Joffrey NYC Summer Intensive: End of Week 1

 Zoe has completed her first week of her 3 week Jazz/Contemporary Joffrey Summer Intensive in NYC.  All in all it's been a great week for her. 

Here's her room all set up. She has 2 roommates and the top bunk on the left is her bed. 

They've got a little stove & sink along with a dresser & a lamp. They each get one drawer in the dresser. 

The bathroom- toilet, sink & shower.  What more do you need? 

She has a meal plan where she gets 2 meals a day delivered to her housing. Here's a sample of a breakfast & dinner. She said the food is decent. 

Down in the basement is where they do laundry as well as have a TV and lounge area to hang out in. 

 

Here's Zoe's stuff all set out to go to classes in the morning. Backpack from Hawaii that Uncle Brent & Aunt Joni got her that has her personal items along with her dance shoes and accessories, her water bottle & her lunch. 

The very first evening last Monday they had an audition for the show on August 12th. One of the choreographers posted this on his Instagram. There is Zoe! 

And guess what?  He picked Zoe to be in his piece!  And he posted a video from the first rehearsal. Here's a picture from the video of Zoe with her partner Alejandro. 

An inside look at one of the dance rooms during lunch break. 

Just before starting Pilates class to do some core strengthening. 

 

Brendan Moran, who won Teen Mr. Dance of America 2 years ago, was in Zoe's group this past week. 

Just had to post this picture. On Friday after their last class they all went to grab an ice cream. This was Zoe's- rocky road ice cream with Carmel swirl over it. How decadent!  But no worries when you are dancing 8 hours a day. 

This past Saturday Zoe did a tour of Radio City Music Hall and then went shopping with some friends. 

Back in her room chill'in with her new M&M pajamas & slippers. 

Today, Sunday, Zoe and a few girls went exploring the city, did some more shopping and had some lunch. When Brad & I talked to her this evening she said she was doing great and had a fun and relaxing day. So happy to hear!  

She isclooking forward to her week ahead. Here's her schedule of classes which is followed by rehearsals in the evening for the show on the 12th. She was picked to be in 2 numbers for the show and is super excited for both of them. 

Well that's about all. Will post another update later in the week.  Bye for now! 

 

Zoe in NYC for Joffrey Summer Intensive

Flew Zoe out to NYC late yesterday after having to rebook our flights twice due to issues going on at my work. We made it to NY about 12:30p last night instead of Friday evening as was the original plan. 

Today we got up & headed to her home for the next 3 weeks on the Upper West Side of NYC in a nice, quiet neighborhood located near many places to eat, Starbucks, Whole Foods, TJMax; etc.  

Here is her room. Very small. She will be with 2 other girls both 14 years old. One named Gianna from St Louis and one named Athena from New Jersey whose Mom actually works in NYC. So yes, I got her cell number just in case. 

They each get one drawer and there is a small cabinet for hanging clothes and they each get one shelve in that. There is a small bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower but there is air conditioning!!  It was 96 in the city today. Broke a record from 1999.  Yes, it was hot!!

Here is her schedule for the coming week   So exciting!!  

Ok gonna go so this will post before I take off. On the plane, just upgraded to First Class!!  Woo hoo!!  

Day 5: Rockettes and Dinner/Dance Cruise

Finally getting around to posting the last day of the NYC trip. 

Jordan had a blast doing the Rockette Experience. She took a class with 2 Rockettes. They learned a jazz, tap & kick line combination. Then they did a mock audition in groups of 4. She loved it all & although she did the best on the kick line, she actually did great on the tap combination. Go figure!

Here they are learning the kick line combination. 

There's JoJo in the back row, 3rd from the right. 

After they did the auditions they got to tour Radio City Music Hall. 

Rockettes, the Next Generation!  👍😊

And all of this was followed by seeing their New York Spectacular show. It was so awesome!!

In this number they actually tap danced in water raining down on them that made puddles on the stage. Too cool.

Jordan was excited to be able to get lots of autographs on her tee shirt from the Rockettes. 

