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1 year ago
Traveling to Asia
It became more official once I moved on from Skyy Vodka Gimlets to a Michelada that I was once again about to board a plane and fly out to the next city. This time however, instead high kickin’ it across the east coast with Radio City, I found myself drinking my feelings and learning to cope with the fact that I will soon be disembarking in Singapore where it shall become my residence for at least a year, if not 21 months. Voddie has always been good to me but it wasn’t until the Corona/tomato juice/lime concoction, that I started to get all chatty cathy with this brummy woman named Cassie. I still think that phrase should be coined “chatty patty” because at least the words rhyme and are spelled the same. “Cathy” doesn’t seem to be cohesive with the said idea but who am I to judge? Chatty Patty… It’ll catch on. ☺ The thing with owning a smart phone is that you find yourself playing with it constantly. Karen Nunes would be mortified if I became one of these people but well… what else am I suppose to do at the airport? I suppose it’s like a primary reaction these days when you are caught in a moment with nothing to do and endless minutes to endure. We think to ourselves, “Well… I suppose I can check my e-mail and then pop on to Facebook to see if I have any fun notifications to look up”. The funniest part is that when I sobered up a bit upon waiting for my 4 and ½ hour layover to be over, the motor in my cabesa kicked in and I finally was intelligent enough to remember that I could turn on my mobile hotspot and fire up some internet on my Macbook Pro. Brilliance!! Too bad my phone only had 12% battery life left. So, at the very last possible moment, I decided to finally change my personal message greeting on my voicemail to let any callers know that I will be out of the country and will not be taking any phone calls. This was a sad time. After take off, they immediately served food and drinks and following that, I forced myself to pass out. It was past midnight, and I figured, if I wanted to make out of this travel journey alive, now would be the best time to snooze. I slept on and off for the majority of the 15-hour flight, only waking up to use the restroom, drink water, and eat breakfast. I maybe watched 3 episodes of Friends and we were already about to land in Hong Kong. Miraculously, I made it through the flight with flying colors and I didn’t even take a Vicodin with my wine. Arriving in Hong Kong at 4:45am is probably not the coolest thing when nothing is open. They have retail stores, duty free shops, and tons of places to eat, but nothing that I could enjoy at the moment. I really didn’t know what to do with another 4-hour layover without a working cell phone, and a shopping extravaganza. As I sat down by the windows that looked out onto the runway I pulled out my new book that I had just purchased in LA. “Are you there Vodka? It’s me Chelsea”. I remember talking to Angel about this on skype that I wanted a fun read and with my luck, I found it at a store in LAX. I read practically half of the book before the sun rose and then I ventured off to find coffee. Starbucks appeared to be a safe choice and as I looked over the prices, I wasn’t even sure what 32 in Hong Kong dollars meant for a grande latte or 19 Hong Kong dollars for a danish, but I didn’t care. I handed over US cash and received my change back in their currency and was just ecstatic to have more currency to add to my collection. I even bought a water bottle for the next plane ride and a magnet for my sister with plenty of money left to spare. I donated the coins to UNICEF and kept the last $50 bill for my collection. I was surprised to find out that the flight on Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong served a complete meal for a 3 and ½ hour flight. But, once when I finished my book, I had already landed in Singapore. The customs line at immigration took what seemed like an eternity but I was so incredibly lucky to find both of my bags on the luggage carousel waiting for me on the other side. Life at the apartment is pretty good. We live on the mainland and we’re pretty centralized. The island of Sentosa is really close by and you can get there via taxi, bus, or take the subway with a transfer to a staff bus. Cab rides are super cheap so we can usually pile in a few people and make it cost just as much as the subway but oin12 a ¼ of the time. It’s a spacious 3-bedroom apartment with hard wood floors, air conditioning with temperature control in each room, and wireless Internet. The shower in the bathroom is unusual because it is in with the sink. I can shower and brush my teeth at the same time. It’s hard to explain so maybe