Westward Ho!

Ni Hao Ma!

Yes, I’ve been practicing saying “hello,” “good-bye,” “thank you,” and “where’s the WC?” in Mandarin and getting ready to travel along with San Francisco Ballet to Shanghai and Beijing.

Since the orchestras we will be performing with in China have their own music librarians, I’m tagging along strictly as a tourist and am not part of the official entourage. I enjoy traveling with the company on tour—it’s an opportunity to explore new places with people who are good friends and often know great areas to explore. I pay my own way, of course, but being with the group has many advantages.

I shipped the orchestra materials (two sets of everything—we’re using three orchestras) to Shanghai about a month ago. The musicians in China will have already started practicing the music before our conductors, Gary Sheldon and Charles Barker, arrive to lead the first orchestra rehearsals on September 17. It’s our first tour in China, and the staff members are learning quickly how things are done in the Middle Kingdom. We’ll be in Beijing during the big celebrations for the 60thanniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, so it should be an exciting time. My son Colin collects Olympic pins, and I’ve been instructed to keep my eyes open for any left over from the Beijing Olympics.

Getting ready for Swan Lake! (© Erik Tomasson)

Ballet companies tour for many reasons—establishing and maintaining an international artistic profile and prestige, showcasing the dancers to audiences and critics in major dance centers, attracting worldwide media coverage. We’re taking just over 100 dancers, musicians, staff, and crew to China, and the tour logistics—visas, inoculations, air travel, hotel accommodations, transportation of sets and costumes, renting local performance venues, hiring local orchestras, publicity and promotion, official clearances, etc., etc.—are dauntingly complex. The excitement of performing in new places for new audiences more than makes up for the hard work that goes into putting a tour together. Also, I know that our principal dancer Yuan Yuan Tan (who comes from Shanghai) is extremely popular in China, so I expect her to receive an enthusiastic reception.

I’m looking forward to a wonderful adventure in one of the most historically fascinating and culturally vibrant countries in the world. I don’t know if I’ll be able to send any updates during the tour, but I’ll be sure to have plenty of pictures to post when we return.

So, for now,

Zài jiàn!