Photos from Santa Monica

Photos from Hollywood

Photos from Avila Beach

Photos - San Francisco Edition #2

Mrs Arthur holding Alcatraz

Maddi, Karina and Shalea waiting for the cable car to take us to our dance lesson

Ballet Lesson @ Lines

Cable Car ride through the streets of San Fran

Performing in California Adventure Land

Wow, wow, wow. We couldn't be more proud of our dancers! The performance this afternoon was absolutely superb. There was high energy, lots of focus, smiles, confidence and enjoyment. We performed on the Hollywood Backlot stage to a growing crowd - and it was exciting to have some familiar faces in the audience too. 

Our morning was spent in California Adventure Land, prior to our performance - with lots of instruction about not eating too much junk or going on too many rides, before their pending performance later in the day. The students were excited to hit the big rides!! And enjoyed moving as one big group to share the experience. Mickey's Fun Wheel (ferris wheel) was Mrs Arthur's choice and it was quite humorous to watch as she closed her eyes and gripped onto the cage for the entire duration of the ride, begging to get off. Meanwhile the kids were screaming around on the terrifying roller coaster and loving it. 

We can't believe how blessed we have been with the weather. It has certainly made the difference to our trip. And the students have travelled so well together, they have been a joy to care for. 

Tonight we head to Naples for a celebration dinner and how appropriate that we can celebrate such a phenomenally successful performance today. 

Universal Studios

The highlight for today was our performance in Universal Studios. We were given star treatment, being welcomed on the red carpet and entering thought the "real gates", not the gates through which the general public enter. The stage was quite small and required a bit of restraint in performances, and back stage was limited, requiring the students to manage their space, exits, etc.

Following our performance we all went on the back lot tour, showing us Wisteria Lane, Bates Motel, King Kong, the destruction scene from War of the Worlds, Angela Lansbury house from Murder She Wrote, the set from Bones which was an earthquake simulation in the subway, the set from CSI, the largest outdoor blue screen in the world and the western street scape with varying size doors to make the film stars appear larger. Our tour was even momentarily stopped because Studio 27 was filming The Voice!

After our back lot tour we all walked over to watch the Water World show, a pyrotechnic/ aquatic production, which was lots of fun. 

The other highlight was the Jurassic Park ride. Universal Studios was very quiet today so we were able to get on lots of rides quickly (as opposed to Disney yesterday). The Jurassic Park ride is a boat ride through a dinosaur infested forest and finishes with the boat careering down an 84foot drop! This was something that the students loved, with most students riding three times. We were very proud of Jackie for braving the ride once, and Brendan who was clinging onto Caitlin for dear life! The Mummy and Transformers were other popular rides. 

Again we've been blessed with fantastic weather and getting wet in the rides has been easy to manage. 

Leaving the park at 6pm we experienced real LA traffic, which we've managed to avoid up until now. This was exacerbated by the frequent "how long til we get there" questions! An answer we just couldn't answer. Dinner tonight will be at Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory - the once fictional restaurant from the film, Forrest Gump. 

LA Sightseeing

Another early start saw us grabbing a quick breakfast at Molly's, the diner in the hotel, where many students tried bagels for the first time. We were on the road by 8.00am, heading for our dance class at The Edge. Our drive into LA was smooth and we made good time arriving at the studio, giving us time to watch some of the other classes and get ready for our class. En route we were able to see the spectacular Disney Concert Hall funded by Lillian Disney (Walt's wife). The Edge Studio on Cole Ave is situated right next door to the famous Gold's Gym (where they also sold good espresso coffee!). 

Our class was taught by Bosco, an amazing Hip Hop dancer. He had the students laughing and was very skilled in showing the differences between classical jazz and ballet steps and subtleties of hip hop. It was a great class and the students really grew in their mastery over the hour and a half lesson. Definitely a trip highlight! (And very fun for the staff too)

After hip hop we climbed back aboard our bus with the our Driver, Ben who was ever so kind and helpful, and our tour guide, Nichola, who was a constant source of much amusement and varying levels of frustration! Nichola took us back down to Hollywood where we saw Mann's Chinese theatre - marvelling at some of the inscriptions in the concrete dating back to the 1930s! We walked the steps of the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre), where they roll out the red carpet for film premiers and of course the Oscars. 