I’ll post a picture? Lol Well, the best part is that my roommates are far from crazy, I have Internet access and I’m not at all sweating buckets. The apartment complex is divided into what is called blocks. I’m on the 9th block, which is at the end. Various cast members are in blocks 3, 5, and 7, so we are by no means far away from each other. There is a ‘wet market’ that sells fresh fruit, vegetables, and various meats and fish, that is a block or two away. It opens very early in the morning and stops at 9:30am. Down the road is a shopping plaza that looks kind of like a mall. There are different kinds of shops, westernized food places (like McDonalds, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Subway etc.) and the MRT, which is the subway system. I’m about one stop on the subway to the main shopping center, which is equivalent to Fashion Valley. They also have a grocery store within it that is surprisingly amazing because it’s like a Wal-Mart with more Asian stuff. I’m completely shocked at how things are easy to adapt to here because it’s really westernized and everyone pretty much speaks English. The ‘Hawker Stalls’ here are like massive Asian food courts that have so much food for such a good price. It seems like the only other thing here besides taxi fares that are reasonably priced. I saw a small bottle of Smirinoff Vodka for $62.00 at the nearby 7-11. That alone deserves its own blog…
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2 years ago
Oh Canada!
I have been in Canada for 12 days now… but of course, there has never been a dull moment. For one, our female swing for the ensemble dancers was left behind at the Canadian border due to passport issues. So, she hasn’t been with us since we left Hershey, PA. As we arrived into Hamilton we immediately dropped our entire luggage at the Sheraton and went out for drinks and food at the Honest Lawyer. The next day a group of us rented cars and drove to Niagara Falls on the Canada side. I have never been to any of the 7 natural wonders of the world and so I was even more ecstatic about going. With careful navigation we made it there and back and accomplished all that we wanted to do with regards to the sites, shopping and such. The best part was taking the elevators down to the journey of the falls where you could get up close to the falls, and then walk to portals that would take you right behind them. It was truly incredible.
Our dress tech, work thrus, and run thrus went extremely well. Once again we made it ahead of schedule and were ready for an audience two days prior to opening. The arena itself is pretty big but it was graded a “C” in quality of life. The arena smelled like sweaty smelly feet and balsamic vinegar on fish n’ chips. It was quite unbearable at times. It was fun getting use to proper backstage traffic, having all the crew on hand for cues, props, curtain entrances, set changes and moves, costuming and dressers there to help dress and organize quick changes, athletic training refilling water cups to grab and go, security holding down the fort, everyone on set with a head light, Madonna mics flying around, ‘men in black’ ear pieces, walkie talkies, you name it.
The costume changes and getting use to new elements like show shoes, took some time to get use to, especially the bear costume. Although we ran thru the number a few times in Myrtle Beach with the bear costume on, it was a completely different experience doing it on stage with stage lights, lighter stage markings and only glimpses of beamed light to denote certain numbers on the most down stage part of the stage. It was weird trying to find my way around the stage not knowing if I was on the right numbers, depths and if I was generally in the right spot at all. As my head whirled around with the choreography and the lights flashing by quickly it was like I was wasted doing pirouettes in a contained place. Woohoo!!! Performing drunk without the alcohol!! Needless to say, after a couple times it got easier to do. It’s amazing how hot it gets in a full Russian bear costume waiting for your cue while standing next to a multi-million dollar lit LED screen and then dancing with hundreds of spotlights shining in all directions. If you can’t stay skinny from all the sweat… then I don’t know how else to do it. J
In addition to our crew and our team, we have local dressers hired in every city that help out with the show. Unfortunately they will be new to the show and so if we’re in a city for only one night, they only have one chance to get it right. I found out quickly that one of the local dressers for the Rockettes was Michele Munn, my wardrobe supervisor on the Norwegian Jewel. It was so nice to see her, catch up, and talk about the latest dramas and gossips .
