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Memories of Peter
Darrell
continued........../
Gordon Aitken:
Ballet Master 1969-1979 Scottish Theatre Ballet.
Assistant Artistic Director 1979-1988 The Scottish Ballet.
Having signed my first contract with Scottish Ballet I had made
it quite clear that I would no longer perform on stage. My first
day with my new company Darrell took me aside to tell me that
he wanted me to do "a small walk-on part" in his new full-length
Beauty and the Beast. It was not small and not much walking! Shortly
after this Darrell started work on Tales of Hoffmann in which
I was not cast. Before long however I was taken aside once more
to be told about another "small" walk-on part. This turned out
to be the Four Baddies and was to be the best role of my career.
Peter could be very persuasive!
One schools matinee of Nutcracker in Aberdeen, Peter and I were
at the back of the stalls when there was a sudden disruption during
"French". It was at the time when "Everyone's a Fruit and Nut
Case" was the popular advert. At first only a few children recognised
the melody but it quickly caught on and in no time the entire
audience had joined the sing-along. The more the teachers rushed
about trying to keep the children quiet the louder they sang and
the more Peter loved it. To his way of thinking at least the children
had become involved in the performance. He so much wanted dance
to be not a specialised art form but acceptable to everyone.
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