Members Login

Username:

Password:

21 New Zealand Dancers are departing NZ on 14th April 2005 to perform at the Virginia International Festival Tattoo - USA.

NEW UPDATES: SCROLL DOWN!!

Dancers are:

• Kylie Allison-Miller – Wellington
• Kylie Dumelow – Upper Hutt
• Shelley Reid – Hawkes Bay
• Yvette Brunton – Palmerston North
• Jean Glover - Palmerston North
• Olivia Sands – New Plymouth
• Emma Tait – New Plymouth
• Lisa Leonie Gradwell - Hawera
• Brodie Reid – Hawkes Bay
• Kelly Cox – Tauranga
• Kate MacFarlane – Tauranga
• Rachael Preston – Nelson
• Anna-lise Christianson - Nelson
• Meredith Woolley - CHCH
• Joella Cullen - CHCH
• Lorna Russell - CHCH
• Amanda Goodman - CHCH
• Rachel Horsburgh - CHCH
• Jessica Shepherd – Timaru
• Hollie Diack – Invercargill
• Hannah McDiarmid - Invercargill

Chaperones for the tour are:

• Mrs Janet Allison (Academy Technical member)
• Mrs Sherilyn Hall (Academy Technical Director)

The girls have been busy fundraising over the last 6 months in preparation for this trip. Several have been out busking at various locations, and many have been running sausage sizzles at their local Warehouses and Supermarkets.

Additionally there has been fantastic support with funding or other assistance received from the Lions Foundation, NZ Community Trust, Pub Charity, Don Hall (Yates & Hall Ltd), Piping & Dancing Association of New Zealand and the NZ Academy of Highland and National Dancing Inc enabling reduced airfares, Bloch Dance trainer shoes, socks and a set of training tops for rehearsals.

Some interesting facts:

• The Arts Director - Mrs Eleanor Unger - is formerly from New Zealand and used to dance with several of the Academy members in Christchurch many years ago.
• 6 of these dancers are previous NZ Championship title winners.
• 3 of these dancers are also accomplished bagpipers!
• Academy President Mrs Beckie Rout and her husband David were supposed to be joining the tour and were to be treated as VIP's in the USA - however one week ago Beckie broke her ankle and we are disappointed not to have her joining us - Get Well soon Beckie!

We have arrived finally....! We have 20 Jetlagged girls today after flying WLG/CHCH/AKL to LA, 10 hour stopover, then to Washington DC, waiting several more hours then finally a small flight to Norfolk, Virginia - USA. (1 dancer arrives later tonight).

The excitement at the beginning of the trip had temporarily wained after taking over 30 hours to arrive and not being able to check in to our Hotel until 4pm! A wee trip to the local mall along with a meal, checking in to the hotel and hot shower everyone is back on board, making contact with parents back home and relaxing for the rest of the day.

We were met at Norfolk airport by our Liason Support Team and the Arts Director Mrs Eleanor Unger. There was enough time, while waiting for 2 of the team to arrive on another flight, for the remaining team to run through one of our Tattoo dances! (much to the interest of other sports teams and visitors to Norfolk airport who were waiting for their luggage)

Norfolk is very chilly today and we are based for the first evening at a hotel on Ocean view - right on Virginia Beachfront. Most of the team are expected to be heading to their beds for some much earned sleep.

Tomorrow we're straight into rehearsals morning and afternoon.

Signing off for now...the NZ Dance team in the USA...

Olivia Sands/Lisa Leonie Gradwell/Anna-lise Christianson

Olivia/Shelley Reid/KateMacfarlane/Jean Glover

Rachael Preston/Kylie Dumelow/Yvette Brunton

After a good long sleep we awoke at 8am at our beachside hotel and had an American style Continental breakfast - bagels, donuts, boiled eggs, 'biscuits' and gravy?? Team meeting was called for 9.30am where we had a surprise birthday presentation for Mrs Hall with bagpipes, cake, card, flowers and wine.

Our first rehearsal had us dancing backstage at the Scope Arena amongst forklifts and other gear that was being packed in for the show. We were arranged into broadsword teams by kilt colour and heights and had our first official group practice of the broadsword item (kiwis only so far).

In the afternoon we were joined by some of the Americans and were able to practise our choreographed Irish Reel item. We managed to get the Irish dancers to give us a wee demo of their traditional Irish dancing which was very impressive as they got faster and faster!

After checking into the luxurious Raddison Hotel we were presented with the most awesome baskets of American goodies from both the Scottish Dance Theatre of Virginia and the Rhythm of Ireland. This blew us all away!