We had an open dress rehearsal this past Sunday and we were able to get 600 people or so to come watch. The crowd was so responsive and the show went flawlessly. Needless to say, it made our opening night a little less flawless. You know what they say… “Bad dress rehearsal = Great opening” But in our case… we have had so many terrific dress runs that our opening night of course came with some technical difficulties. The New York City Bus had issues, and did not preset and turn on time so when the curtain came up, we just rushed onto the stage and made it work. The shine out stairs didn’t work so the Rockettes had to mock the stair-ography and rush out to their places too. The curtain cues for the ensemble didn’t go through and we were left trying to find the center opening to walk out on stage. Kind of a mess but it was alright on the performers end. My knee popped something crazy two days before we opened and it was swelled up with fluid and hard to bend. Somehow with some Naproxen, prayers and a lady bug that landed on my knee, I was able to make it through and my knee is still working and dancing. The swelling is down now and things are back to normal. I have today off and then it’s non stop shows until Thanksgiving. Say a prayer that all will be well for the future.
Our 3 day stint in Hamilton is over but it won’t really be missed. We had some fantastic crowds and so listening to that loud arena roar was like we were performing at a rock concert. But… from our crayon/hospital/Indian curry smelling rooms, no gym to workout in, a smelly arena, ghetto crazies on the street, and a disturbing group of youths, we as a whole, I believe, are excited to get the hell out. We did get a chance to go to a gay club, which had tragic drag performers (although skinny which is rare) and smelled of vomit and Mexico, some bars on Hess St. where the straights were so shocked to see little people running around, a Vietnamese restaurant where we had Pho, a Laundromat that had drop off service like in New York, Chinese take out that tasted like they possibly used dog meat, $5 medium pizzas at Ginos, $4.50 water bottles in our rooms, a street level mall inside that was connected to the Sheraton, a movie theater that was playing “This is It”, a liquor store nearby for my convenience, and an interesting dish called putein (fries with cheese curds and a dark brown gravy). Bad and good, it was all an experience.
We’re now on the tour bus with our driver Gary who will be with us until January 4th and we’re on our way to Montreal. I have not brushed up on my French but I’m hoping that my friend Marie Eve will take care of that and show my friends and I around when we get there. Tonight I think the gays are going to some gay clubs and a strip club. It will be my first time at a gay strip bar so I’m kinda giddy and excited. We only have one show tomorrow so at least that helps.
We have decorated our bus with some Christmas décor, and Disney decals on the windows. The bus has wifi but I have yet to figure out if it’s working or not. But until I send this… I must endure my second bus ride on this tour. At least we’re going somewhere fierce though. Hopefully I’ll be able to go visit the Cirque du Soleil training facility. Fingers crossed. Viva la Montreal!!!
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2 years ago
My six foot tall body is trying to sleep on a bus… need I say more? But to back things up let’s mention my time in Hershey, PA.
Tech rehearsals went by with flying colors. The process was faster than normal and we were already ahead of schedule. We actually got to tech the Nutcracker at the end of the 9 hour night which is apparently unheard of for day one. Usually we’d be lucky to get through 12 days of Christmas with the Rockettes on day one. The catered food for the performers is a lot more than I expected. There are main staples that you can depend on, and a nice variety of food for everyone’s taste. I actually sometimes have to remember that I have to dance after dinner and refrain from stuffin’ my face. Fat girl hungry!! Lol We lost a Rockette after day one because her Achilles was still not ready to handle these long rehearsals and so she was let go. We got a replacement the day after and she was slowly put into numbers as we went along. Thankfully enough it has been a great transistion since she was on the Arena tour last year. Even losing a Rockette, and having the arena flooded due to the rain (stopping all rehearsals for about 4 hours) we have managed to still be on top, ahead of the game, and as fierce as always. Some of the luckier moments have been 4 hours off because of the flood, the ensemble leaving 4 hours early one day, and then getting a granted day off by Linda Haberman herself. We have complete 4 run thrus of the show on the stage that will be travelling with us and now we’re travelling to Hamilton, ON, Canada to add the elements of costume. We had Halloween off, today of for travel and tomorrow off before we start on Tuesday. I can’t even believe the time off we’re having right now, but it is well deserved considering all the hard work we have put forth and all of the days we will NOT be having off when the tour actually begins.
