Adventure in London!

Hi Everyone! Zach and I have now been traveling for 3 months and we are so grateful for all the amazing experiences we are having. After soaking up all the sun in Greece, we made a huge switch and hopped on a plane to London!  

There was so much to see and do in this city and we didn’t waste anytime. The first few days were filled with the mandatory tourist activities. We visited Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, walked through Kensington Gardens, saw The London Eye and my favorite and home to the Royal Ballet, Covent Gardens.  London is a sprawling city, so we quickly figured out how to use the Underground and even took photos in the iconic red phone booths. 

What I enjoyed most about London, was that we felt right at home. Being back in an English speaking country probably had something to do with it and it strangely felt like a bizarre version of New York City. My first priority was getting to a ballet class. I made my way to Pineapple Dance Studios in Covent Gardens. Founded by Debbie Moore in 1979, this studio reminds me of NYC’s Broadway Dance Center.  Buzzing with activity you can find whatever style of dance you are looking for. Ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, salsa, flamenco among others are offered seven days a week. I took the advanced/professional ballet class a few times while we were in town. I especially enjoyed Ian Knowles class. Mr. Knowles trained at The Royal Ballet School and was a principal dancer with Northern Ballet Theater and Washington Ballet DC. His combinations at the barre were efficient in warming up the body and his combinations in center were challenging and fun. The pianist was excellent and added a great energy to the classroom. You can check out the link below for Ian’s website called Ballet Position. It focuses on audition advice, junior companies and working abroad. It’s a great database and full of resources for dancers starting out their careers.

The highlight of our time in London, for me, was seeing The Royal Ballet at Covent Gardens. The Opera House was stunning and more modern than I expected. The evening’s performance was Manon, choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan and brilliantly danced by Natalia Osipova and guest artist David Hallberg. It was extra special to see David dance, as we had the opportunity to dance together when we were just teenagers training at American Ballet Theater’s summer intensive. Having both been through traumatic injuries, I relate to David a lot and admire his strength and dedication to his rehabilitation and returning to the stage. You can learn more about his career in his book, A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back.

While continuing to explore dance in London, I discovered, The Place. As described on their website, The Place is one of Europe’s most exciting, innovative dance spaces, where artists from all over the world come to push creative boundaries, to experiment and to perform outstanding new work for audiences who expect to be surprised, inspired and delighted. The Place is home to London Contemporary Dance School, Richard Alston Dance Company, a 288 seat theatre, an extensive range of classes, courses and participatory opportunities for adults and young people, and professional development programs for artists. I was excited to attend one of these programs on Marketing and Press. Led by The Place's Communications Team: Rita Chowdhury, Marketing Manager, Suzanne Frost, Press and PR Manager and Sian Gilling, Communications Assistant, this workshop covered topics from defining your target audience and working out the best plan to reach it, to choosing an image that will draw attention to your piece and perfecting your marketing copy. I left feeling inspired and excited to have learned some tools to help market my work creatively and strategically. 

We were able to see a few shows during our time in London. Zach was super excited to see a British rock concert and we enjoyed an incredible show by The Struts. During a quick trip to the English countryside, we stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon, famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespere and saw a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theater and lastly we enjoyed a stunning performance of the musical,  Waitress in the West End. 

London was incredible and there is still so much more to explore! Thanks for reading and watch out for my next edition where I will tell you about our adventures in Paris! 

Best, 
Ashley 

Travel Tip #6

For a major city like London its hard to get everything in! Divide the city up and save some sites for a future visit!