Sunday, July 31, 2011

Another day off!

So I have completed another week of rehearsals. This week has felt a little easier because I'm not adjusting to the time change and I'm getting back in the groove of dancing. Plus, we only worked 6 days in a row instead of 8! We finished our Vegas show and ran it all the way through yesterday, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There's lot of fun numbers in that one =) Next week we'll start on our show called If Walls Could Rock, and then the week after we'll finish Ballroom Blitz, then review, then head off to Europe!

After rehearsal yesterday, Sarah and I ran a bunch of errands and did our grocery shopping. We also mega cleaned the apartment, haha which we were up til 1:30am doing so! At least the bathroom and kitchen has been bleached down! =) Sarah baked lemon cookies and a double chocolate cookie pie and we enjoyed those with wine and cheese and crackers while we watched The Secretariat at 2 in the morning haha. Today has just been a lazy day for me, which I thoroughly enjoy!!! I've made coffee, listened to some music, downloaded some books for my kindle, caught up on my shows, and now I'm going to go back to the apartment and make myself some food and relax for the rest of the day. My partner in crime (Sarah haha) is in San Diego for the day watching her friends dance debut with a new company, so she won't be home til later. I'll probaby just catch up with everyone and the events that happened last night, since they all went out to West Hollywood.

That's it for now! More later :)

Sarah and I

Susan and I!

John and I being goofy. Clearly I can't hold a camera still :)

Kellie and I!

This is what we look like during lunch haha

The aftermath of a long Saturday!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

More of rehearsal life

Today's rehearsals went by fairly quikly. We brought back some dances we learned yesterday, which were "Do You Believe" and "Sway". The first one is the opening number for our That's Vegas show and Sway is a fun, sassy latin number. It was brutal to learn because it is sooo fast. Today felt better bringing it back though. In time, practice will make it easier.

After running through those pieces, we learned some new numbers. The boys learned Mr. Bojangles, which involves dancing on chairs and tables, while four of us girls learned Crocodile Rock, which invovles the male singer/dancer and a grand piano =) It's quick and bubbly and lots of fun! During lunch we watched videos of some of the songs we dance to in our shows. For instance, we dance to I Got Rhythm, so we watched the Gene Kelley clip of it in the movie An American in Paris. Likewise, we watched Fred Astaire dance to Cheek to Cheek in Top Hat, and awful ZZ Top music video of She's Got Legs haha! But interestingly enough, I think this it's awesome that they're educating us on where our songs have originated because they said that passengers will bring these things up and will appreciate our knowledge about it. So, even though it takes up our hour break, it's really cool how they prepare us for ship life. We've also watched other educational videos about the ship and such, and I guess we'll have more later in the rehearsal process.

After lunch we learned the cirque piece for the vegas show.. holy cow it's so crazy hard but so FUN! It's got a very tricky rhythms but once we get it down, it's going to be SO freaking awesome! And, I got over a new fear today: going backwards. I have to do a back walkover in the air, being lifted by a boy, and my partner Sean is really trustworthy so we just went for it. The music is so fast that I don't really have time to think about flying backwards haha

So that was the rehearsal process today. We're hopefully going to slam out three more dances, but before that we're running everything we've learned in the Vegas show thus far.. which is almost half. So, all in all it's been a fun process! The days are still long and I'm usually exhausted afterwards, but I'm finally getting paid to dance... yay!!!!

Currently, I'm at my friend Susan's apartment, and she's also apart of the cast. We got delicious chicken wraps for dinner and now we're watching So You Think You Can Dance! I miss my family and friends, sorry I haven't called as much as I should, considering time is limited since I'm leaving soon.. but I will call when I can! And there are two ports I can use my phone while I'm in the Carribbean! Anyways, that's all for now! Sending my love! <3

Sunday, July 24, 2011

First Day Off...

... is wonderful! We've been working for the past 8 days straight and my body is gladly welcoming this day of rest! So far, we've learned quite a bit from our second show, which is considered the "dancer show" and it's pretty intense! It's non-stop ballroom partnering from one piece to the next.. and to think that we're not even done with the show yet! We're starting a different show tomorrow though, due to the choreographer that is here to teach it to us. We'll finish that, start our last show, and then go back to finish the second show in two weeks. So practicing every night in the apartment is a must so we don't lose the material. I'm thinking one of the shows we learn will be pretty light dance-wise, so that will serve as a nice breather. I'm excited to get them all done. And then in three weeks.. it's off to Europe!!

