PS

The city we were in yesterday, Jönköping, had a sign with all its sister cities. It's sole American sister city is none other than Palo Alto! How cool!

Last Day In Sweden

Molly - you are going to LOVE love love Sweden. Stockholm is possibly the coolest city we've visited yet!

Anyhow, today was our last day of this tour! I can't believe it's already here! It has flown by. It was a fairly normal day until the actual show, plus a little more excitement in the air at the thought of going home. Although, I did wake up at 6am to web cam with the kiddos at Poker night at Rohit's house which was the coolest experience ever! There I was sitting at 6 am in central Sweden chatting away with like a room of my bestest friends thousands of miles away at 9m in the evening at the annual poker night. It made my day! I can't wait to go home on TUESDAY! ahhh!!

Anyhow, then I ate some breakfast and went back to sleep. And then the usual 2 hour bus ride, (so much better than Russia!! ) and we were in Gothenburg. A couple of us explored the city and all that and went to the venue which was extremely awesome because it was in this giant amusement park called Liseberg all decorated for Christmas. It was magical! There was an ice rink and so many lights!




We also finished our new dance for China during rehearsals before the show. It's a ceili which is refreshing, because we don't have anything quite like it in the show right now. And the costumes are really pretty! I'll post picture when we get them in China.

The actual show was one of the most fun yet! Everybody had such a good laugh and it meant so much. Tonight was both Paul, a tenor, and Jemma's, a dancer headed for Riverdance, last show with us. Everybody sort of stepped back in their own way to give them the limelight. We tried to step out of certain dances so Jemma could dance every dance. And during her session, the part where four girls get to do a step about, we screamed like crazy for her. The best part though, was at the end bows, four girls do a step in a line. So the four girls, including Jemma did the first half of the step, but then three of the girls stopped and started clapping for her half way though so she was the only one dancing in this line. She had no idea and was crying with joy. It was so special! She did look a bit confused at first though. Other shenanigans that went down were people drawing smiley faces in their armpits, rubbing hair wax all over our hands to spread it to other people on stage, tons of silly faces, tripping each other, dancing in the wings trying to make the people on stage laugh, added gestures such a flick of the hair, a new pose....everybody felt a bit more adventurous tonight which lent to tons of laughs.

Then after the show, at about midnight, everybody kinda started hanging out in the lobby, and Paul played the guitar for a couple of hours and we just sang on our last night before our two week break. Tomorrow we're going home! I can't believe it's happening! I can't wait!!

Tons of love!




Jack, my partner for the dance called Lenister's Lord.

Stockholm

So yesterday, we drove from Copenhagen to Stockholm, a 600 and some odd Km journey, taking about nine hours. It was our longest journey yet for this tour. Fortunately, we did not have a show last night for the first time in a week, which was nice. Instead we had a major snow fight. I was sopping wet by time I finally came inside. Anyhow, today, we had a ton of free time since we traveled yesterday, so we went on an awesome journey all around Stockholm. Bought a 24 hours bus/train/metro ticket and traipsed around the whole city. I'm pretty sure we walked up and down every single street in Stockholm, at least that's what it felt like.




The residential palace -- where the Royal family of Sweden lives.



After the show, we had the tough decision between hanging out backstage at the Black Label Society concert because somehow over the two days we were here, we became friends with this crazy heavy metal band (from California!) since they were staying in our hotel and we have the whole living on the road thing in common, or an ice bar. We chose the ice bar. Sounded a lot safer. So yeah, that's me and my fellow American - Kirsten!


And this is me and my adopted big bro - Barry, the tenor from Longford in Ireland.




A sweet medieval street in Stockholm with my lovely Lenister's Lord parter -- Jack from Scotland.

I love the snowwww!! ack!!

Love,
Laura

ps. I'm coming home Dec 2!! Cant wait to see the fam, the sun, and eat some In'n out burger!

Check It!

I'm in Denmark now and there's a sweet sweet hailstorm going on outside right now. I absolutely love Denmark. It's so beautiful and idyllic. I feel like I'm walking around a freaking tv set though, it's so perfect, it almost seems fake. Anyhow, for your viewing pleasures, I have a little video. It's a bit from the show. This was taken last week at a show in Malmo, Sweden.

Holland <3 <3 <3

I absolutely love Holland. Love love love it. Holland > Russia. We just got here yesterday and I am so excited for this tour!
Firstly, I am on the internet!! Our venue has free wifi! How amazing! So I don't have to disappear into nothingness for weeks like I did in Russia. Secondly, The stage is absolutely perfect. Flat, with some give and giant. The venue has working toilets that aren't holes in the ground, like one of our venues in Russia did. We're in a hotel with normal water that isn't rusty, yellow, and smell funny. We have HOT food -- salmon, pasta, veggies, rice, potatoes and a refrigerator full of cold drinks for catering. Everybody speaks english. And my favorite part, two physical therapists waiting to fix whatever ailment we might have. I had a gorgeous back massage before the matinée and I'm about to go get my shinsplints sorted out.
Ackk!! I LOVE Holland!!!!

