Apr 20, 2017
More memorial hallness, cow cafes, rehearsal, and street dancing
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More memorial hallness, cow cafes, rehearsal, and street dancing
Dance stores, steam buns, history museums, Taipei 101, and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Warming up, the experimental theater, yummy Taiwanese lunch, matching the program, and costume squad at work!
Theatre time! Ahhh! We’re performing there!
elevator rides, Taiwanese boxed lunches, BodyEDT, ne me quite pas, post dying in Ne Me Quitte, the National Theatre
Day 14- last day in Taipei☹️
Oh my goshhhhh!!! Today was my last day in Taipei😩 I'm sad guys! This has been an amazing trip and it's hard to see it come to a close. But I guess they say all good things come to an end. Fine. Still feel like that's a dumb saying but ok ok I get it I can't stay on tour in Taiwan forever. So here's how the day went down: I got a good night of sleep (always a blessing before a performance day) and had my last hotel breakfast of fruit, veggies, a hard boiled egg, one cappuccino and one cup of coffee with steamed soy milk. I shall miss their fancy coffee machine😌 Then I attempted to start packing, got overwhelmed by the amount of dirty laundry and souvenirs (man I can really accumulate some stuff!), and gave up in exchange for heading to the theatre. On our way in, Kelly and I saw a ceremony of sorts for a big summer athletic event that Taipei is hosting, complete with many of the marching bands that we had seen practicing the day before. There was so much pomp to be had. Woo! Amped up for the last performance, the Verbers took our last company class with the BodyEDT dancers. They're beautiful movers, and I can't wait to see more of them when they come work with us in Cleveland! One of the dancers named Hsin (pronounced "She") gave us little cakes with egg and pineapple in the middle that were sooooo tasty. I have tried a lot of pineapple cake since being in Taiwan and those were by far the best. Thanks again for the tasty treat, Hsin! 😋 Then it was showtime for Program B. I thought my performance Saturday night was better for me personally, but the show still went well overall. I find that my best performances happen when I can completely lose myself onstage and immerse myself in whatever piece I'm dancing. If I let conscious thoughts drift into my mind, like "Oh I have to do this step that I can usually do fine, but what if I mess it up today?" or weird second guessing thoughts like that then it's hard for me to get back into that performance zen mode. But the audience still seemed to enjoy the performance, and that's ultimately the most important. Lots of people wanted autographs and pictures after the show, which to makes me feel a silly to be honest (it's just little ol' me🤓) but I was happy that I could do something to brighten their day. One young woman took a picture with me and posted it on Instagram with the caption "I'm in Love." They sure showered us with their affection! After the audience meet and greet, we did a quick photo shoot on the stage. Then we said goodbye to BodyEDT and the stellar stage crew and we were on our way! Richard, our associate director, had kindly arranged reservations and transportation so we could all have a final Verb dinner together. Mexican food best fits the dietary constraints of the group so it was Eddy's for nachos and margaritas for us. Thanks Senor Richard! Taiwanese Mexican food is surprisingly tasty! Since it was our last night, we wanted to make sure that we spent every Taiwanese dollar that we had exchanged when coming into the country, so our last stop of the trip was Shillin night market. Although we had already been once, the night market is so huge that when we went back I saw entirely new stall and stores. We had a total blast🤠 Because we didn't have to work the next day (actually we were purposely trying to stay up for most of the night in attempt to initiate the 12 hour time zone switch), we enjoyed ourselves and stayed out late. I bought a really obnoxious Taiwan hat that I plan to wear all around Cleveland this summer, some earrings in the shape of Taiwan, and a fo-jade necklace with Christina. We figured we could call it "genuine night market jade." I also tried a grass jelly tea (the tea part was great, I think I'll pass on future grass jelly😝) and Michael and I split this divine little cheese tart. Michael got a cute shirt to add to his crop top Friday collection and Christina got a pretty ballerina style tulle skirt. There were so many great options! It is very rare for ballerinas to have a little money to spend and time to do it so we enjoyed the luxury💁🏼 Thank goodness Kelly decided to buy some snail earrings because the jeweler who made them alerted us that the MRT was about to close. We ran to the MRT station (Lieneke buying chopsticks and Kelly purchasing a postcard rapidly along the way) and hopped on the red line. It was a really good thing the jeweler told us because we were out of Taiwanese money and wouldn't have been able to pay for a cab! That could've been a very long late night walk! When I got back to my hotel room, I had a package waiting for me from Connie, the hotel desk worker that came to our performance. She had hand stitched a "Verb Ballets in Taipei" embroidery and left it for me with a very sweet note. The whole trip, I found myself consistently overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and adoration. Taiwanese people are just so stinking kind! The tapestry is my favorite thing I'm bringing back from the trip. Thanks again Connie💌 Then Kelly and I turned on Taiwanese TV (we think it was a show similar to ninja warrior only with super crazy sound effects) and got to packing. Yaowowza I had a lot of dirty laundry😝 Like ehw! If TSA decides to do a random search of my suitcases, they'll be in for a rude awakening. I somehow managed to smash everything in (both of my suitcases had to be expanded to their maximum size), wrote a couple thank you notes, and I set my alarm to get me up in 2 hours. It was a great last day in Taipei!
