Sunday, January 15th
Good Da Mate,
We have arrived in Sydney!!!! Flight was fantastic. 14 hours. Took off at 8:30pm. They served us dinner. We watched a movie. I then slept soundly for 8 hours!!! I must have been tired, I woke up in time for breakfast, another movie and then we landed. We checked into our hotel. The Shangri La. I stayed here before. We were surprised with a complimentary up grade to a suite. Our view is of the Opera House and Sydney Bridge it's beautiful. We are going to go out for the day. Here in Australia it is Saturday 8:41am. We will fly on to the Gold Coast tomorrow afternoon. Competition starts on Tuesday. We will keep everyone up dated on the events.
Take care,
Paula and Alex
Monday, January 16th
RAIN HERE IN AUSTRALIA :((((
It will not stop raining. Much different than the last time. Having fun none the less. We stayed in Sydney for one night. Did a lot of shopping. Their version of Rodeo Drive was very nice. We had dinner at a fantastic Japanese restaurant. The food here is wonderful. We flew to the Gold Coast on Sunday. Yesterday it rained all day. We caught up with our Aussie friends. Seeing everyone again has been so much fun. So much to catch up on.The competition starts today. It is Tuesday, 7:00am here. Alex performs her lyrical at 6:00pm, which will be Monday around midnight in the U.S. Her jazz is about two hours later, her open tomorrow at 2:00 in the afternoon. We will not be going out of the hotel these next few days. Hopefully the rain will stop by Thursday. We would really like to take an adventure to the Great Barrier Reef - an excursion that takes all day. However, it requires flying in a VERY small plane for about an hour and a half. I really don't want to do that in bad weather.I've been asked to judge a part of the competition. I will be selecting the Australians that will represent Australia next year at Disneyland. A studio from New Zealand has asked if Alex and I would teach a master class for them. I think we will. It is always fun to meet dancers from all over the world. Besides, if it keeps raining we will need something to do.
Tuesday, January 17th
FINALLY SUN :))))) THE RAIN HAS STOPPED.
Yesterday was a long day...... 3 rooms going on at the same time. Alex did her first solo at 6:00pm, and her second solo around 11:00pm. She did both solo's great. It's hard to tell where she is placing until Sunday. That's when they announce the top winners. They read scores off so quickly. Plus many senior solo's in different rooms. They do not post anything. Everyone goes around asking each other what their score was. The senior solo's continue today. Alex is getting ready now for her third solo. Some dancers here have 6 solo's.!!!! Ballet, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Tap and yes Song and Dance. They sing too. The talent is so strong. My friends here tell me that this is the hardest it has ever been. Ballet dancers from Europe. Contemporary dancers from Australia and New Zealand. Some really good dancers from Canada. Japan is here. The styles are so unique and different. I like the song and dance best. They sing really well!! One of the Billy Elliotts that was on Broadway is here competing. He is from Australia. He knows Lex. He is very good at tap. His tap score was very high. His sister is very good too. She is more contemporary. They should both be in the top 10. Alex represented very well. She is the "celebrity" here. I think the video they shot of her and played here in Australia gained her some popularity before we got here. She signs many autographs each day. She has been asked out already 3 times (brothers of dancers). Today will be long again. After she competes there are required master classes for about five hours. If you are a soloist you are required to take all of the classes. Right after the classes Alex will have a rehearsal for the opening number, that performs on final night. I think she gets finished about midnight tonight. I might go by the pool for a bit, since the rain has finally stopped. Thank you so much for the many good luck wishes. We are having a blast. Heeps of fun as they say here.
Wednesday, January 18th
Today has been a long day. Alex is still rehearsing the opening number. I went to dinner with friends. Her last dance was her highest score. Her modern routine that Zak choreographed did very well here. She wore a $65 Jo Jax unitard, without one stone on it. That dance scored a 99. We still don't know the top 10 order. We will not know that until Sunday evening. There will be a battle of the countries on Monday night. The top 5 countries will compete their highest scoring dance. Luckily the U.S. will be included. Alex will re compete Monday night for the U.S.
Today the most meaningful moment we had was our conversation with the team from Christchurch, New Zealand. Those dancers were so affected by the devastating earthquake that hit there. They shared some of their stories with us while still crying tears.. Most of them younger than Alex, saw friends die right beside them. They literally pulled some of them out of buildings that had crumbled around them. They said the earthquake hit so fast, they were unable to get under their desks at school. The buildings just started collapsing. The floor under them gone. Some of them had to walk for four hours in flood waters up to their waists to get home. They had no electricity or water for six weeks. Some of them no longer have homes. Their only goal was to get to nationals. They wanted to do a tribute to the friends they had lost. It is what has kept them going. Some sort of normalcy. It was so moving for us both. It makes you stop to think about the issues that sometimes gets us crazy. Things that really shouldn't matter. What group you made or didn't, if you are in a good spot, what someone might have said to you, if you are going to find a new dress for mid winter, etc etc....All the things that we dwell on that are so unimportant. I know it really helped put things into perspective for us. I have to say so far that has been the best lesson Alex has learned while here.
Tomorrow (Thursday), I will judge Australia's dancer of the year contestants. Alex will do an exhibition. We hope to do some tourist things on Friday, and Saturday.
A few facts about Australia: 1. The Aussie's are still the most friendly and hospitable people I have yet to meet. 2. My Aussie friends keep telling me "Stop tipping! We don't do that." 3. They charge for bags at the grocery store and Target, ten cents a bag. 4. Their electricity works better, which makes the blow dryers and other hair appliances work so much better. 5. The same clothes we buy in the U.S. cost a lot more here. 6. If you go to buy a $4 coke and the cashier sees that you have American money.....he will give you the coke for just a $1 American bill (note). ;)))
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