verbballetstaipei-blog

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Day 1555555- Time Travel☸️ *Warning, this is a long post, as it was a very long day. But it is my last post, so enjoy!

Wowwww. I know time travel technically doesn’t exist but boy do I feel like Verb Ballets has accomplished it today. 28 hours ago, on Monday morning, we left our hotel in Taipei, and now we’re all finally home on a Monday evening! My body is so confused right now but hey, we made it! Most of us tried to stay up really late on our last night in Taipei to help us sleep on the plane the next day and flip our 12 hour time difference. I only slept for 2 hours so I think I was pretty successful–I’ve been tired all day! I got up at 5:45am, threw on my comfy flying clothes and set out for one last morning walk around the hotel. I grabbed coffee from 7/11 and sipped it while walking around Peace Park. I’m going to miss that enchanting place. The group met at 6:45am to say goodbye to Ming and Ping (they woke up so early to bid us farewell–so thoughtful!) and taxi to the airport. On our way out, we enjoyed the beautifully gloomy vistas of the industrially advanced city and surrounding picturesque mountains. Taipei sure does know how to look pretty. At the luggage checkpoint, I confirmed that the reason I had so much difficulty cramming everything into my suitcases was because I literally had too much stuff. My bag was several kilograms over the maximum, which meant that Michael and Kelly were each the lucky foster parents of a bag of Kate souvenirs. AKA their suitcases got even heavier thanks to me😬 Have I mentioned that I love both Michael and Kelly?  Thanks guys for saving me and all of my stuff! We made it through security mostly successfully (Kelly had to get her play sand she bought as a gift tested for illegal substances😧) and then we all went our separate ways to wait out the few hours before the flight took off. Unlike US airports, which are essentially expensive shopping malls, the strong sense of cultural pride is evident in Taiwanese airports, which I found out have mini history and art exhibitions in addition to shops and restaurants. I actually learned quite a bit about the various aboriginal groups in Taiwan while waiting for the plane. What a great use of airport waiting time! Another great use of waiting in an airpot time? Food! I went out in search of something savory and vegetarian for under $200 NTD (because that’s all I had left!) and had some trouble. Adorable pastries were everywhere, but I needed something of substance. The only option I could find was lasagna, so I decided to have my first ever breakfast lasagna. Unlike in the states, there was no to-go option (even though it was from a kiosk style cafe) so I had to wait 10 minutes. I had time to kill, so Lieneke and I sat down and chatted about growing up and learning more about yourself traveling and other philosophical things. It was quite the fulfilling pre-lasagna discussion🙃 The food came in a very hot casserole dish, so I let it cool down a bit. I was joking with Lieneke that it was my first meal in Taiwan served with a fork, and that it would have been difficult to eat lasagna with chopsticks. I had only finished about 2 bites when Lieneke said “Oh my gosh! They texted us to hurry back. They must have started boarding early!!” I didn’t want to leave my beautiful breakfast lasagna that I had spent my last NTDs on and waited a whole 10 minutes for, but I didn’t want to miss my flight back to America! I told Lieneke to run ahead and that I would be right there. I ran over to the lady at the kiosk and if she had a paper plate. She said she didn’t because they didn’t have a to-go option (us Americans and our obsession with eating food on the go). Losing hope, I started looking around but didn’t see any other cafes that had to-go options either. Then I saw paper cups behind the counter. “Could I use a cup?” I asked. The lady looked at me like I was seriously crazy as I scraped the lasagna from the casserole dish into the paper cup, repeatedly burning myself in the process. Then I took off running. Right as I was about to get to the gate, I saw Lieneke running towards me. For a split second I thought she was going to say that the plane left, but then I saw her smile. “Everyone is still there, they just told us to hurry back so that the group could move to a sitting area closer to the gate,” she said. We both broke down laughing with the ridiculousness of the situation–having lasagna for breakfast in Taiwan then Olympic sprinting through the airport with it sloppily shoved in a cup. The best part? I ended up having to eat the cup lasagna with chopsticks because I couldn’t find a plastic fork. That had to be one of the funniest breakfasts of my life! Also one of the most accomplished…I finished the whole veggie lasagna with chopsticks! Then came the longggg flight. Ugh. Verb Ballets had survived Taiwan successfully, but as soon as the plan crossed to international waters fecal matter started hitting the fan quickly (if ya know what I’m sayin’). Poor Stephaen spent the majority of the flight throwing up into shoddily designed puke bags that often did not