BALLET IN BRISBANE: THE ROYAL BALLET'S OLIVIA COWLEY SHARES WHAT LIFE IS LIKE ON TOUR

The Royal Ballet Soloist shares the buzz of performing at Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane.

 BY OLIVIA COWLEY (SOLOIST OF THE ROYAL BALLET)

 Touring is always an exciting time for a dancer and performing in Brisbane was no exception.

I came here for eight days, where I performed two shows of 'Becomings' in Woolf Works. It's a very strenuous role, so the flight and inevitable jet lag was playing on my mind. A long haul flight (13 hours to Singapore and another eight hours from Singapore to Brisbane) is not desirable for anyone, especially not a dancer. If you're lucky enough ever to share a flight with The Royal Ballet, you'll see dancers at the back of the plane (by the toilets!) stretching, doing some pilates, reviewing the films they've just seen, to keep inflammation and tightness at bay. A lot of us also wear recovery socks, tights, or both, and suck on zinc tablets to keep our immune systems up.

We had two days off to recover from this flight, but I did the optional class on the second day as I needed to keep up my stamina and strength for my shows at the end of the week. My body didn't feel too bad but the jet lag was on a whole other level!

It's incredible how jet lag can affect your dancing. Part two of Woolf Works is incredibly exhausting at the best of times but after my stage call it felt much harder. I felt like I had been hit by a bus; I vomited after – I think through sheer exertion.

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/ballet-in-brisbane-the-royal-ballets-olivia-cowley-shares-what-life-is-like-on-tour