Golden Birthday

On August 25th, I hit a different kind of landmark… a landmark on the road of life.  I have now lived for a quarter of a century.  I was a little stressed out in the days (actually, months) leading up to my birthday, because I started thinking about how drastically different my life actually is compared to what I thought it would be.  As a child, I imagined that I would go to college, get married shortly after graduating, have babies around 26, and live out my days in marital bliss.  Instead, I deferred college, joined a ballet company, moved to San Francisco alone, and am now on a ship.  While I’ve had significant relationships, I’m nowhere near walking down the aisle.  I started fretting about how quickly time passes, and how much more I want to do while I’m still young.

Ice Skating!

Ice Skating!

When the clock struck 12 on the eve of my birth, I was skating on the ice rink on board.  I don’t remember the last time I went ice-skating, and I had certainly never skated in the middle of the ocean!  I am shockingly clumsy for a dancer, and while I felt like Bambi on ice, I managed to stay on my feet the whole night!  I was so proud!

We all scream for ice cream!

We all scream for ice cream!

The morning of the 25th I had a tech run, then promptly got off the ship.  We were ported in Jeju, South Korea.  I went with some friends to a café, where I enjoyed another cinnamon mocha and was able to Skype with my family and a few friends.  After that, some cast mates and I wandered to find lunch.  While we were searching, we came across a carnival, and ended up going to ride the Viking Ship.  I laughed so hard I cried as we rocked back and forth on the ship, just the 3 of us.  We then found a delicious Korean barbecue joint, ate ice cream cones, and got back on board in time to nap.

My goodies

My goodies

That evening, we performed Music in Pictures.  I loved having the chance to be on stage on my special day.  Since our show times fall in the middle of dinner, we always get food in the theater after our performances.  My cast surprised me with a delicious chocolate cake along with our show food, and also gave me some really nice gifts.  I got a hand-drawn “Ginger Ninja” card, a stuffed koala bear, and a bottle of bourbon.  They know me so well!  I also got 2 bars of dark chocolate from my roommate, and a box of Ferrero Roche chocolates from one of the singers.  Yum!

With some of my dancer girls

With some of my dancer girls

I ended the night with a drink with friends in the staff bar.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that my beverage of choice had finally been restocked!  The timing could not have been better.

My birthday buddy

My birthday buddy

The next day, I was able to sleep in, and after 2 Farewell performances and a parade, got dressed up for my party!  One of my cast-mates was celebrating his half birthday on the 24th, so the 2 of us had a joint celebration.  We had a white party, complete with black lights loaned to us by one of the light techs.  Our clothes glowed, as did our smiles.  It was a fun night, full of shenanigans.

The cast in WHITE

The cast in WHITE

Now that I have passed this landmark, I see that I was worrying for nothing.  Although my life is different than I thought it would be, it is full of love.  Instead of spiraling into a deeper state of panic, I have become more aware of what I have already accomplished and experienced.  I am excited to see what the future will hold!

All That Glitters

Sorry for my absence lately!  I’ve been returning to the same ports every week, so I don’t have much new information to share.  The nice thing about the repetitive route is that I can spend port days relaxing with a nice cup of coffee and Skype with friends and family back home.  It’s been necessary for my sanity.

To reassure you that I am not gone forever, here are a few photos of my fabulous costumes.  Enjoy!

Rhythm and Rhyme

Rhythm and Rhyme

After You've Gone

After You’ve Gone

After You've Gone

After You’ve Gone

Pink Panther

Pink Panther

Watch Closely Now and Oh Nikki

Watch Closely Now and Oh Nikki

Pasadoble and Man of La Mancha

Pasadoble and Man of La Mancha

Farewell

Farewell

Dreamworks Parade

Dreamworks Parade

Next week: Japan!

Set the Stage

Since we signed on, we’ve been in “install”, meaning we are installing the productions in the theater.  Transferring the shows we learned in Florida to the stage is quite a process!  Due to long tech rehearsals, performances, and trainings, we’ve been unable to exit the ship for over two weeks.  Today our rehearsal director is signing off, officially marking the end of our install period.  Trainings and rehearsals will continue, though with less intensity.

La Scala Theater on the Voyager of the Seas.  My home theater!

La Scala Theater on the Voyager of the Seas. My home theater!

The evening of the 19th we opened our second show, “Music in Pictures”.  In terms of stamina, this show is much easier for me!  I was less nervous than I was for the opening of the Broadway show, so I was able to really enjoy my time on the stage.

The "talls" and our leading lady

The “talls” and our leading lady

After the second show of the night, we celebrated the opening with a champagne toast and snacks.  It was nice to be able to chat more with the band and production team.  It turns out my Production Manager sometimes works with Texas Ballet Theater!  We have a number of mutual friends/acquaintances in Fort Worth.  What a small world!

