Sydney

What a great way to work off your jetlag - walking through the Botanical gardens in the glorious sunshine only to turn a corner and in one whole view see the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

The first few days in Australia have been fantastic - lots of sightseeing and getting settled. Climbed Sydney Harbour Bridge (slightly through the pressure from others!) which was a great way to see the city.

I also went to the Opera House's open day where I had the oppportunity to see inside the Opera Theatre and Concert Hall for free. Beautiful spaces and I can't wait to be back there in 3 weeks to see 'Concord' - Australian Ballet piece.

Once the jetlag wore off a little I attended some classes at Sydney Dance Company - inspiring space down on the wharf under Harbour Bridge. I took a contemporary class, a popping class (stifle all laughs please) and a hip-hop class. It was refreshing and so much fun to take a class for myself instead of teaching it for a change. I love teaching but I also love dancing for myself too.

It threw up all sorts of questions again about the arts in teaching and if teachers would ideally need to be constantly involved and inspired in their artform to provide the best experience for their students. This is a very difficult balance for teachers to uphold.

Sydney was energising! I look forward to coming back to it before leaving Australia.