the schedule becoming rather complex…! For this reason, we are unable to give you any details until the day of registration, as things are liable to change dramatically right up to the very last minute!

As a general rule however, classes will commence at 10am (9am on the odd occasion!) and the last class of the day will finish between 8pm and 10pm.

The course will take place at both the Royal Opera House and Sadler’s Wells. More about the to-ing and fro-ing between venues later!

You will be ready to leave on the final day (Friday August 29th) by about 8.45pm. (Students from abroad, or with a long way to travel, should ensure they have made arrangements for the Friday night as all students will be required to stay until the end).

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You may prefer to check in to your room at Rosebery Hall first. You will be able to do this any time from 2pm onwards. Please make sure you collect your breakfast vouchers with your key.

Rosebery Hall
90 Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4TY

Reception Tel: 020 7107 5850

Rosebery Hall is just 100metres from Sadler’s Wells, on the opposite side of Rosebery Avenue – turn right out of stage door, cross over the pedestrian crossing and it is immediately in front of you.

We have tried to take into consideration your room share requirements as much as possible, however have felt it was better to keep students of the same group sharing rooms (the exception being students whose first language is not English) as very often the hectic timetable will mean that some groups will start earlier than others etc. We hope that you will all be happy however!

Breakfast and Supper
You will be given breakfast vouchers with your key on the first day - please don’t forget to bring then down to the dining room with you in the morning! For supper, you will need to wear some sort of summer school identification. (ie. T-shirt or name badge)

Kitchen Facilities
If anybody would like to make hot drinks or toast etc, there are kitchens on every floor for you to use. Tea and coffee packs are available at reception if anyone is desperate or has run out!

Payphones
There are phones in the bedrooms at Rosebery Hall, which you can use with a special phone card – these can be bought at reception for £5 and calls are charged at approximately 3p per minute.

Internet
For information about reduced rates at an Internet café around the corner from Sadler’s Wells, please ask at Rosebery Hall reception.

Laundry
All bed linen and towels are provided.
There are coin operated laundry facilities for dancewear, in the basement. If you have problems I am sure one of the Housemothers or older girls would be happy to help. Please make sure that everything is clearly named, including any articles of dance wear that you may have bought here. A marker pen in your bag could be handy!

Bar
The bar is open from 7pm.  Obviously alcoholic drinks will not be served to students under the age of eighteen but you are all welcome to buy soft drinks and enjoy the facilities, on condition that you have respect for other residents . There are also vending machines near the laundry room.

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You will be travelling between Sadler’s Wells/Rosebery Hall and the Royal Opera House by bus. (Under 16’s will be accompanied by our chaperones.)

Students travelling as a group for educational purposes should travel free on London buses, but this is at the discretion of the driver. Last year we had no problems whatsoever, however students over the age of 16 should have the odd pound coin in their pocket, should they be asked to pay!

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You will be given your ROH backstage pass in your registration pack, which you should show at the Stage Door when entering the theatre and carry with you at all times in the building.

The Royal Opera House is a working theatre, with many hazards and potentially dangerous equipment and machinery, and the backstage areas can be quite a maze. The studios we will be using and the canteen are all situated on the 5th floor, so for your own safety please do not stray from this area, other than when going as a group on tours etc. Our meeting place will always be the canteen and this is where you should assemble for backstage tours and workshops. (If you are over 16, or if we have your parents’ permission, you may go out into Covent Garden if you have a long enough break. )

The course dates coincide with the Company’s return to Covent Garden after the summer break. Company dancers will be trying to get back into the swing of things after five weeks of inactivity and may not appreciate prying eyes at studio windows...! Though we want you to enjoy your time at the Opera House and soak up as much of the atmosphere as possible, please remember that it is a place of work and so we would ask you to respect the privacy of the dancers and people who work there. You are incredibly lucky to be able to share these fantastic facilities with the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera and we feel sure you would not want anything to jeopardise your being able to do so in the future!

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Lunches and snacks can be bought at subsidised prices at the Royal Opera House canteen and the Sadler’s Wells stage door café. However, time permitting, you can have lunch etc in any of the eating places around the two theatres (assuming that we have had your parents’ permission if you are under

Evening meals will always be at Rosebery Hall. Day pupils staying for classes that have been scheduled for the evening should bring something for their supper, which they can eat with the residential students at Rosebery Hall, or alternatively, older students may prefer to take advantage of the many excellent restaurants in the local area!

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All students must have a Wells dance top which will be available to purchase on registration day, at Sadler’s Wells Stage Door area, for £10 each.

Under 16’s need to wear a Wells dance top between classes in the theatres, when travelling between them, at meal times at Rosebery Hall (for recognition purposes), and for the Demonstration…in other words, most of the time!

Over 16’s – it is entirely up to you whether you wear your dance top during the week, however you are more likely to be able to travel free on the buses when you are wearing it (!) and you will also need one for the final day demonstration etc.

There will also be some Wells black fleecy, zip front jackets (£25) Wells back-packs( £18), and Wells shoe bags( £10) available to purchase, along with the dance tops, on registration day.