Champagne toast

Champagne toast

The following morning, we had to set the Welcome and Farewell numbers on the stage.  Waking up was rather challenging, so I appreciated that the rehearsal wasn’t too long.  In the afternoon, I completed my Safety Training.  I learned how to properly jump into the water in case of an emergency, how to climb into a life raft from the water, and how to flip a life raft.  After that, I was finally able to get off the ship!

Private tour of the bridge

Private tour of the bridge

Check back tomorrow for tales of my escapades in Incheon!

Happy thoughts!

Happy thoughts!

My Bags Are Packed, I’m Ready to Go

I can’t believe I’m leaving Florida today!  I won’t return to U.S. soil until 2014.  How crazy is that?!

Farewell!

Farewell!

Over the weekend, I took advantage of my free time, and relaxed.  I had a movie night with a couple of the girls after rehearsal on Saturday, and Sunday treated myself to a “Princess Day”.  I slept in, ran a few errands, then went to a hotel on the beach for an afternoon at the spa!  I had a lovely “Heavenly Massage” at the new Heavenly Spa, enjoyed the steam room, sauna, and relaxation room, and after hydrating, sipped on a delicious ginger martini at the hotel bar.  It was great to have some time to myself to decompress.

1043915_10151694766871552_2093882574_n

Lovely legs

Monday morning we had a late start time, a few hours of review and rehearsal, a send-off meeting, and most importantly, our office run!  Our performance of the Movies show went really well!  I loved performing with my cast.  A friend from another ship actually commented on how great our group dynamic was.  Most of the other feedback I received was about my legs.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled about that.

998351_704200521056_329226213_n

A great team

We went back to the Mexican restaurant downtown to kick back after a rather stressful afternoon.  I had a hard time winding down, so I was grateful to be able to sleep in on Tuesday!  I ran a bunch of errands, did final loads of laundry, and re-packed all my things!  Somehow, my luggage has gained 10 lbs in 5 weeks.  I’m hoping I can avoid overweight luggage fees, but they may be inevitable.

1011089_704200541016_2006763682_n

Happy thoughts

We are leaving the apartments early in the morning, then flying from Miami to Tokyo, with a short stop in Dallas.  I wish we had a longer layover so I could see some of my friends from home!  We’ll be in Tokyo for a couple hours before flying to Gimhae in Korea.  We are going to spend Thursday night in a hotel, and will join the ship Friday afternoon in Busan.  It’s going to be a long trip, but I’m really excited!  I have a giant book and a Nook (on loan from my sister), so I should stay entertained on the plane.  Unfortunately, I’ll miss out on any 4th of July festivities.

Let me entertain you!

Let me entertain you!

Next time you hear from me, I’ll be on the ship!  Things are about to get interesting…

Aloha!

The past few days have been a bit of a blur!  Since finishing the Movies show on Tuesday, our schedule has been filled with review times and full runs of both productions.  We also spent some time cleaning up the Welcome and Farewell numbers that we learned the very first day of rehearsals.  My brain has been working hard, and my body has been working even harder!

Each day has had a special sprinkle of excitement, so I haven’t completely lost my mind.  Wednesday evening, my cast had a luau at the apartments to celebrate a cast member’s birthday.  It was awesome!  She decorated the apartment, and we played “pin the flower on the hula dancer”, hula hooped, and ate… a lot.  It was so nice to hang out with the full cast.  It really is an amazing group of people!

Love my cast!

Love my cast!

Thursday we ran the first half of the Movies show in the morning, and after notes and cleaning time, ran the entire show again in the afternoon.  When we were done, we got to watch one of the other casts perform for their office run.  They did another Broadway themed production.  It was fun to cheer them on before they embark on their trip to the Caribbean!

Friday was a very long day!  We had our “unofficial run” in the morning, during which we performed our Broadway show with lights and mics for members of the staff.  It was a little unnerving to have an audience, especially for my Cell Block Tango monologue, but it went pretty well!   We won’t run that show again until we are on the ship!  In the afternoon, we ran the Movies show.  It was our first run with lights, and just the second full run of the show!

Surprise guests before the afternoon run

Surprise guests before the afternoon run

At rehearsal on Saturday, we are running the Movies show twice through, and spending time working out any kinks.  We have a day off on Sunday, and our last day in the studio (and our office run) will be Monday!  I can’t believe how quickly this rehearsal period has gone by!  I’m looking forward to all that is in store for us!

For your listening pleasure today, I’m going back to the 80s.  Fun fact: this was randomly my high school class song.