Dinner was buffet style Chinese followed by Mrs Halls birthday cake and Happy Birthday singing. The highlight of the evening was a group trip to Wal-Mart! The candy and the fact that everything seems to come in supersize was very interesting for all of us!

We need sleep - team meeting at 8.30am in the morning...

Signing off...Rachael Preston and Anne-lise Christiansen - USA 2005!!

17th Apr 05 - Day 3 action...

 

We rose on Sunday morning

to practice we would travel,

Down to the "old Dominion Uni"

in our new Academy apparel,

 

Starting off with Broadswords

Then on to the Irish Reel,

We practiced hard to perfect our steps

then it was off to the mall for a meal,

 

At 2 o'clock we returned

To the main arena "The Scope",

This time it was with the bands

with the fast tempo we tried to cope!

 

After much deliberation

they slowed the tempos down,

We performed with pride and dignity

so Sherilyn and Janet did not frown!

 

We finished up and headed home

to relax and unwind for the day,

Food, chat and laughter

"What a great day we say!"

Signing off...Brodie Reid and Shelley Reid

18th Apr 05 - Day 3 run down of events

In the morning we all gathered together and drove in our transit vans to the York County Arts School for a presentation to the Performing Arts students. On the way we actually got lost and got to travel through a most beautiful quaint historical colonial township called Williamsburg. We made it in time and the girls who were dancing all quickly got dressed into their costumes.

The theatre was full of enthusiastic students all waiting eagerly for us to begin. We talked about New Zealand history and facts about our country. We then discussed various traditions behind the dances we were about to present. After every dance there were many questions from the students about everything to do with dancing/judging/teaching etc.

The highlight for our girls was to 'teach the students' the bow and first step of the Highland Fling. All of the students did an amazing job performing in front of their peers at the end of the presentation. There were some who had such fantastic splay and coordination - and they all managed to complete the introduction and first step with feet AND arms to the music - kindly supplied by Kylie on the pipes!

On returning it was straight back into rehearsals at the Scope. This time we were there to perfect our march-on and off for both our items - originally looking rather dishevelled - there are now 52 dancers looking sharp!

There is a lot of waiting around - which is typical of these type of events while trying to organise over 700 performers to enter, perform and exit. Tonight's focus from 7 - 10pm was on the Finale with everyone coming together. This was amazing and rather emotional for some of the girls as the Brass, Bagpipes, Choir, Army, Marine Corps, etc played their tributes to the World War Two veterans.

Back to the hotel at around 10.30 for a well earned rest - standing at attention for 25 minutes is rather hard on the feet and body!

Signing off...Rachel Horsburgh and Joella Cullen

19th Apr 05 - Day 4

Soaring temperatures up to 88 degrees (32 - 33 cel.) today!! Even managed a small sleep in this morning (apart from those who went shopping!)

Had Full Cast rehearsals today which enabled us to perfect the finer details of our performances.

People are recognising us by our uniform and giving us lots of positive feedback on our dancing! Also we are getting lots of questions as to where NZ is in the world!

Everyone was very tired today as we seemed to be going for hours rehearsing and going over the march on's and march off's which the drill of course is equally as important as the dancing itself.

We had an opportunity to watch some of the other performances which were awesome - seeing the different cultures and training to make their performances magnificent.

We are off now to check our gear for tomorrow's dress rehearsal. Our home for the next 6 days is The Scope. It is an Ice Hockey Stadium which for the Tattoo, the ice is covered with foam and wood. The coolness still comes through which is great when performing. It looks like it would hold around 10,000 people but there are limited seats for this Tattoo event with all the dignitaries and other VIP's having a seperate area up the front.

Time for bed now..its been a long day!

Signing off today ... Olivia Sands and Yvette Brunton

20th Apr 05 - Day 5

The USS Wisconsin was the first 'port' of call today - an excellent opportunity to show off our nautical expertise! An amazing battleship and museum with lots of history.

We made the most of being able to practise our hoisting, sweeping and saluting!! All good fun and beautiful weather yet again.

After some more shopping on the waterfront and a healthy lunch we had to head back to the hotel to get organised for a Full Cast rehearsal again.

Tired legs today with all the rehearsing and standing around but we pulled together for a sharp show! It was the last chance to show off our classy black and white shorts and Academy tops.

Tonight was the first dress rehearsal with full stage make-up and costumes required. All the cast looked very professional in their official uniforms - much to the great interest of the 21 girls in the NZ dance team! No complaints from our girls during the 25 minute finale when standing behind the Silent Drill team of the US Coastguard Honor Guards!

The US dance team really impressed us with their specially made costumes - they are all wearing white Balmorals for the choreographed Broadsword item and white dresses with Green capes for the Irish Reel team which helps unite the two dance teams.