Today was made even better by the fact that Damien's family surprised us by coming to the show! Nobody had any idea that they were coming, but then they showed up backstage after the show! It was so exciting to have someone you know watching the show. Their not even my parents, but I was elated! It's funny because I asked them at dinner when I was at their house if they were going to come see the show because Holland is so close, and they were like 'nah.' They're so tricky! I love it!

Also, the professional basketball team we met in Moscow is coming to tonight's show, fingers crossed.

Holland is the best! Off to Denmark tomorrow, which should be equally awesome.

Love,
Laura

More pictures

Boys being silly backstage.


Guys may get a lot of crap for being dancers, but maybe their lives aren't all that bad....
Enjoying a night out in the VIP room in Kazan.
Some of the boys waiting in the train station.

:)

So, I'm having a fabulous time in Omagh! Damien and his family have been so hospitable. Our first night home, on Tuesday, his mom made us a huge Irish roast. She got home around 1 from work and started cooking.Potatoes, gravy, yorkshire pudding, carrots, peas, and meat! It was so nice after living off this:




Anyhow, yesterday was so nice! Kirsten, Sean, and I took the bus up to Belfast. I quite enjoyed the ride because the countryside is so beautiful here! So many sheep! Natalie and Morgan picked us up and we had a good time shopping. Then they drove us out to their house, about 30 minutes out of Belfast in Larne. They showed us Kilwaughter Castle which is this sweet sweet castle round the corner from their house in ruins.



Then, we had another fabulous roast at their house. Their house is so cozy! It was built in the 1800's, maybe earlier. They have a lovely cat that made me miss Princess Peach so much! I haven't played with a pet in over two months. It was such a treat! We proceeded to have a wonderful night on the town in Belfast and crash at Nicola, the piper's house, who also came out with us as well as a bunch of other kids from the show. We can't stay away from each other, even on break!

Here are a few more pictures from Russia:






Gillian and I in front of Lenin's childhood home.



Fergus attempting to do Gillian's makeup on the train. I think this was the 25 hour train journey. We were very bored to say the least.


The girls in Ekaterinburg. This is the place where the czar and his family lived for a while and were eventually lined up and shot right where that church is now.




Warming up with Smithy for the last show of the tour in Belarus!



Inside the tour bus.







Anyhow, we leave for Holland tomorrow morning! I am so excited! Can't wait!

Love From Omagh

Oh! It's so nice to finally be back in Ireland! What an adventure Russia was. Now I'm in Omagh staying with Kirsten and Sean at Damien's house. I can't even explain how happy everybody is to be back in Ireland. When we got off the plane, Damien literally climbed down the stairs and kissed the Irish ground. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but there's nothing like home, or in my case, "home." Anyhow, I definitely owe ya'll some pictures.



The bus! More like our home for five weeks. As well as the trans-siberan railway. Often times we would do a show, go back to the hotel, and then hop on the bus around midnight for an overnight bus journey, where we would arrive in the morning and sleep through the day. Apparently though, we only do that in Russia. I'm looking forward to our next tour in Holland, Denmark, and Sweden where we spend less time on the bus.



My roommate Natalie and I sightseeing in Kazan.



Enjoying cup of noodles, our typical catering at the venues. This picture is from early on in the tour though. I couldn't even look at a cup of noodles after about the first week. So, I mostly ate whatever else was provided like bread and cheese and fruit. Let's just say our eating habits in Russia were eradic. Breakfast usually was some sort of raw fish as well as yogurt, fruit, and cheese unless we were traveling or sleeping and then we didn't eat much after that. Whenever the bus passed a McDonalds though, everybody freaked out and demanded the bus to stop immediately.



Most of the girls during intermission.



Me and Natalie sightseeing in Moscow.




A typical venue. Most of the venues were actually pretty nice! The one in St. Petersburg was the best though. I don't have a picture of it, but it held 4000 people. We had two sold out shows that day. It was incredible! It also helped quite a bit that the Russian audiences were fabulous. They loved us! It was quite a nice feeling. After the show, they would wait for us at the stage door and want autographs and pictures. All in all, they made us feel very loved.

Anyhow, I have so much to fill you in on! It's getting late now though, so more updates tomorrow! I miss everybody so much!

Tons of love,
Laura

Russia!!

Where to begin? The Russia tour is almost halfway over and I still haven't written! Preforming the show finally, after three weeks of reharsals was awesome. I absolutely love dancing everynight for an audience! The audiences are great here too. The first night of the show in Rostov after traveling for twenty plus hours was shaky, but since then things have just been getting better and better. Right now we're in Perm. We just left Siberia yesterday on the Trans-Siberian Railway.
I've been taking tons of pictures but can't upload them yet. Plus, internet here is impossible to come by and rather pricey as well. So once I get back to Dublin in a couple of weeks, I will be sure to post lengthy updates.
Love,
Laura

Goodbye Dublin

Today is my first day off in three weeks! It feels so nice to rest my legs. We leave for Russia tonight. I am so nervous for the first show! After our five hour flight, we are taking a nine hour train journey to somewhere in Russia (I really should know this) only to have about an hour or so before our first show! Anyhow, I am leaving my laptop behind because I don't want to lose it in Russia, so I will try to go to internet cafes as much as possible to keep this blog updated! I cant wait!

