Italy: Part Three

We are at the beginning of day six. This wonderful experience went from amazing to hard work very quickly. To give you an idea of how crazy our schedule has been, here is a short list to summarize it. In the last 2 days, we had 4 shows. In those 4 shows, I had 18 costume changes, 11 makeup changes and 4 hair changes. Thats a lot of changing and dancing!


We arrived in Rendo, Italy this afternoon. Its been interesting seeing the difference in personalities. While we were in Catania and other surrounding cities, I noticed that people were very welcoming and gracious. In Rendo, people are a little bit more stuck up. I also noticed (and think its interesting) that Italians know LESS English than Croatians. Communication has been much harder here. I definitely find myself pointing and using wild gestures a lot. 


I just tried my first Italian pizza and gelato. IT WAS AMAZING! I don't know how I am ever going to eat pizza anywhere else again. They really know how its done here!


As for the performances, it has been hard finding the energy to perform day after day and with NO breaks. Its also hard to have to perform after sitting on a bus for hours and hours. However, when I am on stage, I look around and think about how lucky I am that I get to share a stage with such beautiful and talented dancers!

Downtown Catania, a block from the theater

Downtown Catania

Bakery in Catania

Leaving Sicilia!!!

On the boat after Sicilia

On the road and heading to Rendo

Close by Rendo

Italy: Part Two

We are at the end of day three of our Italian tour. So far, it has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Italy offers so much beauty and history. Each town is so different from the last but the atmosphere and the feelings are all the same. 

Our first performance was in a town called Noto. It was quite possibly the most beautiful and romantic towns I have ever seen. The charm of all the buildings, set a perfect atmosphere against the green mountains in the background. The theater was very old (and the backstage lacked in modern technology to prove it). All in all, I would have hated to live life without seeing Noto. 

Tonights performance (and the for the next two nights), was in a city called Catania. It was such an interesting city and I am so glad that I have two more days to explore. It was filled with OLD two or three story stone buildings with trendy cafes and shops. It was a metropolitan city that reminded me of New York City. 

Italy has a very homey feel and offers the most amazing views. The food has become very exciting to me. All the pastries, pastas, and chicken ARE DELICIOUS! I feel like I am going to go back to Croatia 20 pounds heavier. It is such a pleasure and honor to be given to opportunity to perform throughout Italy. I recommend EVERYONE to visit all the beautiful cities in Italy. 

The ladies and I near our hotel in Acitrezza.

Acitrezza

Acitrezza

Entrance to Noto. 

Walking through Noto.

Noto.

On our walk to the theater in Noto

The side of the theater in Noto. 

One of our posters! 

Italy: Part One

At 19:00 on November 23, 2010, I boarded the Blue Line from Split, Croatia and heading to Ancona, Italy. I have seen this ship docked on the Riva everyday but this was my first time onboard. From the outside, the ship looks like nothing out of the ordinary. On the inside, the ship offered shopping, nightclubs, lounging, a chapel, and cabins smaller than most peoples closets. It was a pleasant surprise and honestly, a relief since we would be spending the night on the ship. I decided that this was going to be a special night and that I must dress for the occasion. I wore a button up shirt with a matching bow tie, and sweater. Indeed, it was memorable night. The dancers and myself stayed in the lounge area and shared some drinks, laughs, and games. We headed to our cabins by 2 in the morning and just had a few hours of sleep before landing in Italy. 

This tour will become memorable and a lifetime experience for many reasons. For one, while on the ship, at midnight, I turned 24 (hence the bow tie). I thought my birthday would be forgotten and spent being dragged along the road. It was quite the opposite. My friends made this birthday a very special birthday. I was greeted on the boat with thoughtful gifts and surprises. Also, everyone made it a point to wish me a happy birthday and give me a kiss. One of my friends baked me cookies that spelt out HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT and made exactly 24 cookies. It was incredibly sweet! My director even made it a point to wish me a happy birthday and give me a kiss. Friends, Italy and gifts, WHO CAN ASK FOR A BETTER BIRTHDAY!?!

On the morning of November 24 (my birthday), we had landed in Ancona, Italy. In true Scott fashion, I was LITERALLY the last passenger off the ship. This meant that I was to be the last one boarding the bus. On the long walk from the ship to the bus, I just thought about how my fellow dancers and director will be upset that I held everyone up. Their response was quite the opposite. I walked up the few stairs to a bus full of dancers singing happy birthday to me. It was truly special for me to see them all happy. Later, Almira, my director, gave me a wonderful gift that she had purchased in Italy. All the dancers made this day very special for me. 

