Highland Dance Company of NZ Germany trip - Day 12
FInal Blog :
Well, we are at Singapore half way home and reflecting on an amazing Germany experience for the Dance Company. Our two weeks seem to have flown by as we packed in 8 performances in 7 different cities in huge and impressive arenas to an overall audience of over 25,000 people and between weekends managed to fit in 3 days of sightseeing (and, of course a spot of shopping) in Berlin..
We really did feel like a touring Company with packing up every morning to board our bus , arriving at the next arena in time for a rehearsal and re-spacing at the venue before enjoying a dining hall meal with the other 400 performers prior to the show. After each show it would be pack up the costumes again (we had this down to a very slick system) and then back on the bus to travel to the next city , usually arriving around 1am which meant a normal bedtime of 2am by the time we sorted check-in and room allocation. As you can imagine it has been an exhausting schedule but everyone has coped incredibly well and still laughing and having fun by the last day.
Our last show was a Sunday afternoon performance in Oberhausen. We watched with pride as the dancers, the pipe band and Crystel delivered a final flawless performance. There was much photo taking with other groups as good byes were exchanged at the end before we left for our hotel in Bochum where we had a great evening full of hilarity as Jayden and Leighton presented the "Schnitzel Awards".
Niamh and Jayden said goodbye to the team at the end of the night..... With Niamh due to train to Brussells the next morning to stay with her many relatives abroad, and she will arrive back home in time for the university year late February. It was a sad goodbye to Jayden, as he officially announced his retirement from dancing as he embarks on a 2 year OE commencing in London. Jayden has been such a valuable team member, and has been in the dance company from its inception in 2011. We will all miss Jayden's bright happy personality, and we sincerely thank him for all his hard work, dedication and passion he has given to dancing in the company, and we wish him all the very best for his career in this next exciting chapter for him!
The invitation to Musikparade was initiated by Crystel Benton through her contacts with Andrea D'Erme who is an agent for performers in Europe. It has been a fun-filled experience having Crystel join us for the tour. She has been extremely helpful with her prior knowledge of Germany and the Musikparade and has kept the team entertained with her backstage antics as well as delivering stunningly beautiful renditions of Pokarekare Ana each performance which has added a special extra dimension to our item.
On leaving our hotel in Bochum at midday on the 3rd February ready for a 3 hour drive to Frankfurt Airport, the company and pipeband presented Andrea with a gift and all then performed a Waiata to him, which he was clearly moved by. Andrea was extremely complimentary of our whole group's performances during the tour, commenting on our professionalism, and very high dance and musical quality. He especially loved the creativity of our item telling "a story" linking our New Zealand culture and heritage to our forefathers from Scotland.
Working with Andrea and the Musikparade team has been a valuable promotional and networking opportunity for the Dance Company with introductions to several event promoters and agents which we are hopeful will open up further European opportunities for the Dance Company in the future.
Keep checking the website for the next few days as we add more photos to the gallery and we will also add a link to a video of a performance once we are home and able to upload.
A big thank you from the Company to our management team and Executive members for your support and assistance in preparation for this trip.
Julie and Robyn