Morning walks through Herb Alley and Lungshan temple and lunch at Fu Shing High School
Day 7--Easter! 🐇
Happy Easter everyone! I hope you're reading this while also eating a lot of sugary chocolate and spending time with family🐥🐇🍫I'm happy to be here but I'm missing home a bit more today. So I made sure to treat myself especially nice☺️ I don't think I've ever had such a self-pampering day! If you've been following this babbling blog, you know I have failed miserably at sleeping this past week. Well guess what folks, me and my slumber party plan worked! This girl got a full 7+ hours last night. Wooooo! Xiexie (thank you) Taiwanese sleeping pills🙌 After breakfast with the Verb squad at the hotel, Lieneke Nata and I walked to an area dance studio that offers open classes and took a ballet (cause who wants days off from what they love?!). The class was packed but the teacher was great and gave awesome combinations that worked us hard, kept the class moving, and challenged our weight placement. She also gave us individual corrections, an honor in such a large class! We were dripping the whole time (the humidity is intense in Taiwan) so I definitely need to invest in a cute little sweat towel while I'm here. Almost every dancer had one and most of them had adorable anime cartoons on them. Why not sweat in style? The teacher and students were very kind to us after class and many said they'd love to come see our performances. Yay new friends! We walked back to the hotel (hitting up the cuteee MRT gift shop along the way) to rinse off all of the stickiness before lunch. Next was nommin at the vegetarian buffet again because how can you not want to an overflowing plate of delicious vegetarian dishes for the equivalent of less than $4.00 USD? If only we had pay by weight healthy options in America instead of fast food joints for affordable food! At this point I was feeling extra brave so I started walking into salons showing them pictures of haircuts in hopes that they could style my hair similarly. The first 2 salons didn't seem as good of a fit but the third salon seemed perfect. It was very stylish and chic but the man who greeted me at the desk was very kind and patient. We communicated through pictures and google translate and he understood that I wanted red highlights and a healthy trim with some layers. Remember how I mentioned that everyone takes their work very seriously here? Well Simon, my stylist, was no exception. He made sure every hair was in it's place, literally. And he was so nice! It's fun to see how humans can still communicate with body language when there's a language barrier. As part of my shampoo I got a complementary neck and scalp massage 🤤 and as my color set I had a delicious Taiwanese iced tea. He also curled my hair for free! The whole cut color and style was a complete steal in American money, especially in a salon that nice and from an experienced stylist, so I was bouncing with happiness by the end. I left Simon a good tip, which at first he was confused by because tips aren't customary here, but when I explained that I knew I overpaid and that it was the best haircut I'd ever gotten he was very very appreciative and told me I could come back for a free shampoo while I'm here. Thanks Simon!😄 Walking back to the hotel with lighter hair and bouncy curls, I couldn't stop smiling. Traveling can be so great! On my walk I actually ran into a Taiwanese man wearing a LaBron jersey while crossing the street and talked to him for a minute. We selfies it out and took a couple minutes to share our enthusiasm for Cleveland's hero before going our separate ways. I met up with Christina at the hotel to continue with the theme of self-care...we went out for nails! My nails pretty much always look like a 3rd grade boy's, so if you know me, you know manicured kate nails are rare. But it's so affordable here and what what the heck, Christina and I were having a lady date! I had to translate to our nail designer that I had a show in a week so I needed nails that would look natural from a distance, so she helped me pick a French manicure with a tiny sliver of silver glitter between the white and the nude to add a little extra spark. Perfect! Nails and hair ready to go we met up with the the rest of the Verbers and BodyEDT at the hotel so we could all walk to a local Japanese buffet. Once again, BodyEDT treated us to an amazing dinner. To use a phrase from my mom, they're spoiling us rotten! The Japanese buffet was like a work of art--culinary masterpieces all around! Everything was plated with such care and detail. Ping spoke to the restaurant before my arrival to tell them that I was vegetarian, so after