Today has been fun. I got to sleep in and take my time starting my day. Carly came and picked me up (for those of you who remember her, the same little red-head that used to work at Mem & Mac) and I've been hanging out at her apartment in Pasedena. She has a new little baby girl, Haven, who's only 9 days old. She's so precious! We just hung out at her apartment because she feeds her every two hours, which is totally fine with me. I don't really have the energy to go and do a bunch of things anways haha It's been nice to see my Twin Boo anyways, regardless of what we do! :)

OH.. and for anyone who is interested.. I have addresses for here, and my home ports so if you're interested in mailing anything (aka care packages *wink wink*) let me know and I'll send you the address!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Rehearsals

Rehearsals so far have been long and exhausting, but definitely fun =) I love all the dances that I've learned so far, and today we finished our opening show that we started yesterday. We started another show called Ballroom Blitz, and the partnering in it is insane, but I LOVE IT! I just can't believe how sore I am from it all. I have to ice and heat my muscles everyday and take anti-inflammatory's so I don't die the next day haha

But overall, everything has been going well. My cast is super fun and everyone is really great. It's nice being around a bunch of people who are pleasant. No bad eggs in this batch! We had our orientation meeting today so I got some addresses if anyone wants to mail me a package ;) haha Just let me know and I will get the address to you.

No new pictures yet! I'll post some as soon as I do. The whole process so far is amazing and even though I love learning a bunch of choreography everyday (we usually rehearse from 10-6pm), I am ready for my day off, which isn't until next Sunday! Hopefully my body can stay intact until then!!

I miss everyone from home!! Sending you my love!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Part 4 of 'See You Later's & Life in LA!

So yesterday I had to say my final goodbyes. I had to say goodbye to my Grandpa and Dad, which was hard, but they are both very proud of me, so it's so great knowing that I have their support. Dad took me to the airport and walked me to security and exchanged hugs and a few tears before we parted. I was glad he stayed until I walked all the way through security =) My overall trip in Michigan was fun and busy and I think I got everything accomplished that I wanted to!

My Dad, Grandpa and I at Texas Roadhouse for my farewell/congratulatory dinner =)


THEREFORE.. My flights to LA were successful! I got here yesterday around 8pm and was escorted to my apartment. I met all the girls and they are super nice. All 8 of us are housed in a 3 bed apartment, each room with bunk beds. Its definitely an experience! I'm excited to see how the month pans out!

Today was our first day of rehearsal and we all trained on the lira hoop. HOLY COW it was so much fun! I had battle wounds though. I wore shorts and got some good bruises on my inner thigh. We learned things in the air on the hoop and then learned things underneath the hoop hanging by our ankle. It was crazy fun! All six of us learned it and tomorrow we have three more hours of training for it, and I think we figured out which two are doing it on the ship.








After rehearsal we walked to the grocery store and loaded up for the week and then just relaxed at the apartment. I think we are all going to hit the hot tub up later to relax our muscles because we're definitely going to be sore tomorrow!

Thats about it for now! Monday is my day off so I hope to post more then =)

Monday, July 11, 2011

See You Laters: Parts 2 & 3

The roomies and I before I left Oklahoma!

Seeing my family in Texas was great. I got to have lunch with my sister, and she came over to my moms apartment a few times with the kids. My mom and I watched a TON of Gilmore Girls and drank a TON of coffee =) I also got to meet some of my moms friends/clients, all of which were very nice people. Eleanor and her husband were kind enough to let my mom and I play in their pool like little kids one day too! =D The whole family went to Lake Texoma one day, which was also a good time. The last thing we all got to do together was fireworks in the park on July 4th. After, my mom and I went to my sisters so I could say goodbye to the kids, Greg, and of course my amazing sister. We stayed longer than expected (of course haha) and took fun Mom-n-daughter pics and once I left my sisters house, but of us cried like babies =(

The next am I had to say goodbye to my Mumma =( We drove over to her friends house and said goodbye to her and then I hugged my mom like crazy before I left, annnnd cried as soon as I got in the car. Its just so hard to leave my family!!!!!!!!!! :( But I know that I will see them again before I know it.

Seester and I!!! LOVE Her sooo much

Mumma and her precious daughters =)


Life in Michigan has been crazy busy since I got here. Kateri's wedding was full of fun thing pre- and post Wedding Day. For her bachelorette party, Jen and I took her to Olive Garden for dinner, Coldstone for dessert, and CJ Barrymore's for bowling. Then we sat in the parking lot for an hour in the car just talking =) The wedding itself was beautiful... SO incredibly happy for my best friend :) I had to say goodbye to her yesterday before she left for her honeymoon since I'm leaving before she returns... and that was really hard for me. I haven't really gotten the chance to hang out with her much and just be, especially with all things considered, so I miss her. I cried a whole lot after I left her apartment... But just like everyone else, I will see her soon; absolutely =)


The maids of honor =)

Getting Kateri all ready for her big moment

Giggling together after the ceremony

Best Friends to 16 years =)


And that's about it for now. Been running around like a crazy person trying to see people and get things taken care of. I was able to see Elaine and Jenne today, which was SOOO nice! I've missed them! I also got to see Mom Giordano and skype with Danielle at the same time haha Tomorrow I'm going to go see Rhoda and meet with someone about my 401(k), and then hopefully my dad can get Wednesday-Friday off of work so I can actually spend some quality time with him!

That's all for now! T MINUS 3 DAYS UNTIL LOS ANGELES!!!!