It was great fun looking at the stars on the ground, especially spotting Aussies like Olivia Newton John, Nicole Kidman and the latest - Hugh Jackman. We learned that the celebrities have to pay a fee of $4500 for the privilege. Our tour then continued around Hollywood, driving up Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevard. High up above us at the very top of the Hollywood Hills we saw Steven Spielberg's house, overlooking all of Hollywood. Driving onto Beverly Hills, we stopped to take a photo of the iconic Beverly Hills sign, then drove on to see the shop that Julia Roberts was thrown out of in Pretty Woman, the Beverly Hilton hotel where the Golden Globes are hosted and also where Whitney Houston died, the hotel owned by Madonna, the Rainbow Room where lots of bands played in the 70s and 80s and now have to pay for the privilege to play, the Viper Room owned by Johnny Depp where River Phoenix died, the headquarters for Capital Records, Universal Records, the House of Blues, the Laugh Factory where Jerry Seinfeld started his career, the neighbourhood where Britney Spears has a 'cottage' near her grandma and Marilyn Monroe's House.

We then drove onto to Rodeo Drive and got out and walked down the latest addition to the prestigious shopping area, a paved lane known as Two Rodeo, sporting shops like Tiffany & Co and Ralph Lauren. Unfortunately there was not time to spend (or the money!) at Jimmy Choo. 

We then journeyed on to Venice Beach, which was an experience and education of forms for the students. The beach front is an eclectic mix of bohemians, buskers, homeless, cheap souvenir shops, interesting food, bike riders and basket ball players. A combination of Newton, Manly and Redfern on the Beach Front. The water was beautiful to look at and the beach almost as nice as our Sydney beaches. We were somewhat pleased and relieved to get back on the bus to head to Santa Monica. 

On arrival at Santa Monica we farewelled Nichola, our guide who had met us at LA and escorted us to San Fran and back. 

We spent the afternoon on the Santa Monica Pier, soaking up the sunshine and watching the sun go down before heading back to the hotel for a relaxed evening. Some students swam in the hotel pool, others enjoyed the hotel lobby wifi! before turning in for a relatively early night. 

Photos - San Francisco Edition #1

Chillin' out in LAX waiting for American Airlines to come back online

First Dinner in San Francisco

Fishermans Wharf

 Ballet lesson @ Lines Dance Studio

Group shot @ Lines

Disney Land

Thankful for a later start, our group met for breakfast in Molly's again - the hotel diner, but this time with more time to soak up the atmosphere and the experience. We were also very glad to meet up with Dale, who walked us down to Disney Land and into the park ready for our Dance 101 session with Linda Love-Simmons. And what a great experience this was! Linda has extensive experience in choreographing shows, performing and has worked for Disney, among other things for the last 35 years. The students were challenged from the moment they set foot on the dance floor, from the warm up, to the two minutes of choreography they learnt, to the new steps they encountered, spotting other students, affirming others and looking for the strength in others, stage presence, giving your all EVERY time and more. This was a truly enriching experience. 

Following our workshop, our group moved back into the park and headed for our first ride together as a group, The Pirates of the Caribbean. It was lots of fun. The group then split up and the smaller groups went in search of rides that were of interest to them. It was fun to meet back together to wait for the Main Street Parade to begin, where we could look for all the performance hints that Linda taught us about in the workshop earlier in the day. 

Moving back into smaller groups, the students eagerly sought out more rides and enjoyed the theming and performances, as well as the rides throughout the park. Gathering again it was magical to watch the fireworks to end a beautiful day. 

A Day In Tinsel Town - Dancing with the Stars

After a delightful lunch stop in the gorgeous seaside town of Avila Beach, where we sat on the beach, swung on the swings and admired the various knick knacks in the shops on the promenade, we headed for Santa Barbara, a hide away for many celebrities, like Oprah.

The drive to Santa Barbara along the coast was scenic and winding down through the pass was picturesque. Everyone appreciated the views, the slower pace and the highly anticipated arrival in LA.

We began our visit in SB at the mission, which was the ninth catholic mission built in the States and holds all the archives of all the other missions. The mission is a church plant, as well as a training College for priests and an outreach to the community. The mission  is set high above the town with amazing views and established in beautiful surrounds - most notably the rose garden. 

The students were excited to head down town for some shopping along the Main Street and appreciated some local insight into where the best shops were. It was a fun afternoon and we finished our time in SB with a yummy fresh dinner of sandwiches/ salads before boarding the bus for the final leg of the journey. 

Cruising south down the 101, we saw the most beautiful sunset over the water behind us. We gambled on a late departure time of 7pm to avoid the LA grid lock traffic, and were successful with our plans, again thankful for local knowledge - avoiding all traffic and making it to LA in just over two hours. Our arrival at the Sheraton was far smoother than our arrival at the Holiday Inn in SF - this time we were at the right hotel, and a good one at that. As we headed to the 12th floor we watched the 9.30pm fireworks explode over Disney Land.

A Day In Transit

After a much needed quiet evening and early night, our group was much brighter this morning and excited about our trip to LA. We were packed and ready by 7.20am. Our planned wander down to the local Walgreens to buy fresh fruit and yoghurt for breakfast was foiled but the fact that this particular Walgreens wasn't actually a 24 hour service! Walgreens are a 'drug' store, which is a cross between a chemist, an IGA and a newsagent... They sell a huge range of goods and are everywhere. We were pretty excited to see the fresh fruit the other night and thought is would be perfect for our early start today.