Dance Wear List

Girls: 

• Ballet leotards any style, including two black with spaghetti straps.
• Pink ballet tights, at least three pairs.
• Pink ballet shoes or soft blocks and pointe shoes
• Short ballet skirts – optional.
• Character skirt and shoes (if you have them)
• Black jazz pants
• Jazz shoes or equivalent
• Wells dance top
• Second Wells dance top or yellow T-shirts – optional
• Wells zip-up top – optional
• Dance bag (big enough to carry around all the gear you need for the day!)

Boys:

• Ballet leotards, including two white.
• Black tights
• White or black ballet shoes
• Character shoes or boots
• Black tracksuit bottoms
• Wells T-shirt
• Dance bag (big enough to carry around all the gear you need for the day!)

There will not be much time for wearing “home clothes” however you may like to bring one or two things for the evenings just in case!

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Our sports massage therapist, Jennie, will be available for treatments throughout the week. She has magic hands to ease away those aches and pains after the first day of summer school! No doubt most of you will meet her on the first day and should discuss any injury concerns at this time. There will be a list on the board for appointments or alternatively you can ring her to book treatments at other times.

Tel: 07771 993565
www.jenniemorton.co.uk

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PARENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ OBSERVATION OF FINAL DAY MASTER CLASSES AND EVENING CEREMONY

For the first time this year, the final day at The Wells will have a new seminar style format. We will be holding master-classes throughout the day for each group, to which your family, teachers and celebrities from the dance world will be invited. This will be followed in the evening by a short demonstration and the prize-giving ceremony.
(NB. As everyone will come together at this point, and seating is very limited in the Lilian Baylis Theatre, only one parent will be able to attend the evening ceremony.)

The master-classes will start at approx 10am and run throughout the day - a detailed timetable for the final day will be available on the website nearer the time. The evening demonstration and prize-giving will start at approximately 7.30pm.

You will be ready to leave by about 8.45/9pm.
(Students from abroad, or with a long way to travel, should ensure they have made arrangements for the Friday night as all students will be required to stay until the end)

TICKETS FOR THE FINAL DAY

Upon registration, you will receive four tickets for your family and friends for your own group’s daytime master-class. (time to be announced on the website) It may be possible for your parents and friends to watch some of the other groups’ master-classes during the day, but this will depend very much on numbers watching at the time.

You will also receive one ticket for the short evening demonstration and ceremony for one parent. Your teacher will receive a separate invitation.

All students should ensure they have two black leotards, preferably with spaghetti straps, for the final day (one for the master class and one for the evening demonstration!). You will also need to wear your Wells dance top for the final ceremony.

LUGGAGE COLLECTION

You will need to pack and bring your cases down from your room before 10am on the Friday morning.

We will have a luggage storage room at Rosebery Hall and any students who are being picked up by car will be able to collect their case at some point during the day, before the evening demonstration.

Please do not take any cases to Sadler’s Wells, as there will be nowhere to keep them.  The remaining cases can be collected at the end of the demonstration from Rosebery Hall.

PHOTOGRAPHS

We are very lucky to have with us ex-professional dancer and award winning dance photographer Elaine Mayson. She will have a selection of photographs taken during the week, which will be available to buy on the final day at Sadler’s Wells Stage Door. Further photographs, taken during the demonstration, will be available to order online via her website.

www.elainemaysonphotography.co.uk/dance/index.html

Tel: 07720 777832

VIDEO/DVD

There will be a professional video/DVD made of the final day with some other highlights of the course. You will find an order form in your registration pack, which can be given to Bill, the cameraman, during the week, or sent to him after the course

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Deidre Chapman
as Gamzatti
in La Bayadere
photo by Dave Morgan zxDaveM

Deidre Chapman, a First Soloist joins us for class and contemporary repertoire. Before joining the Royal Ballet, she danced with Rambert and so has a wealth of experience of various dance genres. She will be teaching you snippets of contemporary repertoire in which I’m sure you’ll be able to let your hair down!

Jonathan Cope

Federico Bonelli
as the Prince
in The Sleeping Beauty
photo Johan Persson

Nikaru Kobayashi

Federico Bonelli and Hikaru Kobayashi are a couple on stage and off and will be joining us at The Wells for the first time this year.

Federico is a Principal, having danced most of the major roles in the company’s rep a true 'danseur noble', known for his high jumps, exquisitely executed footwork and beautiful lines. He is very keen to pass on his experience and am sure will have lots of words of wisdom!

Hikaru trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School and started her career at Dutch National Ballet before joining the Royal Ballet and so has a host of different styles to impart. They will both be teaching Boys and Girls solos and Pas de Deux

Jonathan Watkins
in Napoli
photo by Ryoichi Hirano

Kristen McNally
in "Stop Me When I'm Stuck"
choreographed by Jonathan Watkins
Photo by Dave Morgan zxDaveM

Jonathan Watkins and Kristen McNally, both Royal Ballet dancers and choreographers, will be creating new work on students at The Wells. This is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I am sure their enthusiasm and creative genius will be of great inspiration!

Edward Watson

Francesca Filpi

And then there's me Francesca! I hope to get you to think about "DANCING". It might seem rather obvious but who knows, a week immersed with us all, here at The Wells, could well give it a slightly different meaning....I look forward to meeting you all at The Wells 2008!

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