We flew from Liverpool Airport to Charles de Galle, Paris and then took our 4 hour transfer to Chalon sur Saone. As soon as we arrived we were greeted by members of the Chalon Council for Culture and International Exchange and shown to our beautiful hotel that had an amazing view over the river Saone.

Our first engagement was lunch in the picturesque town square. We soon became accustomed to the French way of living by having a relaxing lunch in the sunshine. The students were encouraged to use and improve upon their French vocabulary by ordering their own meals and drinks and conversing with the members of the Council for Culture and International Exchange.

Following lunch we went to watch an evening of Dance at The Conservatoire for Dance, Music & Theatre. It was a fantastic opportunity to see the differing genres of Dance that the French dancers performed. Afterwards we had supper with Phillppe Cheloudiakoff, the director of the conservatoire and we discussed the performances.

On day two we were able to have a guided tour of Chalon. In this tour we learnt about the history of the town and how it had developed. Straight after the tour we went over to the conservatoire whilst the students took part in a Hip Hop Masterclass with renowned dancer and Choreographer Jeremy Pivven. The class was amazing and the students were completely worn out by the end. However there was no time to stop as we had to attend a V.I.P lunch at the Mayors chambers.

At the V.I.P lunch we met the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and other influential members of the Chalon Council Committee. As we were waiting for the final members to arrive the Mayor jokingly suggested that we should perform a dance piece to entertain everyone whilst we were waiting. Well we didn’t need to be asked twice and I quickly assembled 4 dancers to perform an Urban Dance piece for our V.I.P audience. As we didn’t have any music the audience had to supply the rhythm by clapping. The students performed brilliantly much to the pleasure of the audience.

We then went back to the Conservatoire to watch some abstract dance films made for camera from dance companies all over the world. The choreographers from the dance films from America and New Zealand had flown over to watch their European premier. It was a great experience for the students to look at dance from an abstract perspective and during our discussion with the choreographers and other members of the audience the students expressed how they were inspired by the films and already had future creative ideas for dance works.

The flowing day we went to the Conservatoire theatre for our sound check and dress rehearsal. The Dance Company performers were showcasing three dance pieces in that evenings show. An Urban Dance “Teeth”, a modern dance “The Last” and a Contemporary duet “Leave the Light on”.

Understandably the students were nervous prior to the performance but managed to keep calm backstage. All three performances were magnificent and we received fantastic support and applause from the audience. We discovered our style of dance was very different to the French but they loved it and the students were catapulted to celebrity dance status as after the performance many of the audience and conservatoire staff questioned them on where they trained and how long they had been dancing and what they were doing next.

The next day with our International Dance Company debut over we flew back to Liverpool to get straight back into rehearsals for the students examination showcase the following week.

The trip was a great insight for the students to the life of a performer. They learnt to adapt to another country and culture in a professional capacity. The four day trip was full of appointments, rehearsals and performances without anytime for rest or relaxation. I would like to congratulate the students on their outstanding performance on an international stage. I am so very proud of them and all they achieved. They showed just how professional and talented thy really are and I have no doubt that after their University or Vocational training they will be performing in many international dance tours.

Mrs Aylward

Head of Dance