On the day after arrival in India we had our first rehearsal in our hotel. It was one of the most interesting rehearsals that I have ever had. We were in a tent like structure right outside the bottom floor of the hotel. We just ran every dance until it was more than perfect. Later that day we arrived in Hyderbad, our final destination. It was night by that point so I could not see any of my surroundings. About five minutes after we got to the hotel, we went to the site that we would be dancing at in three days.

It was a beautiful stage even though it was not yet finished, all white with large mask looking shapes all over the background of the stage. It was outside in the middle of nowhere, they completely made something out of nothing. We were not there all that long, but to just check things out. That was only the beginning. The next day we got an early start to see some of the city, it was incredible to see how things were done there. The buses going all around, the rickshaws, everyone on their bike or just walking to their destination. Later that day we went back to the site, it was mid-day and the sun was burning hot by that point. But we ran over the dances on the stage with the music to be able to get a feel for what we were going to be doing just two days later. All went well that day, but that was just a rehearsal for

On Friday we went shopping in a side street bazaar. It was so much fun, going to little open shops with everyone who was with us. That day we had to take two cars to go around the city because our bus was not available for that day. When we were driving around we got to see the city as if we were living in it driving in normal cars as opposed to buses that are raised up high off the ground. We then, later that evening went to go do the tech rehearsal to figure out all of the lighting for the pieces. We were there that night for about five hours. It was an exhausting night, but we danced well and we felt good together. It was the first time that we fully ran everything with everyone waiting to see what we had to offer.

The next day was it, we were there, the time had come. We went to the site for the final time in our journey. Before I knew it we had an hour before the show, then we were in the wings. As we stepped out on stage for the first dance I felt a surge of happiness come upon me. It brought me so much joy to be in that situation. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to go to India to perform with a group of fabulous people. Every experience shared between us, all there for the love of what we do. The intensity of everything mellowed out by each other’s support. It was a joyous and wonderful trip.