Cinderella and Three Seasons of Snow Queen.

Voytek Lowski, an exceptional teacher and extraordinary man, intelligent, shy, quite magical caught me reading ‘Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson’ (Gurdjieff.) on a coach journey when i was twenty-one, from that moment on he taught me much more about Beelzebub without me ever having to read a book.

One winter tour our new Director – Ivan Nagy, decided I was to debut in Ben Stevenson’s ‘Cinderella’.

Christian and i rehearsed only with Voytek Lowski, i remember reaching an inestimable peak of unimaginable technique and prowess for me that i shall never forget. Shy, demure, perfect, fragile my Cinderella became stitched into my soul and has never let me go since!

Later another magical event for me, Yelena Pankova, Thomas Edur and I, performed and rehearsed, Sugar Plum Fairy, Prince and The Snow Queen. Rehearsing with Voytek and being close to the Russians i became much more aware of a fragile sensitivity and discovered in full daylight the ego that can be responsible for its destruction.

Voytek would somehow manage to get underneath my skin and i felt as though I was dancing on ice, that i was so fine and delicate like an icicle as my piquet stepped forward to arabesque, that i was pointed, perfect and breakable. He taught me to trust myself more and i began to sail around with ease in the difficult pirouette en dedans in a la second and allow myself to let my dancing speak for itself without me doing anything.

 Then later i recall a desperately sad time when i saw Voytek come through the door of the classroom, so thin and frail, frightened i left class early to go see him downstairs, that moment when my exterior body recognised that he was ill but was not ready to digest the truth.

Later when Fabio, my boyfriend and I went to visit him at his flat, i did not know what to do, so knelt down and massaged his feet - it was then that it began to sink in that he might not be here tomorrow, he said to me, “You can have anything here that you want, take something home with you,”  - But I couldn’t.

That awful pulling, tearing and wrenching grief that I felt so strongly from Josephine when we found out that he had died. So strong from her, I could not feel anything myself, was so dangerously shaken to the core, I could only support and rock and hold out my arms and hug. I felt so terribly robbed, a man who had actually managed to get me to respond in that special quiet way that only the best teachers can, that magical and communicative spirit, that speaks even when you are quiet and knows when you have hit gold!

I remember attending rehearsals where he and Josephine would work so closely together and be in tune, it would translate itself into something remarkable on a stage and I felt honoured and grateful to be a participant and then afterwards to be able to have my own opportunity to work with him. Rare, Fragile, Spirit.

Left Robert Marshall & I were very lucky to begin dancng together & late on afternoon had the honour of creating 'The Summer Pas de deux' with Michael Corder for his new Cinderella.