Mathias and Laura-Jane in China

Well, it didn't take a year to get Mathias' photos from the recent Birmingham Royal Ballet tour to China....but....that's because I brought my laptop to England and captured these images from Mathias' computer. Okay, in exchange, I cropped/color/contrast/titled/corrected all of the images! He took hundreds.....of course....they were in CHINA after all! It was grand to browse through his pictures, listen to the stories of adventure and fun, and share in the experience. Below are the ones, mainly of the two of them. They aren't in the video created while the company went to the Great Wall of China, but it is worth a look because it really shows the camaraderie of the group and the day they spent exploring one of the wonders of the world. It is here. NOTE: ALL THESE IMAGES ARE RELATIVELY HIGH RESOLUTION. EACH ONE CAN BE CLICKED ON FOR ENLARGEMENT. (That means, Mom and Dad, that if you save the enlargement on your computer, you can send the file to Ritz Camera and have it printed as a 5" x 7" or smaller without losing any resolution!)

This is Mathias in Gaungzhou. It was the first place BRB went.

This is also in Gaungzhou, in front of the Memorial Hall.

Here's Laura-Jane in front of the Gaungzhou Memorial Hall.

This is Rory on the Great Wall of China. He's obviously from Scotland and very proud of this fact. I just can't understand why Laura-Jane didn't wear a matching costume!

Mathias on the Great Wall.

Another one of Mathias on the Great Wall.

Mathias and Laura-Jane on the Great Wall....whoever took this image almost missed them....but I guess this is understandable. The view just had to be so breathe-taking that looking at anything else might have been impossible.

Mathias and Laura-Jane resting on one of the very steep staircases. It is nice to know that ballet dancers thought that this was strenuous climbing too!

Laura-Jane on the Great Wall.

Another one of Laura-Jane on the Great Wall. I've been told that Laura-Jane's camera has more images of Mathias. I'm hoping she'll send me a few!

Mathias and Laura-Jane in front of the Pearl Market. They didn't buy anything inside. Mathias said it was too mind-boggling to even consider chosing.

This photo and the next few were taken at a posh party in the British Embassy in Beijing. Above is Mathias an Yasuo with Deliah, Laura-Jane, Laura, Yvette and Nicki. Don't they all look nice!

Above is Tyrone, Oliver, Mathias, and Yasuo.

Mathias and Rory!

Mathias, Aaron, Tom and Tyrone.

Mathias, Yasuo, and Chi.

Chi and Mathias

Laura-Jane, Mathias, Celine, and Kit.

Laura-Jane and Yasuo.

Laura-Jane and Mathias.

A whole bunch of the girls.

This is Mathias in the Forbidden City.

Another place in the Forbidden City with Mathias.

Another place in the Forbidden City with Mathias.

Mathias and Laura-Jane in the Forbidden City. They said it was very, very cold this day!

Laura-Jane in the Forbidden City.

Another place in the Forbidden City with Laura-Jane.

Laura-Jane sending greetings from the Forbidden City.

Due to her blonde hair, many Chinese people posed with her for photos. Mathias snapped this one with two little kids....as their parents were snapping their own photos.

Laura-Jane in the Forbidden City.

Mathias and Laura-Jane in the Forbidding City Garden.

The company did more than just sight-see, dance, and go to formal parties as representatives of British empire.....they also went to night-clubs like this one in Beijing.

Of course, Beijing was the site of the most recent summer Olympics and this is Mathias inside the famous "Bird's Nest" stadium.

Here he is outside the Bird's Nest.

Laura-Jane and Mathias sitting in the stands at the Bird's Nest stadium.

They also toured the swimming facilities.

One of the ballets performed in China was Romeo and Juliet. This photo is Fergus, Mathias, and Aaron dressed in their mandolin costumes for the production.

Here's Mathias and Laura-Jane, both Capulets in the production.

Here's just another nice photo of the two.

The other ballet performed in China was Beauty and the Beast. This is Laura-Jane as the Vixen and Mathias one of the "awakenings"....whatever that is!

The final image shows how the female dancers get all their pointe shoes to the touring destinations....in large bags. Laura-Jane (Gibson) put hers on the top!