The day started young. Anconia is northern Italy and we were heading south... very south. We spent close to 27 hours in total traveling time on boats or sitting on a bus and passing through beautiful and interesting cities. Dancers being dancers, we had to make many stops for those who smoke! Some dancers spent much of the time sleeping. Its pretty interesting to see what positions dancers can sleep in when they are on a small bus. I decided to stay awake so I can look out the window and see as much of Italy as possible. I think I fell in love! Italy’s beauty is so natural, subtle but breathtaking. Even just sitting on a bus, I can’t help but to be in awe of what I am seeing. At 21:00, we reached Reggio Calabria. We went on another boat that took us directly to Sicily. From Sicily, we drove to Catania and finally reached our hotel at 23:00. I think we all can agree that it was a FULL day of traveling!  I can’t wait to see more of this beautiful country in the next two weeks!

Me, Yurie, and Caity sitting on the boat.

A cute sign that was on the boat

Another great sign. 

One of the dancers gifts. Count how many cookies there are. 

On the bus. THATS ITALY!

Andrej resting on the floor of the bus.

Sicily

Long Overdue.

This blog entry has been LONG overdue. My life has gone from its normal routine into a busy rehearsal schedule for an upcoming tour. We will be leaving for Italy on Tuesday! On tour, we will be going to Sicily and other surrounding cities and performing Don Quixote and The Nutcracker. 

The past two weeks have been focused on learning TWO full length ballets and getting them ready to perform. That is no easy task to comfortably dance a role that you rushed to learn. However, I did it! I learned ALL the roles (as best as I could) and ready to get on the boat to Italy. I was told that the stages in Italy are raked. This means that the stage is slanted forward. Its not too common in America (The Hollywood Bowl is the only raked stage that I performed on) so it will be interesting to see how it changes my dancing. Only the older theaters that haven’t been renovated have raked stages. That is one of the reasons why ballet has evolved overtime. On a slanted surface, you naturally stand forward. On a flat surface, you stand upright. So the lines of a dancers body have changed over time. 

In Italy, I will be turning the BIG 2-4! I’m not excited about getting older but I’m excited to be in Italy to celebrate. This year will be the first time I won’t be home for the holidays or my birthday.  Holidays are always wonderful when you can be around your family BUT my family told me that they will be celebrating my birthday back in America. Thats wonderful and makes me feel like I am there. I was just talking to a friend in Germany who has been away from America for a while. He was saying that the holidays are the hardest time to be away. Its hard because dancers are dancing so much and in a place that isn’t home and with people that aren’t your family. I can already understand what he saying. Holiday lights were just put up on the streets and throughout the city. The feeling of the season is here... kind of. This is an amazing experience though so I just as I did for Halloween, I will still be festive and find another way to celebrate. 

I will try to write about my Italian experiences as they come. We have a busy performance schedule but I am sure that I will have a lot to share!

Reflection.

Living a more simple life and in a more simple city has really made me think about the last few years of my life. Split focuses on life and beauty. I am living a new life without television, cell phones, and (pretty much) without internet. I’m not able to sit on a couch after rehearsal, turn on E! News, and learn about Lindsay Lohan’s newest arrest. I am left with my thoughts and memories instead.

In reflection, all those little things I complained about were trivial. Was my life really so hard as to complain about the things I would find and complain about? I don’t think so. If so though, then why would I complain about it? I have always lived a good and privileged life.  Every life poses obstacles. Those obstacles represent lessons. Learning turns into your advantage. So in the end, you win. 

I can find good more than evil. I see the world through optimistic brown colored eyes. The world we live in is beautiful. Life is beautiful. I think back and realize that I made so many mistakes in life. At this point, its too late to change them and pointless to live life in sorrow over them. I can turn them into lessons though and change my decisions for the future. In life, we lose things. We lose friends, lovers, money, and jobs. We can blame other people for this but you are still the one left responsible for your losses. Life is interesting like that. We don’t live life in a movie that you can stop, rewind, and playback in a different way. 

So as I am sitting here, I realize that we all make mistakes that we will regret later on. I learned that you have to look back in hindsight and find those errors and make sure that you don’t repeat them. We can’t mourn over our losses because at the end of the day, we are all lucky. And finally, I learned that HAPPINESS is our life goal. 

Have you found yours? 

; )

Halloween

I have learned another thing about Croatia this week. I have learned that Halloween is not a huge event nor a commercial craze like it is in America. Most of the dancers weren’t even sure what day Halloween was on. 

My American friends and I decided to throw our own little Halloween party in an attempt to bring the tradition over here. Well, that posed for a harder challenge than we were expecting. There aren’t isles of candy, costumes or decorations in the stores here like there are at home. In fact, there are NONE!  Its weird to walk the streets and through the stores and not see any sign of Halloween or anyone in the festive spirit. Honestly, it was a shock to all of us and it made it a little difficult to get into the spirit of Halloween. 