After a huge night of drinking, doing laundry and mailing stuff home from the post office (all while still drunk I believe) I am packed and ready to get to the next Sheraton where hopefully the beds will be just as huge, and just as comfortable as the one I was just in. Maybe tomorrow a bunch of us will rent cars and drive to Niagara Falls. I want to go so bad!!
But before the fun starts I have to endure more bus travel. Apparently these are not the permanent buses for the tour, but just to get us to Canada. I hope that the other busses are bigger because I don’t think I’m going to have the best time in the next two months trying to sleep like a baby shrimp. My knee can’t bend like that for too long and it is just way too uncomfortable. With that being said, my bus pillow given to me by Terra and my snuggie have made things a bit more bearable.
Every two hours we stop for a 15 minute break, our second break is an hour lunch and then we stop every two hours again. Today should take about 10 hours. But… at least it will be dinner time and not too late to go unpack in a hotel room for the next 11 days. Onward ho, eh?
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2 years ago
We just finished week two of rehearsals here in Myrtle Beach and everything is going pretty well. We have finished learning the show and we’re now doing run thrus for the next couple days before we fly out to Hersey, PA. From running numbers, to cleaning numbers, to adding costume elements, and adding in the transitions, we are all now putting together a show that is even bigger than I have ever imagined. I remember how fantastic it was when I saw this show for the first time in 2007, but being a part of it now is extremely exciting. It’s great to be a part of such an amazing and talented cast. The weather is getting colder now and I’m a bit nervous about the upcoming move because apparently it is already snowing in Hershey. But… I think if a San Diego boy like me can survive a Michigan winter and a New York winter, then this tour should be okay. I’m just forgetting what it is like to have to bundle up even if it LOOKS beautiful outside. Needless to say, I went shopping for another coat and also bought a pair of shoes. Oops…
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2 years ago
And so it begins…
I have arrived in Myrtle Beach with the welcome of company members that greeted me at the baggage claim. It’s funny because the gentleman recognized me as a Radio City dancer not based on my headshot, but because of the way I looked in general. He just “knew” he said, and I believe him as he continued to point out girls as they arrived. It was quite amazing but I suppose it’s because he has done this before and can just tell a performer from regular civilians. They assisted a group of us in the condo check in process, sorted out rental cars and gave us Radio City packets to get us started. The place I live in is huge, and beautiful. The back patio rolls right into the lake so the view is amazing. It’s funny because a girl in the cast really put it perfectly in saying how odd it is that we live in what looks like the woods, AND we’re walking distance to the beach. It’s like having the best of both worlds I suppose. I claimed the master bedroom since Matt came in later on (I decided to treat myself to it) so I set my bags down and unpacked. I have a king size bed a huge bathroom, amazing storage place for my things and a door that leads to the outdoor patio and backyard. We took the car to get groceries, got lost on a couple highways, and had management on the phone to take us back to the land of the living. Stocking up on food wasn’t hard to do but its funny when you have to think about the essentials, and then the things that you can’t possibly live without.
The first day of rehearsal was informative. It truly IS an abandoned outlet mall. You can see what the stores used to be and what it is now. There are separate stores for props, sets, costumes, studios, management, athletic training… you name it. Some things due to budget cuts are taken out and it’s kind of sad. We apparently will not have elevators or rises on stage, or turntables, so choreography is going to be changed to accommodate that. We will not be having live animals in the Nativity scene at the end, and that’s kind of a bummer. It’s usually a crowd hit, and I wanted to experience what it would be like to lead a camel on to the stage in the arena. I suppose they thought it was going to be more of a hassle and non practical to have them travel around with us to so many cities where we will only be performing for one night. We’ll see what other changes they are going to be. Honestly I only understand this through the ensemble that has done this before… because otherwise, I wouldn’t know any different since this is my first time with the company. The AGVA union contract is still up in negotiation since they can’t agree to any of the terms that Radio City has requested so we’ll see where that will go hopefully in the near future as well.