Not to be defeated we found another Walgreens and also purchased muffins and pastries from our hotel foyer cafe. With the bus packed promptly we departed San Francisco and hit the road bound for LA via Santa Barbara. 

Currently on route we are driving past the most gorgeous fields and farm houses, all enclosed with neat white fences. It is really green and lush land and the drive has been really relaxing. Buses and planes (yes, planes!) have wifi in the States, so the students (and staff) are enjoying catching  up on social media as we travel. They are such an easy going group and are quite happy just chatting, listening to music and chilling out as we make this journey. 

We are about 20 minutes out from our lunch stop. The place we are heading to is a cute, quaint little beach town on the coast, Avila Beach. Check it out, it looks just sweet! 

www.visitavilabeach.com  and have a look at the street view on google maps (Avila Beach, CA)

After lunch we head to Santa Barbara for the afternoon, to visit the Mission and wander through another lovely town. 

Touring San Francisco

The morning began with a brisk walk down to the famous Lombard St, and a hike up the very, very steep hill, much to the students' dismay. I am sure the students were secretly pleased to have reached the 'summit', even though they were seemingly unamused. The view was amazing and so different to our local streets in Sydney. 

We experienced a cafe style breakfast, with granola, yoghurt and strawberries being the popular order of the day, before making our way back to meet our bus for our tour of San Francisco. The bus tour was an adventure and travel sickness, loud commentary, sudden unscheduled vomit stops and random markets were the features of the tour. We stopped to look at the AT&T Ball Park, home of the SF Giants - coincidentally, the same team colours as our own GWS Giants. we drove through some of the streets of San Francisco, admiring the unique architecture and interesting house colours, but amazed by the hills - everywhere! The winding hilly streets were not a good mix for our unwell students, so we changed plans and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge. The highlight for everyone was certainly driving across the bridge and the spectacular views looking back to the city. We'll have some great photos to share from this stop. 

Pier 39 was a popular choice for our lunch stop and we all again enjoyed the board walk and interesting shops, along with lunch, and it was great to be there again because Shalea had a chance to see the sea lions, which she'd missed the day before. 

Our plan for the afternoon was to go to Alcatraz, which is a short ferry trip across the bay to the island. The island is far more than just a former prison, it is also filled with extensive plant and bird life. The bird life was something Madison H certainly experienced first hand! The photos tell the story so much better than words. It was a good thing we had wet wipes, tissues and hand sanitizer at the ready to clean the bird dropping from her face! We all enjoyed the audio tour and exploring the penitentiary, although the views were spectacular, the ferry ride brought another wave of sickness for some students and we were pleased to be back on solid ground. 

It seems an early night was in order as everyone is certainly feeling the effects of jet lag and some full days of touring and dancing. It was fun walking along wharf back to the hotel at a casual pace and looking at souvenir shops and the fun designs on t-shirts. Dinner was a casual meal - a choice between 'In-n-out' burgers and subway. Subway was an entertaining albeit frustrating wait, as a lone store man served 12 of our group, one at a time, filled the order and then served the next person. Lucky we weren't in a hurry. 

We pack tonight ready for an early morning start on our trek to LA. We've had lots of laughs in San Francisco and made some great memories. 

Reflections on Day One

We arrived in San Francisco after several glitches, like being dropped off at the wrong hotel and having to walk a few blocks, the hotel rooms being all the wrong way around and lengthy delays in LAX. The best thing about all of this was the kids! They were simply amazing. There were no complaints, lots of smiles and laughter and a great, easy going attitude. We are so very proud of our students!

This morning as we gathered in the lobby before walking down to Denny's Diner for breakfast, the students shared their favourite memories of the Long Commute. 

Nicky - recalled our experience going through immigration - whilst waiting for Miss Kightley to be searched we witnessed a lady being dropped to the ground because she wasn't following directions and had something of concern in her bag. It was like watching Border Security live! It filled the time while we waited for Miss Kightley to be released. 

Mr Arthur remembered the chocolate mousse with salted caramel that we were seved on the flight. It was yummy - and a favourite memory for all. Lucky Mrs Arthur was served two! Kayla's highlight on the flight was being given 12 packets of cheese and biscuits - to share with her friends. And everyone enjoyed the potato and rosemary pizzas served at midnight. 

Miss Kightley was impressed with the six US Air Marshalls who boarded our flight on arrival at the terminal. They escorted off a passenger. When asked if this was a normal or regular occurrence, the flight steward said no, but that aggressive and defiant behaviour would not be tolerated. 