Newbies!

Dublin ctd.

Hello Friends!
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'm sitting in the bar right now because that's the only place I get internet connection!
Anyhow, I really don't even know where to start.
I guess I can do a day in the life kind of thing.
I'll start with last night. So last night, After rehearsals, we walked back about a mile walk to our hotel, shopped a little on Grafton street like we usually do. (It's on our way home! the best shopping in Ireland!) Then after some freshening up we went and got some takeout kebabs and pints and pints of the chocolate milk. (the dariy products here are so much better!) The eight of us spent the rest of the night eating, relaxing, going over steps, talking, lounging, doing crossword puzzles, and laughing.
Really quick, a little about the cast thus far. So there are 2 Americans, including myself. The other is Kirsten from Colorado. Then there's Sean from Canada; Gillian, Damian, and James from Ireland; Caroline from England; and wee Jack from Scotland. (he's only 17! he cant go on tour quite yet because he's too young)
Anyhow, then I read some of Michael Collins' biography that Gillian is letting me borrow. She's educating me on Irish history! It's quite fascinating, really. There's a lot more blood spilt in Ireland in the past hundred years than one would imagine.
Anyhow, then this morning we went to breakfast in our hotel. I enjoyed our typical Irish breakfast -- eggs, sausage, blood sausage, toast, beans, etc. etc. Then we walked to rehearsals. Today Mark worked with the girls first on how to present ourselves and be more feminine. hahaha. It was fun. How to walk when on stage and make the arm movements look better. Then the boys joined and we dissected and worked on three of the dances that we've learned so far. It was hard work because today we focused on being sharp, keeping straight legs, perfect cuts, and having lots of lift. Even though it was hard work, it was worth it, because the dances are looking better and better. Then we walked home and I took my laundry to the laundrette and now I'm in the here! Tonight we're going to go out for dinner and then go out dancing in the club in our hotel. (As if we don't dance enough during the day!)

Anyhow, so that's kind of what a typical day is like. I miss everybody tons and wish I had more time to talk on the phone!

Lots of love,
Laura

(We also have days when we get out early! I got a change to do some sightseeing and saw the Dublin Castle and some awesome Rembrandt etchings.)

Ireland!

Sorry it's been so long my dear friends! I only have a couple of minutes so I'm going to make it quick!

I got here just fine and did tons of sightseeing the first day! Went all around Dublin, touring Grafton St as well as taking a tour of Trinity College and seeing the Book of Kells and Book of Durrow. (Art history dork!!) Anyhow, the library there was "class" ('cool').



I also got a phone, so email me if you would like the number. It was a bit of an ordeal though to get the darn phone, but I have it now, so it's all good.

Anyhow, everybody here is lovely. I am sharing a dormitory like room with 5 girls and everybody, including the four boys are lovely. We are just the newbies. The actual cast will be meeting up with us in a couple of weeks. Anyhow, all i've been up to so far basically is dancing 9 hours a day learning the show! I don't think I've ever learned so much material this fast in my life! It's so fast paced, but I love it. It's a dream come true, literally!

More updates soon!
Tons of love,
Laura

Maps

This is the schedule through January, roughly. Eek!

Only In Ireland

In the midst of packing a couple of t-shirts, trying furiously to keep the darn bag under 15kg, I receive an email about rehearsals from Ann Marie, the organizer.

Our rehearsals are where? You guessed it! In a pub!




Okay, so they aren't in the actual pub, but the rehearsal space just happens to be right above it. Anyhow, now to work on them college apps.

She's Leaving Home

So, this is it! I leave for Dublin in four days and have never felt such a myriad of emotions. Mostly, I am excited, but of course, as is for most teenagers, leaving home for the first time is bittersweet.

So how did I get this sweet gig you might be wondering. Mostly by listening to my heart, as cheesy as it sounds. And when it was looking like it wasn't going to happen, I held the words of Randy Pausch (RIP) close to my heart. "Be thankful for brick walls," he says. "They're there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things" I wanted this pretty badly, and for quite a while too.

So basically, the lovely Jane (Teacher), graciously accompanied me to my audition in the loveliest place in the world -- Tennessee. Not only is Tennessee, Dollywood, and its surrounding area the most magical, beautiful, place in the world, it smells good too! What's more? I got the job! So since that weekend in May, not only have I been obsessed with Tennessee, but more importantly anxiously awaiting my new job with Rhythm of the Dance.

Obviously this couldn't of happened without some very fabulous people. First, the fam. Thanks for driving me to endless dance classes and putting up with hundreds of feises and the ridiculous drama that accompanies any competitive activity, as well as always loving me no matter what. Next, I want to thank my dance teachers for providing me with the skillz and confidence to get this job. Also, I would like to thank my teachers over the years who have shown me what it is like to be passionate about your work as well as encouraging me to follow my heart and my dreams. And of course, my friends -- thanks for listening to me stress, whine, and complain trying to figure out what I want as well as never giving up on me.

Anyhow, now to tackle packing a for a year's travel in one suitcase.