Virginia Tattoo day 10
The day began with a luxurious sleep in before another Hullabaloo performance which was well received by the Sunday afternoon audience, which included Hannah's enthusiastic family. The mood was a little sombre as it was our last Tattoo performance, therefore many photos were taken and years were shed, along with a last minute rearrangement of formations with the absence of Kelsey due to injury. We ended the day by dining out at a Australian Outback themed steak house, sharing the past weeks ups and downs with each other. I think we can say that everyone now has many new friends on Facebook, which is obvious evidence of an excellent time at the Virginia Tattoo. A massive thanks to all the support crew that helped make it so successful and a great experience :) ����
Dawn & Eve
Virginia Tattoo day 11
This morning we had a very early wake up call at 3:30am and we stumbled out of our hotel to say goodbye to Norfolk. After 15 long hours of travelling and encountering two time zone changes we finally arrived in L.A. We collected our bags and farewelled Mariel before meeting Marlee and our bus driver Andy who took us to our hotel in Anaheim. After we were settled into our rooms with our new roommates, the majority of us jumped into the pools and spas where our much deserved relaxation time began. Everyone also then indulged themselves with ice cream and fries to make up on the lack of food we had while travelling. Exhausted and in much need of a decent nights sleep, we dragged ourselves to bed in order to prepare for disneyland tomorrow.
By Hannah and room 111 crew
Virginia tattoo day 9
On Saturday we started the day off with a well deserved sleep in, where after that we headed to shop up a storm at Walmart! The price of the make up sent a few girls searching for their wallets, but we hope there is not too much damage to fix when we get home.
We then arrived home and relaxed and lounged around for a bit before heading to the scope for our second to last performance. Lots of rewards were recieved for the best smiles and when after 20 minutes of standing still in the finalle the girls were rather excited to change into some heels for the cast party! The party was a buzz and we happily danced out to the sound of Don't Stop Believing by Jouney, so on that note we better get some sleep to recover from the big night! Oh and hence the song parents, DON'T STOP BELIEVING we have been doing our dancing theory! :-)
Love from all the girls,
Sophie and kendyll xxx
Virginia tattoo day 8
We had a early start at 5am to prepare ourselves for the dawn service for Anzac day, gathering with the Aussies at the MacArthur memorial where Mac Arthur and his wife were buried. It was a lovely service apart from the fact they must have forgotten that we were coming and didn't play our national anthem, so we had to sing it. The service was followed by a yummy breakfast.
For the evening show Elenor came up with a brilliant idea of wearing our poppies on our highland jackets, when one American dancer asked what Anzac stands for, a group of dancers explained to her with one New Zealand dancer saying "I didnt even know that", so news travelled fast amongst the pipe bands and then a piper came to our dressing room and played our national anthem seeing as we were forgotten about at the dawn service.
Later that night, the 18 and overs as well as all the American dancers, had a fun night out at 'the Banque' which was a country line dancing bar, while the under 18's had an early night in.
Written by Lisa Claridge and Jessica Miller.
Virginia tattoo day 6
We started the day with our first dress rehearsal performed in front of students. This was a lot of fun as most of the girls either had never worn much makeup if at all and the others were talented make up artists. As our gorgeous girls got used to their new faces and learnt to do a bun on top of their heads we did our best with a good performance even with flipping a targ (shield) and picking up the wrong lanterns.
After this we madly rushed and organised some dances at an elementry school while the kids screamed in applause for the girls and so the girls spent some time with them and showed them our outfits and taught a step or two. We then went back to the sope arena and did another dress rehesrsal performance in front of special needs kids and they adored us too. Finishing at close to ten the tired girls were happy to see the hotel, and go to sleep.
Written by Tess Pilkington.
Virginia tattoo day 7
Well…..7:30am wake-up call ready for another day filled with performances. Our first show today was for some of the local schools and the second performance was for the public. Long line of girls, waiting for Mariel to do their eye make-up as we get ready for the shows. At 5:30pm the girls got into their Irish outfits, ready for the Hullabaloo. We performed the Irish Reel, Irish Hornpipe, Irish Jig and the Double Time Jig. The crowd loved us and took many photos after the performance. Then it was time for our first real performance. After each dance had an award ceremony in our dressing room, for the girls with the best smiles and overall presentation. So far the best have been, Holly, Emily, Brittany, Lisa, Jessie, Danya, Hannah MCRae and Lizzy. Well done Girls. Eleanor said that it was the best first performance EVER!!!
Tomorrow we have a very, very early morning with the ANZAC Dawn Service, followed by two more performances.
From Leah Cammell and Brittany Kirk
Virginia Tattoo day 4
A nice way to start off Brenna’s birthday was a much anticipated sleep-in as we didn’t have to start our dance practice until 12.00pm. So the chaperones let us loose in the local mall. As you can imagine, the girls shopped until they dropped. We then set off to the Virginia Performing Ats Centre to begin our practice. At the end of our practice, we surprised Brenna with a delicious birthday cake.
At the Scope Arena we ran through our dances which are really coming together as we are now using props, facial expressions and dancing with the bands. It is amazing to think that after all of our performances we would have danced in front of 48,000 people! After 6 degree weather, rain and grey clouds, the weather turned around as we had sunny, blue skies. We were all mind-blown to think that we are performing with people from all over the world and to see all of the different cultures conforming together to complete the Virginia Tattoo. We are looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings us and we are really enjoying this experience.
Once again Happy Birthday to Brenna (Or yesterday for those in NZ) Bye for now from Hannah M., Nicola and all of the girls.
Virginia tattoo day 5
Day 5
Today we had a pretty chill morning with free time till one o’ clock. Some headed off to the mall to shop even more while others took a cute little boat trip to Portsmouth. The dancers on the boat enjoyed their little excursion and put on a small performance for the other passengers. Meanwhile, the girls shopping went a bit crazy, maxing out their credit cards even more.
At two o’ clock the girls gathered in the lobby and headed to the Virginia Arts building to practice our routines for approximately three hours making a few adjustments before taking a dinner break. It was hot. So hot.
Following a nibble we danced again from six till ten, brushing up on the opening and finale performances with the entire cast of the Virginia 2014 Tattoo. There are still a few things that need to be fixed but hopefully tomorrow we will pull it off for our first show. How exciting!
On the agenda for tomorrow we have a very busy schedule- two performances and a school visit. No time to spare!
Written by Brittany Kirk and Beth Kennedy (same initials)
