This past weekend I had my first set of rehearsals. Let me tell you, this is the most difficult dancing that I have ever done but it is also the most fun I've had in a very long time.
The nice thing about working five and a half hours away from home is the fact that I'm meeting new people. I know almost no one here and it's great! I love making connections and networking. Sure some of my fellow performers and I have mutual friends but for the most part everything is new.
This is also the first time I'm really living away from home. My college is only an hour and fifteen minutes away from my hometown and I have a car so it is fairly east to get home when I need/want to.
I am completely new to this style of dance. Because our show is all about current pop hits, all of the dancing is Hip Hop and a little bit of Latin. I am mostly a tap dancer, I also do ballroom, jazz, and just started contemporary. At least I have a bit of experience with the Latin through the ballroom training. Because Hip Hop is so new to me, it seems very strange (and difficult at times) to move my body in such a different way. I've been really practicing this week though and I feel that I am getting better and better every time. I think this is probably the most intense workout I've ever had as well. I thought Scottish Sword Dancing was hard but this ranks right up there! On the bright side, I'm going to be super fit by the end of the summer!!!
I'm very excited about performing so much this summer, and after experiencing this weekend I already know that I definitely want to be working here at Valleyfair as a gazebo performer again next summer as well! It's a great group of people. The cast of SMASH! contains some of the nicest people I have ever met! Everyone works so hard and wants the best for the show. My bosses are a joy to work for and are always willing to answer questions and help the performers out as much as possible. I love that we work as a team and that we are not in a sort of "dictatorship" as some jobs tend to be.
As a performer, I only work part time until June 1st. So I'm going to use my free time to rehearse and also explore the surrounding area a little bit. I've never really spent much time in Minnesota so this will be a good chance to get to know where I'll be living for the next few months a little better. I've actually only really visited Minnesota twice. The first time was when I was really young to tour with a children's choir. We didn't get to do much 1) because we were touring 2) because we were all pretty young. The second time was in 8th grade for a mission trip. For the majority of that I stayed in a small town where we were working. We stopped at MOA for a short while on the way home but that was really my only experience with it.
If any of you are free this summer you should come visit Valleyfair in Shakopee, MN (which I found out is pronounced SHOCK- OH- PEE not SHACK-OH-PEE darn Wisconsin accents). It's a great place for the whole family. We have roller coasters, water rides (don't forget the swimsuit), live entertainment, and an area for the young ones! If you do come, make sure you stop by the gazebo to see SMASH! (just not on a Thursday. We don't work then).
Hope to see you there!!!
-Jackey
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