I heart NYC

June 21st

A break down of my week (last week)

Tuesday 14th:
8am rehearsal "Boogie Woogie Bugle boy"
 Vocal technique class with Bettina
 Vocal ensemble class...worked on finding 1,5,8 harmonies and 1,4,7 (which is HARD!)
also did a classic appegio exercise, in 3 harmonies, then "Mr Postman". I'm trying to put myself in the most difficult parts in the harmony so I can really train my ear to just pick it up and stick to the right part. Really great exercises!
 Intermediate Theater with Jim Cooney (did Le Jazz Hot from Victor Victoria)

Wednesday 15th:
 Ballet with Silantyev
 Intermediate Theater with Laurenson (Sweet Charity)
 Yoga with Amber
Coffee at Culture (owned be an Aussie...I give it a 3 out of 5)

 Ballet with Koppel (probably shouldn't have had coffee before this class)

Thursday 16th:
Masterclass -Horton ( modern ) it was a great class, thoroughly enjoyed the style and concept of Horton
Ballet with Silantyev
Intermediate Theater with Jim Cooney

Friday 17th:
EXTREMELY sore from yesterday's classes, pretty sure that I've pulled a groin muscle...owwww
Hip-Hop with Neil Schwartz
Floor Barre (really good for finding proper alignment and (your center!) was on balance easily after class
Yoga (An attempt to stretch out the aches and pains in my body)
Finished "To Kill a Mockingbird" I had not remembered anything about the book, so it was fantastic reading it again. Love that book!

Saturday 18th:
Alarm set for 5.30am...
Got 2 trains downtown, then a ferry across to Governors Island to volunteer for the Brain tumor walk.
I was soooooooooooooooo tired, and I was made to stand in the sun for 3 hours to direct people to where the "starting point" was. The ferry came in every 30 minutes so I could stand in the shade in between. I'm glad I went prepared with water and sunscreen, and a book for the in between time, began reading "I Never saw Paris". But I was starving by the time I finished.
It was a really nice set up for the walk though. I wasn't anywhere near the action, but when I finished directing the last ferry of people I walked to the starting point and saw that they had raffles going, children's activities, free massages, food and drinks, and information on Brain tumor awareness. Over 1000 people turned up, so hopefully they raised alot of funds.

The starting point

Manhattan (the view from Governors Island)

Staten Island ferry

I went from the walk to the East Village, in search for the Tuck shop, an Australian pie shop. I was told on google that they stock Aussie groceries...they don't! So after my disappointment I went to do some vintage shopping. I needed to find a costume for the Student Performance project...I was unsuccessful. I did get 3 vintage keys, they are so cool, I'm going to make necklaces out of them. They only cost $3 each:)

Parked outside a vintage clothing store in the East Village

What else did I do??? ummmmm I can't remember.

Parked in front of my subway station hahaha

In the afternoon you could hear awesome music coming from a concert in Central Park, the DJ was playing old school stuff as well as pop and RnB. It was loud and hot so Libby and I embraced it by opening all the windows.

Oh I went to dinner for Nikki's birthday with Libby at Bourbon Street (it had an outdoor rooftop which was nice).

Sunday 19th:

Today I went to Chelsea...LOVE LOVE LOVE Chelsea!

It was a gorgeous day, not too hot but the sun was out:)

Went to more thrift stores looking for an army style outfit...No luck.

I found some Time magazines from the 1940s which I fell in Love with...They are fascinating!

Also bought Libby and myself our very first board game "rags to riches" got it for $3 at a thrift store...bargain! Love board games:)

Went to Chelsea Markets...very trendy! Delicatessens and cute bakeries and cafe style restaurants...

Had coffee at "Ninth street" it was gooooooooooood! 

On my way home I saw there was a fair at the end of the street where I live...

The fair

My street

Spent the night frantically learning/choosing a song for my audition in the morning...

Monday 20th:

Woke up at 7.30am to go and put my name down to audition for a new rock musical Chix 6. It was an equity call, so I showed up at 8.30am for a 9.30 sign-in. Waited around for 3 hours, and hooray they said they would see non-equity people (when we signed in they said they may not have time). I ang "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morisette. 16 bars, got a smile and a Thankyou...the usual. But atleast its experience. Then went to BDC for card pickup...

did vocal technique class

Vocal Performance class (I sang "Rita's tune")

Ballet with Koppel (class was PACKED!) I was the last person allowed to sign in for her class, that's how full it was!

Tuesday 21st:

8am rehearsal for "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"

Programs meeting at BDC

Vocal technique

Vocal Ensemble

Theater class with Jim Cooney ( The Factory girls from Parade) Amazing class!!! routine was powerful, all about acting choices...loved it!

She was busy as a bzzzzzzzzzzz bee...

June 13th

So I am going to set some goals for the remainder of the month (onwards) to continue with the 30-day Full-voice challenge. I have been slack and not been consistent with my daily vocalizations so this way I am accountable, to anyone reading my blog...