Everyone enjoyed our nap on the floor of LAX, sadly most photos were deleted in protest! We were all grateful that our flight wasn't cancelled and our itinerary could go on, as planned.

Adjusting to cultural changes saw Madison calling maintenance to get the shower working. It turned out all she had to do was lift the lever in the tap. A funny moment. 

For everyone, sleeping in a real bed was fabulous, after 32 hours on the road. 

San Francisco

After an All American breakfast in Denny's Diner we enjoyed a leisurely walk around the local streets, looking at some of the well known sites; Alacatraz, Fisherman's Grotto and the iconic sign at Fisherman's Wharf. The students move easily as a group and walking/ sight seeing is most enjoyable - we are slowly retraining ourselves to walk on the right and are grateful for the pedestrian lights to help us cross the streets.

Following our early morning stroll, we prepared for our first performance on Fisherman's Wharf. The students looked smart in their red singlets and Union Jack leggings, attracting lots of interest and questions as they warmed up on the Wharf. The performance was great and the students danced so well, even with people walking through their stage and a wannabe dancing toddler who also wanted to share the stage. The weather was unbelievable, it couldn't have been more perfect, and we felt so blessed by this. 

At the conclusion of our performance we wandered around Fisherman's Wharf, admiring the beauty of the boardwalk and interesting buildings. Watching the sea lions was such fun too as they barked at each other and pushed each other off the floating piers. 

We experienced some frustrations with the trams in the afternoon, but finally got to experience this unique form of transport en route to the Contemporary Dance class across town at Alonzo Lines Dance Studio. Kai, our teacher, was amazing and received spontaneous bouts of applause from our students as they watched her demonstrate turns and jumps in the short routine the students learnt. It was an intense workshop and it was great to see the students stretched and learning new moves and dance terminology, as well as thinking about how their eyes, hands and heads also 'danced' the moves. 

We enjoyed a walk back to Union Square and a visit to Macy's before walking on to China Town for a banquet dinner. At dinner we reflected on our day and more people shared 'firsts' and favourite memories. Maddison's first was eating broccoli at dinner, she even went back for a second serve! Dancing on Pier 39 was definitely a highlight for the students, as well as seeing all the street performances and buskers on our walk back to the hotel. Miss Clarksmith's highlight was the students and particularly how responsible and polite they have been. 

On all of our walks, the students have been quite confronted and concerned by the level of homelessness which is so evident all around us. At the end of our dinner, Jackie suggested we take our leftovers and deliver a meal to some of the homeless people we'd walked past on the way to dinner. It was a lovely idea and the recipients were so thankful for the kindness and compassion our students showed.

We are definitely aware of and thankful for the way God has provided for us in so many ways over the last few days.

The Long Commute

We've been 'on the road' for 22 hours and an extended delay in LAX has not dampened our spirits. American Airlines has experienced a system failure, resulting in all flights since mid morning being grounded. As they keep announcing flights which have been cancelled, we hold our breath! Thankfully are flight hasn't been cancelled, just on-going delays. As we write, the system has been restored and there was much cheering in the terminal. 

We've snoozed en masse on the floor of the airport, moved to a new gate and perfected moving as a group. We number off beautifully and efficiently, easily accounting for all of our group. The group is happy and keen to get to San Francisco!

And we are boarding!! Yay. It will be good to finally arrive at our destination. 

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Our bags are packed and we're ready to go. A smooth trip to the airport, efficient check in and we almost cleared customs without any dramas, except for Miss Kightley who was frisked three times!! We've had our last coffees on Australian soil and we are ready to board our flight.
Let's see if we are still smiling in 14 hours!

Final Reheasal

On Friday afternoon the group had their final briefing, some fine tuning and a last run through before the show is performed for parents and friends, as our final pre-departure performance. It was wonderful watching this last run through, celebrating just how far our dancers have come in the last few weeks with their dance. Not long now! 

 

 

Our First Real Audience

There were many nerves and much excited chatter when the students learned they would be performing at lunchtime in the College, to an audience of their peers! It was a hot day and great preparation for the students - dancing in the heat and on the concrete. The students looked great in their red singlets and Union Jack leggings and danced up a storm. We are so proud!

A chilly early morning rehearsal

The best quote of the day was from Brendan. As the troupe were stretching and warming up ready for an early morning rehearsal, it became apparent that Brendan was not feeling very well. When asked by Madison, as to why he was here, his heartfelt reply, "because I am committed to the team" elicited a collective sigh and genuine encouragement amongst the group.

Final Weeks Preparation

It was exciting to see the dance come together as the students put on their costumes for the first time. It brought the dances alive and gave so much more meaning to the story of the seasons.

Winter

Winter

Sunrise

Sunrise

Autumn

Spring