I am back in Germany after once again, having a wonderful time in Bangkok. I really love Thailand, and everything about it, but the people hold a special place in my heart, they are so kind and loving and compared to European standards, most of the population lives in extreme poverty, but they are so willing to help and they always have a smile to give. It reminds me so much of Brazilian people, and it’s definitely a lesson to hold on to! So being able to come to Thailand and perform for this people is something I will always treasure.

Our general rehearsal on Friday was open to 1.666 kids from the area surrounding Bangkok. These are extremely poor kids, a lot of them had physical and mental disabilities, and some of them travelled as far as 100 km to watch our Nutcracker rehearsal. These kids have never had the chance to watch a ballet at a theater before, and most likely will not be able to do this again, so this was a very special day for all of us. Our nutcracker has a winter set, and at one point it actually snows on stage, and this is most likely the only time they will ever see snow. They loved the show and we loved performing for them!

And finally the day of the first performance came, and it was time for us to meet the princess of Thailand: Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. In Thailand, every day of the week has its own color, pink for Tuesday, green for Wednesday and so on… Princess Maha Chakri was born on a Saturday, which means her birth color is purple. So to prepare for her visit the theater was decorated with purple flowers and flags. I hope she likes purple if she has to see it everywhere she goes. As far as standard procedure goes, the princess arrives after everybody is seated and as soon as she has taken her place the show begins, no matter whether she is five minutes early or late, the national anthem is sung and the performance starts. In the end of the performance, we receive flowers from her staff, the national anthem is sung again and off she goes, before everyone leaves and the curtains go down. The show went well and as usually in Nutcracker, we had a lot of fun. And dancing for the princess of Thailand was a great honour, even if i could only see her from far :).

The last show on Sunday was upon us, and as Murphys Law goes, “If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong” a few of us developed some sort of stomach virus during the night. I don’t need to tell you that spending the night on the toilet floor is not the best way to prepare for a show, but having come all this way to dance, there was no way I was going to miss it.  So, after a ton, of electrolytes, a Buscopan injection and some changes to the cast, I was ready to go on stage. I didn’t dance everything, I have a great friend who saved me by dancing half of the things I had to do, but the show went great and once again really fun, even if it was half asleep fun. It was time to say our goodbyes and go back home.

We had a really good time in Thailand and an amazing Thai crew, from the cafeteria to the guides, and all the way up to the technicians, everyone was extremely kind and helpfull, and we felt really well taken care of! So, Thank you Thailand and I look forwards to coming back!