 

That night was a formal dinner/dance boat cruise to end the convention. Jordan & her buddy Mia both looked so pretty! 💕

Here's the whole yellow group before boarding the boat. 

They sure did treat the All Star Dancers well! The boat was beautiful & the dinner was actually quite tasty. 😋

Beautiful picture with the city in the background as the sun was starting to set. 

The DJ was rock'in the house, I mean boat. And JoJo was getting her groove on. 

Major happy feet!  Or is it foot?!

Wait Mom, don't take my picture yet! My hair is blowing! 

All the girls got an All Star Dancers plaque to remember the event. Here's Jordan getting her award. 

The whole yellow group with their plaques. 

Proud girl!  Proud Mom!  

Gorgeous sunset. Just so beautiful.

Lov'in the boat cruise. There was actually a slight breeze! Nice to not be sweating our *** off. 😵

The Statue of Liberty at sunset. 

       💕💕💕  We ❤️ NY!!! 💕💕💕 

This trip was such a gift that we will always treasure & remember.💝

Day 5: The Rockettes Experience

Last night we had a low key evening. We had a drink in the lounge at the hotel then went out to dinner.  We were back at the hotel by 7:30pm & Jordan was asleep by 9:30pm. Much needed. My little sweet pea was bushed & was out the minute her head hit the pillow. 😴💤

Here's a few shots of the view looking out on Time Square from our hotel lounge. In the right hand corner is where the ball drops on NYE. 🎉

Just a few yellow cabs on the street. No sense in having a car & driving with all the traffic. You can get around more quickly by walking. And who needs a treadmill?!  My Fit Bit loves this city!  

Here's Jordan taking the opportunity to pose on a door step while waiting for our table for dinner. 

Yes! We're in! We had tried to have dinner at this restaurant on Friday night before Fiddler but it was an hour wait so we went elsewhere. 

This little, hole-in-wall, trendy Thai restaurant is where many on Yelp call the best Thai food in NYC. It is called Pure Thai Cookhouse and is in Hell's Kithen. It seats maybe 25 people & you sit on plastic stools VERY close & personal to your neighbor at the table on top of you, I mean, next to you. They play very loud pop music, the wait staff are super friendly & attentive and our server was one of the most beautiful young Thai woman I have ever seen. 

Now here's my beautiful girl inside & ready to eat. Just enough room to pose. 

The food was beyond flavorful & oh so delicious!  We had the Roasted Baby Back Ribs (pictured here); the Spicy Beef Salad & the Ratchaburi Crab & Pork Dry Noodles. A tastebud extravaganza! 😋

Today is the Rockette Experience. Jordan is taking a dance class with some Rockettes, followed by doing a mock audition where they use a real score sheet to score them.  Then they will do a Q&A session with the Rockettes as well as take pictures. After that the kids will tour Radio City & go back stage, then all have lunch together followed by seeing the 2pm New York Spectacular show choreographed by Mia Micheals. Whew! Gonna be quite an experience for my JoJo. 👯👯

The kids do all this without the parents today. Jordan was a bit nervous this morning about being alone all day without me or without any of her buddies from the Shely Pack Dancers with her, but I know she's gonna have a blast. Many of the girls on the tour came with lots of other kids from their dance studios. 

Here she is this morning with her partner from the musical theater class yesterday. So she actually does have a buddy to hang with today! 👍 This girl is from Omaha, Nebraska and was a great partner for Jordan yesterday. 

Here's our group walking to Radio City this morning.

We have arrived. 

The kids all lined up in groups by age before going in to take their class & do the mock audition. Jordan was looking a bit serious. I think she was somewhat intimidated because they need to do tap during the mock audition. Personally I think she is a good little tapper but she views it as her weakest area in dance. So I totally understand how this can be a little intimidating for a 10 year old. But I know they will make it fun & treat them well. I can't wait to hear about it from her. 

After the kids went into class, the parents had the option to do a tour of Radio City if we wanted to. I was in for that for sure. 

The tour was awesome!  I will blog some pictures and facts that I learned after I grab a bite to eat. It's a gorgeous, fascinating theater with an storied history. More to come a little later.