We ended up going to the grocery store and buying everything we could possibly think of to make the most of our situation. For dinner, we all made a dish that was very suitable the season. For dessert, we had chocolate pudding with worms, gravestones, and other spooky decorations. For entertainment, we invited some of the dancers over. We all ended up having one of the best Halloweens ever. 

After we ate dinner, we played music and painted our faces. We looked ridiculous but it was so fun! Then, while we were TPing our villa, we lost one of our friends outside. Caity had gone missing. Now I should probably set the scene for you. We live on our own private beach. Before getting to the water, you have to walk down all the large rocks and through some bushes. Well, with the ocean and the moon setting the perfect background, we were all excited and scared to go on the hunt for Caity. Every so often we would hear her scream from a far and random location. After about a half an hour of searching, WE CAPTURED HER. It really made the night perfect and set the perfect mood on the evening. We ended the night by watching Rocky Horror Picture Show. How can you NOT enjoy that?

It was a change from the normal Halloween I am use to. I had to make due with what was available. Instead of fancy costumes, we painted our faces. Instead of candy, we had a graveyard meal. And instead of trick or treating (or parades or partying), we went on a hunt for a missing person. It was fantastic. 

The beginning of the night

Caity getting scared!

The boys

The girls

Alan getting eaten by the girls

The end of the night!

Why talk when you have dance?

The curtain has come down on Giselle and about to rise on Don Quixote and The Nutcracker. Giselle has been such a wonderful and surprisingly great process. I am leaving the production with more experience and knowledge of my craft that I could only have gotten with this company of amazing artists.

By closing night, we were all pretty tired and warn out. We have been rehearsing for other ballets during the day which has been stealing most of our energy. Also, when you are doing a run of a show, you get comfortable in the role and end up just relying on muscle memory to get you through. The thrill of a new show, new costumes and a new set have been replaced by a feeling of routine. However, on the night of the last show, dancers run amuck. The dancers all put their responsibilities and professionalism aside for that one show and pulled pranks onstage that included fondling, winking, different spacing... and laughing of course. The last show is always filled with mixed emotions. Happy and sad that we don’t get/have to perform it again. Im happy we’re moving onto a new production but sad to be leaving this one to my memory. 

The theater is a really funny place. As I was getting my makeup done, I looked around the counter and noticed spirit glue. Thats nothing out of the ordinary for a performer but it made me think how crazy this world is. So much is put into just one show. I was sitting there in the makeup chair and thinking about how the audience has no idea what is going on backstage or who the real performers are. However, if they knew, it would ruin the whole experience. Dance should look effortless and transport the audience to a place that only dreams can take you. During the intermission, I searched for an empty seat in one of the balconies of the sold out theater.  The balcony curves around the house and on the two opposite ends, I saw two little girls so excited to be at the ballet. Their excitement of being there gave them the courage to look at each other and wave their little hearts out to each other. It was a precious moment that supplied me with a beautiful memory. I can picture when I was young and went to go see a high school talent show. I remember the night very well. I was inspired that night. I watched dancers of all styles dance to music and wearing fun costumes. I went home that night KNOWING that I wanted to start dancing. Maybe thats what happened to those girls. I’ll never know but I will always be able to imagine. 

Back in Vila Dalmacija, my fellow housemates and I have been throwing dance parties in the late hours of the night. Its such a wonderful way to let down your hair and get closer to the people you live with. We are dancing other peoples choreography all day. This is our time to just dance for ourselves. The best part is that when I look around the room, I see people from all over the world. The music playing in the background might be in clear English but our communication is not always as clear. When you’re dancing though, there is no need for words. We were all just making fools of ourselves and enjoying our night with no need to verbalize to each other. I always just assumed that colors and music were the two universal things in this world that will spark the same emotions no matter what language you speak. However, I learned that dance is just as powerful. Giselle is a perfect example. I performed Giselle in America and Croatia. I’m sure the audience had the same feelings after watching it. So as we were dancing our little hearts out, we were able to communicate through our dancing. Its a beautiful thing really. 

Monday is a religious holiday so that means WE HAVE A TWO DAY WEEKEND! I don’t think you understand the excitement of a two day weekend for us. It makes it very difficult to rest your body AND run all your errands when you only have one day off. Today however (the day after our last show), we rehearsed and had one of the longer rehearsal days that we have had so far. We were all busted and tired. Our brains were fried but we all pulled it together long enough to get through the day. It helped thinking about a full two days off. So I will be enjoying my weekend and staying completely dance free for two days.  

So to sum everything up, when you’re stumbling on some words and can’t figure out what to say,  JUST DANCE!!! 

Kristina and I walking into town

Alan and I pre dance party

Caity and I post dance party