Rio Posted October 16, 2003 Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Well, the other half managed to talk me into joining him for a holiday to the UK early(-ish) next year. I had planned on doing the Inca Trail next year, but the cost of flights from South Africa to South America blew me away (R42 000 as opposed to the R4000 to London! Eek!). I'll be staying in Henley (near Reading) for most of the time, with perhaps a week in London visiting various ex-pat friends. Beckster, I've heard you talking about all the ballet shops in Covent Garden (?). Please won't you let me know which manufacturers have shops there (and around London). I checked out Sansha and Grishko's website, but they don't mention any shops in London! I looked at photo's of Sansha's shops around the world. To shop in a "first-world" dance shop will be fantastic! Over here, the dance shops are incredibly tiny (but some are pretty well-stocked). I intend to blow my spending money on ballet gear. Right now, I'm holding thumbs that the Rand stays nice and stable (Robert Mugabe, please don't do anything daft! ;) Thanks Rio Quote Link to comment
Kate B Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 Oh Rio how exciting! I'm not Becky, but I can assure you there are a lot of shops to choose from in Covent Garden... There's Freed (very old-school!) Gamba (and they sell Repetto and Capezio leotards) Bloch (v. trendy) and Sansha, to name but a few. None are very large, but they are very nice to visit. I'm sure some of us Londoners and maybe some BA people from further afield would be happy to accompany you on a shopping trip! (blows dust off credit card...) Quote Link to comment
Guest beckster Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 Rio, there are plenty of us living round Reading and London (me, Kate and skippy, to name a few!) so if you wanted to meet us I'm sure we can sort something out! Kate has covered the ballet shops already ... I did hear a rumour that sansha was closed but I don't know if it's true. As she said, they are mostly quite small. Bloch is probably the largest, but Freed is worth a visit for the traditional service, etc. I might check out all the shops when I have a free weekend, and write about them all in my blog as a permanent reference for visitors - including addresses and nearby tubes! Public-spirited or what?! Quote Link to comment
Rio Posted October 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 Hooking up with you guys would be great! Beckster, let me know if / when you put the info up on your blog. It will be cool to have a ballet-oriented tour guide! Hopefully I'll be able to catch a ballet. I'd love to see the Royal Ballet live. Thanks folks Rio Quote Link to comment
Kate B Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 If you do want to go to the RB I'd recommend you book (you can book on the internet) asap!!! It's also worth checking out Sadlers Wells as Harlem Dance Theater is coming in the new year (Jan or Feb, can't remember) with some fabby Balanchine! Quote Link to comment
skippy Posted October 25, 2003 Report Share Posted October 25, 2003 Hi Rio, I hope you enjoy England as much as i like living here. I am just down the road from Henley and would also join you and the others for a day out in London. I was up in London very briefly the other day with one of the girls from my class. we did all the ballet shops and i can confirm that Sansha has closed down, i am not sure if it has moved, there was no sign to say so . Anyway let us know your dates for coming over and hopefully we can all arrange something. Skippy Quote Link to comment
Guest fastfeets Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 psst, i'm going to be visiting London in mid june of next year. ;) I'm meeting a friend in London near Convent Garden to visit the dance shops and take a few classes at Pineapple....then we're off to Dorset for a few days, and on to France. *sigh* i cannot wait... Quote Link to comment
Guest Klaus Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 I was in England in Summer and in London for two days (only). I searched for shops before and made a list: Bloch 35 Drury Lane Covent Garden London WC2B 5RH Tel: 0207-836 4777 Fax: 0207 836 6555 "Good for trendy dancewear which can often double up as streetwear" www.blochworld.com Dancia 187 Drury Lane London WC2B 5QD Telephone: 0207 831 9483 "A one stop shop selling branded dancewear and shoes. Offers discounts to accredited schools and sometimes to performers in London shows. Check when visiting if you are eligible." www.dancia.co.uk Freed 94 St Martin's Lane London WC2N 4AT Tel 0207 240 0432 "Freed are a renowned maker of quality dance shoes. The pointe shoes are favoured by many top ballet companies including English National Ballet." www.freedoflondon.com Gamba 3 Garrick Street Covent Garden London WC2E 9AR Telephone: 0207 437 0704 "Gamba sell their own brand as well as other brands of shoe and dancewear" www.gambadance.com Gandolfi Shoes E Gandolfi Ltd 150, Marylebone Rd London NW1 5PN Tel: 020 7935 6049 "Often frequented by students of Central Ballet School, Gandolfi offer high quality footwear." Pineapple 6A Langley Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9JA Tel: 020 7836 4006 www.pineapple.uk.com Porselli 9 West Street Cambridge Circus London, WC2H 9NE Tel 0207 836 2862 "A favourite. Good selection of leotards and shoes." I had not enough time to visit all of them in the summer, hope to come again in december or january to see the LotR-Exhibition in the science museum. Quote Link to comment
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