Daily vocalizations of 30 minutes +
Vocal lessons (once a fortnight)
Live Performance (one per month)
Youtube demo (one per month)
Watch Live performances (haha any excuse to see some more shows)
Dance classes (12 per week)
Charitable Deeds (3 per month)
Adding to my repertoire (master ATLEAST one new song per month)
Auditions (2 per month, hopefully more!)
Healthy Meals (well...I don't think I need to photograph all my meals, but I will endeavour to keep a healthy diet, right now I'm in a chocolate and cookie snacking phase...mmmmm cookies)

So there they are...ahhhhhhhh I don't know if I can do it...again, but I will give it my best! I am currently doing around 15 dance classes a week to try and get some time off in August (I used up my holidays when I had a sprained ankle so I need to do classes in advance to get a break).

So for those of you that just want to know what I got up to this week...here it is

Tuesday 7th June
 Int/Adv Theater Jazz ...sooooooooo this is my first theater class in about 3 months, and the first Int/Adv theater I've ever taken. I felt a little out of my league (it was fast!) but I still enjoyed it. The warm-up was awesome, across the floor was good, I just had trouble picking up the chorey as it was quick, but hopefully I will improve if I have the guts to do the class again.

Adv/beg latin Jazz...Love a little bit of salsa, the rhythms are so different to any other dance style, enjoyed this class (even though I was exhausted from the previous class)

Wednesday 8th June
10.30-12pm Ballet
12-1.30pm Int Theater jazz
2-3pm Vocal Technique
4pm physio appoint... anke coming along nicely (joint in my OTHER foot is feeling neglected, grrrrr got some stretches to help it feel better about itself)

Thursday 9th June

BRUNCH at Pastis with Tom (friend from London, we worked at Virgin together...was so great to catch up!) Pastis is where Carrie and the Russian go on Sex and the City. The food was AMAZING! and so was the coffee!!!!!! hooray, I found decent coffee:)

It was around 38 degrees celsius and although I had planned on taking class, I ended up going from shop to shop to absorb air-con! I was melting!!!!

Friday 10th June

10.30-12pm Ballet
12-1pm Pilates
1.45-2.45pm Yoga

My ankle was feeling stressed as I did alot of jumps in ballet, so I decided to take it easy for the arvo classes. Came home and got ready to out with Libby.

Left at 5pm and went to 230 5th Ave to a rooftop bar (it was a little bit like the Ivy in Sydney, without the pool, and less try-hardish) had a cocktail there...
Then we went down a few doors to Eataly (a large Italian Deli with fresh Italian cheese, meats, pastas and restaurants, including a rooftop restaurant, which we wer not prepared to line up for) We got a coffee, mmmmmmmm and left.

Walked for 20 something blocks taking in the gorgeous warm weather and the Friday night buzz of NY. We knew that we could stop at any block and find a good place to eat, but it was just as fun looking for a funky little place to eat. We found a gorgeous Italian place in the East Village (Via Della Pace). I had Lobster Ravioli in an amazing Vodka pink sauce....soooooooo delicious.
We then walked around the East Village to Soho, where we grabbed dessert at a cafe filled with every kind of French mousse, tart, pastry...everything! After we split a chocolate mousse and a coconut something, I had instant diabetes...so we walked some more...
Ended up at a used book store at 10.30pm, it was so cute. I bought 2 books "To Kill a Mockingbird" a childhood favourite of mine, that I don't remember too well, and "I never saw Paris".
We walked and walked, it was a great night out in NYC:)

Saturday 11th

Went to Williamsburg at 10am to go to the Smorgasburg Food market. It's right on the water so you can see the manhattan skyline, it was overcast and drizzly. But a great day for drinking real coffee (my 3rd day in a row:) and doing some vintage clothes shopping, which is so good in Williamsburg...

The markets...yummmmmm

The view

Williamsburg

Sunday 12th

10.45-12pm Tap class (my first class in 4 years!) my ankle didn't appreciate being abused

1.30-3pm Int Theater Jazz (Sweet charity chorey)

3-4.30pm Jazz

I was planning on doing 4 classes, but was too exhausted after 3...

Dinner at Marina's place, she made an Italian feast...It was AMAZING!!!!
I probably ate enough to last me a week...It's the Italian way!

Monday 13th

Had a whopping Headache ALL day from my neck being out:(
Took some ibuprofen, plenty of Tiger balm and went to the studio to pick up my class card (no dancing today)...

Vocalizations 30 minutes
song worked on: Boogie Woogie Bugle boy

What good is sitting all alone in your room? ...Life is a Cabaret!!!

June 6th 2011

Since completing the 30-Day Full-voice Challenge I have been meaning to Blog, but have been quite slack. So here is how the week unfolded...

Mon 30th- 30 min vocal practice...
Ballet class AND the Last day of Challenge (felt inspired and so motivated to continue with every aspect of the challenge...it really was an amazing journey!)

