So today is the last day of my long summer holidays and the day before the ballet season starts again. I cannot believe that my holidays – six weeks in five countries  – are already over. A daily routine will soon be here and I find myself in a studio instead of a beach.

However, the hardest part is not regaining the previous strength, the discipline, or the long and late hours of work. The most difficult part at the end of every summer is saying goodbye to my family. To my sister, my mom, my dad, and my grandmother. Every time I say goodbye to each one of them, there are tears – they even fall as I write this. It seems it gets harder every year I fly back to Germany, because I know that speaking to them on the phone can merely compensate for the personal time we could have, if I lived nearer to them.

That said, the memories of each summer stay with me all year round, and the new season is always very enticing. After such a successful and pleasurable summer it is time for me to look into the future and prepare for the new season ahead with all of its excitements. A new season means new choreographies, new dancers, and most importantly the old dancers – my best friends.  However, this season’s return will be very special, as I return into the theatre as a principal dancer for the first time.

For me, I want this season to be my best yet. I want to improve in every way possible and I want to soak up every bit of information I hear. I hope to constantly work on myself and focus on only the positive things, that will push me in the right direction. With my new title, it will only encourage me to prove myself, to myself even more.

So here’s to the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe, season 2016/2017. May it be a good one.

With love,

Harriet