Rehearsals are run so professionally when you are a part of the union. They have required 10 minute breaks every 90 minutes and so even if you are in mid kick or the stager is in mid sentence, everything comes to a halt to provide a break for the dancers. Kind of amazing!! Our athletic trainer is there in and out watching and is prepared to wrap feet, ankles, knees, bandage blisters and wounds, and ice injuries. That part is tremendously helpful and completely wonderful. I feel so spoiled already.
We started off with what I found to be the hardest number… Nutcracker. I’m one of the Russian Bears and after squatting and plie-ing so many times in such a quick and abrupt speed… my legs decided it was going to be enough to send me over the edge. We’re not even in the 20 pound bear costume yet and I barely make it through the ending ballet waltz as it is. Having the ACL brace on my knee was annoying because it was the first time having it on and dancing in it for 8 hours straight. I look back at it now and wished that I would have trained in wearing it more often to get use to the pressure it puts on the outside of my knee. It’s bruised internally but that is not the worse part. From jumping, and squatting over and over again my thighs have become over exerted, swollen and inflamed. I walked out of the rehearsal with four ice packs on one leg, and two on the other leg. It was so intense that I didn’t even know if I could walk to the car. I was offered an ice bath but I just wanted to go home and get away from it all.
The rehearsal itself is so mentally challenging too. The precision it takes is nowhere near what the Rockettes have to endure but it is still extremely difficult.
“Travel downstage on the ‘chasse plie arabesque’ between the dash line and the plus line so that after your soutenu you land your left foot in a plie on number 20 with your right foot tendu-ed on 18 towards the plus line before you start the mini circle…”
And that all happens in 4 counts…. Let alone the whole Nutcracker… let alone the whole show. It’s a lot of information to take in and it’s so frustrating to be one of only 4 or 5 newbies that have never done it before. I found myself messing up spacing, travel sequences and choreography left and right, it was ridiculous. I never felt like such a “bad” dancer ever in my life and it definitely took a toll on me. Needless to say when I went home and had a moment to myself, I broke down in tears for a couple minutes sitting alone in front of the TV, feeling so sore and broken that it shattered any bit of confidence I had in making this work. I doubted myself for the first time and it was such a shocking feeling that I just wanted to close my eyes, open them up, and be sitting in the living room with Tarzan and Kelly, watching Bravo and eating Yogurt land. And when the moment hit that I truly was in South Carolina, and feeling defeated… I wept.
The second day happened to be a scheduled day off and I couldn’t have asked for anything better at this point. I slept in, went to the nearest mall to window shop, picked up some Epsom salt and icy hot from the drugstore, and then chilled at home until dinner, where I went out for the first time since the day I arrived. I definitely needed a break since my left leg was inflamed to the point that it measured almost two inches bigger than the right quad. I needed a day to collect my thoughts and review what I have learned and to mentally prepare for Monday’s rehearsal. It’s going to be a 6 day in a row week so I’m afraid of what is to come… but I’m hoping that the road will be smoother from here on out. I can’t imagine what the coming tour is going to be like on my body but I also pray that I will be mentally healthy and emotionally stable as well. I have wanted this for so long and deserve to be here, but I just never really prepared for how hard this actually was going to be. I guessed I didn’t give the ensemble part enough credit and am definitely sticking my foot in my mouth. And I thought Cirque de la Mer training was hard… Pshhh!!! I’d rather do another Chinese pole routine …
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2 years ago
Macy’s Passport 2009
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