This evening the chaperones room has been inundated with requests for massages! We are looking forward to a day off tomorrow with Full Dress rehearsals commencing at 7pm.

Just heard there is a Cast Party on Friday night - cant wait...!

Signing off....Kelly Cox and Kate MacFarlane

21st Apr 05 - Day 6

After a sleep in, we took a 15 minute drive to Virginia Beach where we hit the shops and some of us hit the beach to work on a golden tan. After a lot of money spending we returned back to our hotel for a few more hours of free time or shopping at the McArthur Centre, (the mall which is about 1km away from our hotel) and rest and sleep was a priority for some of the others.

We met at the chaperones room ready for our dress rehearsal at 6pm. We left our hotel early so we could spend some time with the American dancers. The rehearsal ran smoothly as we practised the changes that were made to make the broadsword easier for the dancers.

When rehearsal finished we returned back to the Radison Hotel ready for an early night so that we're prepared for tomorrow's first two performances.

Hopefully we can post some photos tomorrow of the girls in action and the Tattoo performers in the finale sequence.

Signing off...Kylie Dumelow and Jean Glover

24th Apr 05 - update on performance days

Wow! The last few days have been full on with performances and celebrations so no updates in the last few days unfortunately.

Friday commenced with an early start because the first performance was in front of 6,000 schoolchildren. It was amazing performing in front of them as they yelled, screamed, clapped and danced along to the music for each item.

This morning was duly followed by an autograph signing session on the forecourt of the Scope Arena which was a weird feeling...being famous!

We were able to relax, get some food and shopping in before the evening session was to begin - this time also enabled us to prepare our outfits for the Cast Party which was held after the Friday night performance.

Friday night was the official Opening night. The dancers pulled together an outstanding performance - met with a fantastic standing ovation in the finale. There didn't seem to be a spare seat in the house - on any night!

Next focus was the Cast Party - hundreds of pizzas were delivered along with fruit and raw veges and beverages (for those of age!). This was held in the backstage area of the Scope and a DJ was brought in especially to entertain the Cast. There were dancing soldiers, bands people and dancers and once the pipes came out there was a great spontaneous fling by our NZ girls - followed by efforts of the US Coastguard to perform some steps also. It was a great opportunity to meet other cast members and learn about their different cultures and disciplines. The party lasted several hours - then it was time to head back to the Hotel to celebrate for the rest of the evening.

Onto Saturday...a well deserved sleep-in and a completely free day until the evening. Nina, our liaison support angel drove us a few miles out of town to Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach. We were able to have something different for lunch there in the food court area and many of the girls used the time to have manicures which were very cheap compared to NZ.

We assembled prior to the performance for a photo shoot along with our fellow US Dancers.

Again the performance was full of emotion - the full capacity crowd were standing at the end and it was very moving to see the World War Two veterans in the audience when the honour applause and spotlights were shone upon them.

Sunday - the final day of our stay! It has all gone so fast - today was a matinee show and again the dancers arrived earlier for another photo shoot. We also presented Eleanor - the Dance Director and Mary - the Costume Designer with gifts of appreciation for making our tour such a huge thrill for all of us. The girls also presented the US Dancers with some NZ momentos. Eleanor presented our Manager/Chaperone and Team Captain with lovely gifts of thanks for their contribution and assistance with getting the NZ Team across to Virginia for the show.

The final show went without a hitch - each dancer gave of their best and danced from the heart with beautiful presentation to the crowd.

Exchanges of t-shirts, badges, and other items with other cast members was the final priority once the show had finished. It was great to go home with some reminders and souvenirs!

We were able to all go out to a Steakhouse this evening and eat the best meal of the trip! Huge steaks and racks of lamb was a great reminder of home...the girls are all hoping for a good home cooked meal when they arrive back in NZ on Wednesday!

Tomorrow we depart for Norfolk International Airport at 9am and head off on our long journey home.

What an awesome experience for all of us, we were so proud to be part of such an important international event and wish to thank everyone who has supported us in our journey to Virginia.

"The dancers have contributed greatly to the International Highland Dancing scene and have been wonderful ambassadors for New Zealand, the Academy, their Dance schools, supporters and sponsors. The girls have done us proud" - Janet Allison/Sherilyn Hall

Signing off on the final night from Virginia USA - Kylie Allison-Miller

Kate, Jessica, Jimmy, Ryan, Lorna and Shelley

The NZ Dance team in Irish costume with Mrs Sherilyn Hall left and Mrs Janet Allison right.

Kylie Allison-Miller meets Pipe Major and world class piper Mr Alasdair Gillies

Anne-lise, Meredith, Hannah and Yvette relaxing on the journey home.