Tue 31st- 1 hour vocal practice....
Volunteered at the St Luke's Soup Kitchen...was only an hour and 15 minutes, but it was a really hot day. So not as many people came as they expected. Those that came were grateful...
Then did Ballet class at BDC.
Later that night I had Dinner with the fellow challengers, where I am happy to say all those that successfully completed the challenge won amazing prizes!!! All aimed at their strengths and merits in the challenge. I was shocked and so honoured to receive a coaching session with Broadway star Tituss Burgess. He has written an original song that I will record and it will go on iTunes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh so exciting!!!!! I really cannot believe it (insert biggest smile ever here!) I of course told my sister straight away, who was equally as excited as I was...

I already felt so rewarded from doing this challenge, this was just icing on the cake:)

My fellow challengers...

Wed June 1st-  1 hour vocal practice....Ballet class, then Musical theater jazz class, followed by Yoga, and then a much deserved shower, it was wayyyyyy to hot to be dancing:)

Thurs June 2nd- 45 minute vocal warm-up...I had an Audition for Borona Arts theater (a corporate gig). I was auditioning as a singer, but had to dance first...the combo was taught so so so quickly. It was technical and fast, I just put on a smile and did the best I could. There were plenty of friends from BDC in the audition with me, all with the same dilemma...ummmm what's the routine? hahaha. Anyway I stayed back another 45 minutes for the singers part of the audition. We had to sing "One night Only" from Dreamgirls in a lower key. I sang, they smiled, I left....Yep that pretty much sums up the audition process in NYC, all that's left to do is wait to hear from them in the not too distant future (fingers crossed). I then spent the afternoon with Stephanie walking through Korea-town and trying random Korean food, also made a stop at Buffalo Exchange (best store for pre-loved clothing!!!), I was supposed to go to some dance classes, but instead thought I would try my luck at seeing a Broadway show...
Got tickets to see Sister Act!

At confession (after seeing the show)

I really enjoyed the musical, it is very different from the movie (and from what I was expecting) the music was all original for the show, and very comical! Really enjoyed the character development:) Also my favourite songs were "Sister Act", "Lady in the Long Black Dress" (HILARIOUS!!!) and The Life I never Led". Comic timing in the show was great, as were the voices...Loved it:)

Fri June 3rd- Woke up all stuffed up, The air-con pumping in the trains on the subway is finally getting to me. No vocalizing today:( Instead I gave my body a work-out...

10.30-12pm Ballet, 12-1pm pilates, 1.45-2.45pm Yoga, 3-4.30pm Street Jazz/Funk/hip-hop (I was nearly dying by the last class) My abdominal muscles were screaming!

Saturday June 4th - Bummed around all morning, researching Greencard stuff...They stuffed up the 2012 Greencard Lottery (it wasn't selected at random) so they are doing a re-draw! And I have everything crossed that I'll get selected...I just want a chance to work on Broadway (and a Greencard is the only way). Even if I could get my resume up to apply for an O-1 visa (Extraordinary artist visa) It won't allow me to work on Broadway...which doesn't really make sense to me. So I'm hoping I win the lottery...please please please please please....

Then I headed to Chio's Jazz Funk class, followed by Ballet class...I really don't feel well by the second class. I'm getting sick:( Dinner and a night in....

Sunday June 5th- CONEY ISLAND!!!

Went to Coney Island with some friends from BDC, unfortunately after the 1.5 hour commute on the train, it is cold and overcast BOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! But I still tried Nathan's famous hotdogs, the home of the hotdog...

Yes they have Hotdog Eating contests...Love it!!!

'Twas delicious

I also tried Deep fired Oreos:)

The boardwalk

Last month I ate 25 healthy meals within 30 days...if I continue eating the way I am now, i could easily post 25 unhealthy meals in as many days LOL...I was having a Coney Island indulging day:)

I still managed to get sunburnt in this rubbish weather...

Reminder for my next journey to Coney Island...bring a beach towel (I forgot one this trip), and something warm for the train ride, as well as an ipod to keep me entertained on the train...luckily I had good friends to talk with on the way there, and some sleep to catch up on on the ride home. 

I wanted to go on the ride called the Soarin' Eagle (you fly like superman, laying on your stomach, but it's a roller coaster, so it flips upside down...looked like fun!!!) but it was closed for servicing:(

Mon June 6th- Today I did Street Jazz...it was awesome, everyone in the class was dripping with sweat, so we were working our asses off...routine was HOT! definitely going back on Friday, Love this class! So fast, but so much fun:) Then did a vocal technique class, I'm still really stuffy but my voice is back...yay! Then I met up with Simon, a friend from Oz. He is here auditioning too, but heading home on Saturday:( We went all around town, catching up, it was a great afternoon in New York, not overly hot either. But the rest of the week is supposed to be scorching...