I had already gone around and found a plate of food that I was confident was meatless, my own specialty plates started appearing at my table place. The waiter must have brought me 5 of my own courses. I couldn't stop laughing! I've never had so much amazing food served directly to me. I did my best to eat as much as I possibly could to show my appreciation and to try all of the new things. And I ate a ton because lezzebehonest, it was delicious!! The Japanese eggplant stuffed with tofu and veggies was my favorite. So tender! Dinner was super fun but by the end I was feeling pretty tired. Some of us decided to take a little night walk around the area night shopping district to ensure we digested well and were extra tired for a night of restful sleep. There's endless things to do and see in Taipei! I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to do anything else. Goodnight and happy Easter! 🌸Kate
Day 12-Post opening night!
Good morning! Zhao! I'm writing from my bed the morning after opening night. I still can't believe that happened! After my last post, I finished off my break by reworking my hair and makeup for the show and taking a mind-clearing walk around the inside of the theater. Then we joined in for the group theater prayer. Macy, our incredibly organized and kind stage manager (actually the entire stage crew is SO professional and amazing to work with) reassured me that my blunder with the apple earlier was really OK and that I hadn't disappointment any ancestors...phew! The prayer started with a table of food that the crew put out on stage as symbol of giving back to the theater in exchange for all it gives to us. I love that idea! We each received a stick of heavenly smelling incense and had the opportunity to rotate facing each wall of the theater and bow in gratitude and in hope of a safe and happy performance. Many dancers see their art form as a sort of religion or spiritual connection to something greater, and view theaters as an elevated place to practice (almost like a house of worship). So it made sense to pray, especially before such a big show. It was a beautiful experience. Feeling blubbery and emotional once again, I was snapped back when Lieneke commented that they probably used incense for the prayer to clear out or stink from earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if the ceremony served two purposes! Haha. Thank the theatre and make the stage smell nice! We stretched and took our second class for the day, this one shorter and easier so we could save our energy for the show. Then it was time to get in costume and perform!! Waiting to go onstage, I couldn't help but get sentimental and think about everything in my life that had led up to that moment. All of the doubts and moments of frustration and questioning, all of the people who didn't believe in me or injuries that made me consider quitting. None of those things could touch me because I was about to dance on an international stage and perform a role that I loved. I thought about all of the people who had loved me and supported me along this crazy dance dream--teachers, family members (especially mom and dad❤), my boyfriend, my dogs (can't forget them!) and I couldn't help but smile about how lucky I am. And then I danced! And it was great! Not saying my dancing was great (as a professional I'll always have critiques of things I can do better) but it went pretty well and most importantly I enjoyed the experience and felt that I connected with my partner, Stephaen, and with the audience. It was a special night indeed ✨ Ping asked us to go out into the lobby after the show to meet some of the audience members. The audience members, like most Taiwanese people I've interacted with, were very well behaved and respectful throughout the entire performance, and then wanted lots of selfies at the end! It's great to see so many young people in the audience; the arts are supported by all ages here (probably because they're prevalent in the schools). Kelly had one young dancer write her on Facebook that she was her inspiration for her dance dreams...so sweet! Walking back to the hotel I saw another hip hop dance troop practicing on the street and joined in. I love street dance and never have the chance to do it in the states because of my busy busy schedule! Might as well get in some more dancing here while I can! Once again, everyone was very welcoming, and although they were speaking in Mandarin it was easy to communicate through movement. The last thing I did before bed was eat a chocolate bar. Gotta celebrate these special nights! And now it's time for another day with two more performances. Here we go!! 😊Kate