Houston Ballet Down Under: Introducing Guest Blogger Jacquelyn Long

Jacquelyn Long, Photo by Amitava Sarkar, Courtesy Houston Ballet.

From June 24–July 10, Houston Ballet is embarking on its biggest tour yet to Melbourne, Australia, hometown of artistic director Stanton Welch.
Pointe asked demi-soloist Jacquelyn Long to keep a diary of her experiences.

Friday, June 24, 2016

I’m so excited to be guest blogging for Pointe to give you a behind the scenes look at tour life! A bit about your blogger: I was born in Cleveland, Ohio (go Cavs!) and lived most of my life in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I joined Houston Ballet’s second company in 2010, and became a corps de ballet member in 2012. In May, I was promoted to demi soloist. My favorite pastime is probably a good Netflix binge or playing with my Pomeranian.

“Looking natural at the airport…” Photo by Long.

The company is touring Stanton Welch’s Romeo and Juliet to Melbourne, Australia! The story is beautiful and one of my favorites. Our production premiered in February, 2015 in Houston. It has been fun to revisit the ballet and I think we are all anxious to see what the Aussies think.

Right now we’re in Los Angeles LAX Airport! After a three and a half hour flight from Houston, I’m anxious for what the 17-hour flight to Melbourne will feel like. My ankles already feel swollen, which is the worst part about flying as a dancer. Some of my colleagues are wearing compression socks to help reduce the swelling, and I would say tennis shoes are everyone’s favorite pick for footwear. My boyfriend and I each bought a new pair of Nikes earlier today— with all the walking that comes with traveling, comfy shoes are essential!

This trip comes with some bittersweet feelings, as some of our dancers will be retiring afterwards. Rupert Edwards, pictured here with his beautiful wife Karina González, will be continuing his studies of kinesiology after the tour.

Photo by Chunwai Chan, Courtesy Long.

Now off to find some food. More to come!

Jacquelyn

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