Euro Tour: Part 1
The RWB Company is taking Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet to the stages in Europe with a six week tour of Germany, The Netherlands, and Italy. Follow dancers Josh and Jo-Ann: a couple’s experience of this tour, on and off the stage.
Missed the other entries? Find them here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Well, it’s been a week for us, over here in Europe. So far we’ve performed 6 shows of Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet. The shows have been almost sold out, and the audiences seemed very delighted!
The journey to get here was quite the adventure.
Day 1:
Our flight out of Winnipeg was delayed. We missed our connection flight to Frankfurt, and ended up being rerouted through London, England. It was a nice detour. The flight wasn’t as long, and we had a few hours to roam around the Heathrow airport, and stretch out our legs before getting on another flight that took us to Stuttgart. We arrived. Everyone had their luggage. We were greeted by our presenter, Wolfgang, and off we went on a bus to get us to the hotel. 24 hours after the “airport call” in Winnipeg, everyone was checked in and on their own in Ludwigsburg, Germany.
Day 2:
It’s a day off!! Time to get outside and see what this place has to offer! First stop, breakfast. There is free breakfast offered in the hotel, but there are a ton of German bakeries and cafés… pastries, breads, spreads, cheeses, etc… We’re definitely in Europe! The town square is gorgeous, and it’s the perfect place to sit, relax, enjoy, and people watch!
We decided to go to the Ludwigsburg Palace where the Pumpkin Festival was being held. The grounds of the palace are stunning! There are beautiful gardens to walk through, a children’s trail to follow, complete with a mini boat ride on the river, and to top it off, the Pumpkin Festival! They have so many varieties of pumpkins… the colors, shapes, and sizes… the largest being 855kg!! It was definitely a sight to see!
After all the walking around, it’s time to eat! So many good restaurants, but the ones that stick out are Antipasto and Café Ennui. We couldn’t read the menu, but the waiters did their best to help translate. At Café Ennui we ordered the beef entrée. It was a traditional German steak with grilled onions, a red wine sauce, and served with potatoes. Of course, you gotta have it with a German beer!
Antipasto is an Italian restaurant. It was delicious! I ordered grilled octopus with green salad. Josh had pork served with a truffle cream sauce and fettuccine. The presentation of every dish that came out of the kitchen was impeccable! We finished off the meal with a tiramisu that was delightful!
Day 3-8:
Show time!!! Here we go!! We had 6 performances of Moulin Rouge® - The Ballet. The shows were great! The audience seemed a bit quiet with their applause during the show, but they expressed their appreciation during the final bows. In terms of the theatre itself, it was a beautiful venue with a really big stage! The stage floor was a bit of a challenge as it was an uneven surface, but we’re all professionals, and I believe we handled it beautifully!
Before one of the shows, Tristan had a bit of a stomach bug, so casting had to change last minute. We pulled it together, and put on a great show!
After our matinée performance, a group of the dancers took the train to Stuttgart to do some sightseeing and attend the last night of Volksfest. There were roller coasters, fireworks, a Ferris wheel, and many carnival games and plenty of food!
To celebrate our first week on the road, after our last show in Ludwigsburg we found a small little German pub, had a few drinks, and played some darts!
Day 9:
Travel day! Off to the next city! It’s a two and a half hour bus ride from Ludwigsburg to Schweinfurt. Stay tuned ....