A Lot Like Love

A lot has happened in the past few days!  I’ve been a busy bee, but have enjoyed flying around.

Cast Jackets

Cast Jackets

Friday, we had a special delivery.  Our cast jackets arrived!  We spent the morning learning a quirky, “rock and roll” style girl number, rehearsed our Cell Block Tango monologues on mic, and ran the Broadway show.  We hadn’t rehearsed that show in almost a week, so the run was a bit under par.  I have a lot of notes to apply and details to review before our next run!

Saturday I was able to sleep in before rehearsal.  The morning was mostly review time, and in the afternoon we ran what we had learned of the Movies show.  We had exciting guests in the audience: my family!  They will not be able to come see me perform on-board, so I was thrilled that they were able to watch rehearsal and see what I’ve been up to.  After rehearsal, I met back up with my family for dinner in Miami with an old friend of my dad’s.  We had a lovely dinner outside in the Design District.  Since my parents had woken up early to catch a flight, I parted ways with them just after dinner.  I rejoined some of my cast mates for a Lipstick and Lashes party at the apartments.  It was a great night!

Lipstick and Lashes

Lipstick and Lashes

Waking up Sunday morning was a little challenging, but the rest of the day was pretty near perfect.  I met the family at their hotel, and after a tasty brunch and about 4 cups of coffee, we hit the beach.  It was wonderful to be able to catch up with everyone without the usual interruptions.  As usual, we laughed a lot!  I had to cut off my fun in the sun (or, more accurately, fun in the shade) to run home and deal with laundry and groceries.

Sisters on the beach!

Sisters on the beach!

I was picked up later for dinner with the family.  We drove into Fort Lauderdale for a delicious meal at Market 17.  I spent almost half the meal close to tears from laughing so hard.  Our waiter got quite a kick out of us, and gave us some great recommendations.  Saying goodbye to my parents after dinner was hard, but I hope to meet up with them in Asia!

The whole family

The whole family

Luckily, I had one more day with my sisters!  I only had rehearsals before lunch on Monday, so I was able to meet up with them relatively early.  We wandered into Downtown Hollywood, and found a great little happy hour spot.  Before stopping for dinner at a sushi restaurant, we strolled through the downtown area.  I love my sisters’ husbands, but it was so nice to have the time and privacy for girl talk!  My single girl stories kept them thoroughly entertained.  After dinner, we grabbed ice cream and walked through the food trucks set up in Young Circle.  I never knew Hollywood was so hopping on Monday night!  Parting with them was rough, but I know we’ll be in touch.  I’m so happy they were able to come spend time with me!

Sisters!

Sisters!

Tuesday was a long day!  We learned the finale for the Movies show.  It’s a Bollywood number, so there are a lot of details and unfamiliar hand positions.  I love it though!  It’s a fun way to end the show.  It isn’t too technically difficult, but is still interesting.  After learning the finale and bows, we ran the last 3 sections of the show, in order to become more accustomed to the transitions between each.  I was worn out by the end of the day, so I was thrilled to partake in Take Out Tuesday and watch a movie with my cast.  Mean Girls and Ramen?  Yes.

The song below is one of my “happy songs”.  I’ve been listening to it a lot because it always makes me smile!  I first heard Lord Huron during an emotional time back in November, and was able to see them live at The Independent.  They’re amazing!  Since I’m gearing up to disappear for awhile, I like that this song is about searching for the girl that got away.  I am that egotistical…

The next few days are going to be pretty intense.  We have a lot of cleaning to do in rehearsals, and will be running the full shows frequently.  Monday will be our last day in the studios, and then we’re off to Korea!

It Takes Two

I’ve had unimpaired vision since Wednesday (hallelujah!), and have been trying to pick up any slack from my days of partial blindness.  My rehearsal schedule has also picked up, so I’ve been very grateful that my body is finally cooperating.  We’ve been working on a Ballroom section and a Latin section for the Movies show, so I’ve been doing a lot of partnering!

Battle wounds

Battle wounds

There is always an adjustment period when working with a new partner, so learning 2 new styles with 3 different partners has been quite an experience!  My partners have been great, but we’re still working out some kinks.  In our attempts to master some of the more complicated lifts, I’ve developed some very colorful bruises!  I’ve also been acutely aware of my own faults and weaknesses.

Girls' Night

Girls’ Night

Due to exhaustion and the unavoidable signs of my own imperfection, I’ve been a bit emotional this week!  I needed a good cry, and luckily wasn’t alone.  My roommates and I kicked back one night with homemade brownies and The Notebook.  After chocolate, a few tears, and 2 hours of Ryan Gosling’s face, life seemed a lot better.

Searching for normalcy

Searching for normalcy

With so many new styles being thrown at me, I’ve been craving something familiar.  For me, that means a bit of ballet.  I have gotten critiques about my dancing being too “pretty” and too balletic, so I’m trying to balance barre with jazzier warm ups and conditioning.  I’ve also been trying to hone my “beast” status, “fierce” energy, and inner “sexy kitten”.  It’s been… amusing.

Since some of you enjoyed the song I shared last week, I decided to post another!  This has been one of my warm down jams this week.  The band (Slow Club) is awesome, and the video shows a different side of Daniel Radcliffe (you will soon know what drunk Harry Potter looks like).  Hope you like it!

I Can See Clearly Now

Since my last post, I’ve been more than a little frustrated.  I seem to have scratched my right eye, so I’ve been unable to wear my right contact lense.  I’ve been wearing my glasses as much as possible, but can’t dance in them.  The safest/most productive option has been to wear just my left contact at the studio, and rely on one eye.  My depth perception has been skewed, and it’s been hard to pick up details when learning new movement.

Rehearsal

Rehearsal

As a dancer, I learned quickly how to handle injuries.  I know how to decrease pain and inflammation (RICE!), and when to push through discomfort.  I can deal with injuries, but with eyes… I’m at a loss!  There’s nothing I can do to make them heal faster.

While I was struggling, we learned a quickstep and a pasadoble.  Both styles were brand new to me!  They are really fun, but I had a hard time feeling confident, especially with the lifts!  My partners were very helpful and understanding, and I know there’s nowhere to go from here but up.  I have video footage from rehearsals, so I’ve been watching and taking notes on what I need to work on.

Glasses...

Glasses…

After a difficult couple days, I was thankful for the weekend!  My roommate and I went downtown for a drink Saturday night and spoke with some amusing locals.  Sunday we took the bus out to the beach.  It poured down rain when we first arrived, but luckily I had an umbrella in my bag.  We still ended up quite wet!

Drenched en route

Drenched en route

Once the clouds dispersed, it was beautiful!  It was nice to have time to relax and crack open my giant book.  I loved having some time in the sun.  Even with multiple applications of 2 sunscreens, I got a bit of color.  It was worth it though!

Big book, burned legs, and beach!

Big book, burned legs, and beach!

I enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon and am looking forward to an early morning Monday.  We’re doing a short ballroom workshop, then continuing with the Movies show.

In many ways, I can see clearly now… my lack of physical focus has allowed me to hone in on what I need to mentally focus on.  Hopefully this awareness will make the remaining weeks of rehearsal even better!

Putting this week behind me

Putting this week behind me

After You’ve Gone

My rehearsal schedule has been relatively light again this week, but I’ve enjoyed the rehearsals that I have had.  We started working on a new show set to music from movies, and a majority of the numbers I’m in relate shockingly well to my life.  The common idea seems to be “You shouldn’t have let me go”.  At the risk of sounding arrogant, I’ll admit that I’m dancing to the words that I want to say, but won’t.  I get to dance as a strong, sexy woman, and am able to be a bit cheeky.

Relaxing

Relaxing

Monday evening I had an uncontrollable chocolate craving.  Those of you that know me well know that I am a chocolate snob.  I convinced a cast mate to drive me to the store so I could satisfy my craving, and ended up going on a 2.5 hour field trip to the mall to get good chocolate.  It was wonderful to get out of the apartments for a bit, listen to some cheesy pop music, and chat.  And, of course, I was thrilled to get some yummy chocolate (dark, of course).

Chocolate!

Chocolate!

Tuesday was a comparatively long day at the studio, so when I got home, I joined some of my group at the pool.  I was also able to Skype with a few of my friends from SF.  What would we do without Skype?!

Wednesday I wasn’t called to rehearsal.  I was a little disappointed, but have been assured that I’ll be busy at the end of the show.  Now I’m just trying to enjoy the free time!  I toyed with the idea of going to Miami, but cloudy skies and a long bus ride dissuaded me from making the commute.  Instead, I had a “me” day.  I was listening to more “take that” type music all day, dancing around the kitchen like a lunatic.  Here’s a sample for you:

I gave myself a long workout at the gym, ran errands, talked with more friends from home, and spent a good lot of time in the kitchen.  It was strange to have space to myself for awhile, but was also refreshing!  I have a bunch of leftover spaghetti sauce (and wine) to enjoy over the next few days.

Today I have the morning off, then am going in to run the Broadway show.  I have a little homework to do to make sure I’m at the top of my game, but I’m looking forward to the run through.  Hopefully the end of the week will be as enjoyable as the beginning… with more movement!

Afternoon at the pool

Afternoon at the pool