do their job holding puke. So we all donated our blankets to the cause of containing said puke. That poor guy felt terrible the whole trip. Christina also had to deal with a minor cross-contamination flair-up with her egg allergy. Though it was a “minor” reaction (someone must have touched an egg then touched her food, so she didn’t actually eat egg) she was still doubled over in discomfort for the majority of our travels. The flight didn’t have working outlets or internet again, customs didn’t open for a half hour until after we landed, and the aircraft only had one working door to deplane, so we got to sit in our seats for a longgg time after landing from our delightful flight feeling especially wonderful😖 When we finally got off, we had to cross back through a passport checkpoint, customs, baggage claim, and security again before getting to our next gate en route to Denver. Needless to say, our suffering company members really had to dig deep to stand in the endless lines with all of their luggage. Lieneke was trying to be helpful and carry some of Stephaen’s things, but then she also felt dizzy and had to lie down. For those of you who know Lieneke, this lady has amazon strength so if she’s lying down you know she’s really not doing well. However, we all eventually got to the gate and had several hours to recuperate before our next flight. Unfortunately, Nathanael then realized that someone had gotten ahold of his credit card information while we were overseas, so he had to deal with all of that fun stuff during the layover. Wooo man! Verb Ballets was on a serious struggle bus! I felt slightly guilty that I wasn’t dealing with severe physical discomfort or financial distress, so I did my best to help those who were suffering however I could. Once everyone was relatively stable in a recovery position balled up or lying down, I decided to take an airport walk to relieve my swollen tight muscles. During my stroll, I discovered that the San Francisco airport has a yoga room free for all to use! I felt much better after stretching and rolling out in the yoga room. Every airport should jump on that yoga room bandwagon. Our next 2 flights went more smoothly. We had a fairly quick turnaround from Denver to Cleveland, and luckily no new problems arose. I slept through most of those flights, which will probably complicate my jet lag recovery later, but I was happy to sleep. I was exhausted! By a minor miracle, we all made it back to Cleveland conscious and upright (in a precarious mental state, but that’s beside the point😜) with all of our luggage. If it weren’t for some serious teamwork and a lot of nice flight attendants, we might have never made it back to the beloved “Mistake on the Lake” that we call home. Delirious but happy, we bused back to Verb so we could drive back to our respective apartments. I blasted out of the parking lot in hopes of making it to Whole Foods before they closed at 10. I had been craving a big crunchy salad with cottage cheese for weeks! And my apartment was foodless! Some very kind employees took pity on me and let me scurry to the salad bar at 10:01. Thank you so much Whole Foods on Cedar! You made a happy ending to a very very very long day (a 29+ hour day to be precise!). My big suitcase filled with dirty laundry was so heavy I could’t even get it up the stairs, so I decided to throw a bunch of laundry in the washer before even making it up to my apartment (my machines are in the basement). I can’t explain how excited I am to have clean laundry! I currently have a washed face, an empty bladder, and I am enjoying a crunchy Whole Foods salad. Life is great🤗. You really notice the little things after traveling for hours on end. It was a challenging day, but I’ll take that in exchange for a truly amazing tour. Thanks to everyone who followed me along on Verb’s travels! We all feel deeply humbled to have had this experience, and want to thank everyone who made it possible. Cleveland Foundation–You rock (even more than the Rock Hall…shhh!). None of this would have been possible without you. All donors who contributed–thank you thank you thank you! BodyEDT–well you know we are obsessed with you and absolutely can’t wait to have you come to our neck of the globe starting next week. Your company’s futuristic vision and generous heart inspired us the whole trip. I am so looking forward to performing with you again in a few short weeks at Cleveland Public Theater! On that note, the travel blog ends here. Time for me to return to real life of dancing all day and teaching all night! If you have enjoyed learning more about Verb and Body EDT, I recommend that you follow our Facebook pages to keep tabs on our future adventures. -Verb’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/verbballets/?ref=br_rs -And BodyEDT’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/BodyEDT/ If you ever have to the chance to go to Taipei, definitely do it! It is a marvelous place with some even more fabulous people. I will leave you with a list of things I will miss from Taiwan, and also a list of things I look forward to having again back home. Xièxiè, zàijiàn! 💖Kate Things I’ll miss about Taiwan:

-Chopsticks -Cute dogs and their even cuter haircuts -The happy, clean, efficient MRT and its calming music -Cartoons for everything -Guavas guavas everywhere -All dem oolong teas! -The young people–they’re so enthusiastic yet well behaved (I feel like an old lady saying that but it’s true guys!) -The hardworking and respectful culture. No room for “too cool for school” here -The emphasis on collectivism and benefitting the community over the individual -Bowing my head (I do get how that physically manifests respect) -Peace signin’ it up in pictures -Street dancing   -The wide variety and accessibility of fake meats -Having time to explore and stumble across new adventures -All of their exciting new flavors (taro mung bean pastry anyone?) -Affordable yet nutritious food -The endlessly generous, hardworking, and affectionate Taiwanese people Things I’m looking forward to in America:

-Consistent toilet paper and sitting toilets (squatty potties can get increasingly complicated if anything is going on beyond your basic pee) -Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt -Fresh veggies that I can clean and eat raw and crunchayyy! Nommm (their veggies were deliciously prepared but often with lotso oil) -Being in the same time zone as my friends and family -Literacy -Having the ability to express myself articulately and not feeling guilty for my horrifically pronounced Mandarin -A diverse looking poppulation -Peanut butter -My back massage chair -My bed -Seeing everyone I’ve missed! Kate Over and Out👋 

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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!

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Our last show, in front of the national theater, embroidery friends, New fans, packing, night markets, pineapple cake, and hunting for colored contacts and other weird things

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Day 13- Double Show Day

Hi again! If you haven’t gotten sick of me yammering on yet then kudos to you (you only have a few more days to stay strong!). I’m sick of my own blab at this point. So I’ll try to keep it short😉

I woke up feeling the performance hangover of slight grog and lotso sore muscles. When you perform, you tend to grip muscles with more vigor than in rehearsal so you don’t fall out of positions. Adrenaline is a powerful thing man! And boy do I feel it😣We’re all especially missing our physical therapists back in Cleveland. Thanks Katie and Mary, can’t wait to see you guys again soon!😂

After breakfast club I got ready and headed to the theater. I had to make a quick circle back to the hotel room after I purchased some beautiful Asian bowels from a store close by (I’m moving into a new apartment this summer so I have to stock up!) 🍜

When I arrived at Liberty Square (where the National Theater is), I saw several groups practicing their various routines. There were marching bands, color guards, military step teams, and street dancers. I feel like everyone in Taiwan is a part of a million organizations! Teamwork is a core value here. Love that!!

We all stretched and tried to roll out our sore muscles with whatever little balls we could fit in or suitcases (I had to leave my beloved foam roller at home because it was too big to pack😞) before company class with Richard and the BodyEDT dancers. My body felt a little rough but it was still good to get class in. I love me some ballet!

The first show was Program A, which was “Aposiopesis” for me. I didn’t feel that I was as on my leg as last night (I always have critiques for myself, but I guess that’s part of being a professional) but it was still a good show. I just feel so lucky to be able to have this performance opportunity! I watched the rest of the show from the backstage TV and thought my fellow company members look fantastic. It’s great to be inspired by your friends because the funny times you have together are more genuine when you have sincere respect for them.

After a company meeting to conjure up some activities for when BodyEDT comes to Cleveland for two weeks (can’t wait to have them come to the US!) we took a small break. Omar and Nata took me to a hole in the wall coffee shop that roasts their own beans so I could have some Taiwanese coffee to take home. I love/need coffee so I was happy with my purchase. The store owner was sweet and packaged up a bag of beans that he had finished roasting that morning!

Back at the theater, we worked our way back to the stage for another warmup class. We were all pretty sleepy but Richard did a good job waking us up. The first exercise included a “face stretch” which basically translated into a 16-count yawn for me. That had to be the longest yawn of me life! Haha.

Richard shortened the class so we’d have time to run “Ne Me Quitte Pas” with me and Michael plus parts of “Appropriated Memories” since we hadn’t rehearsed Program B for a while. It was helpful to have a run to get those neuroconnections all afired again🔥Then we scurried offstage so the tech crew could preset!

Back in the dressing room, we listened to a mix of broadway Mary Poppins and Bruno Mars to get pumped up for the show. Classic combo👌I fulfilled my ritual of eating chocolate (thanks Michael and Maggi for sponsoring preshow chocolate this round of shows) and the company did our traditional preperformance Verb chant…then off we went! Once I got through my very first entrance in “Appropriated Memories” I felt a lot less shakey and the rest of that piece and “Ne Me Quitte Pas” felt really good. Thanks for being a killer partner all night Michael! I thought that Verb performed well last night, as did BodyEDT. The audience seemed to appreciate the show a lot too! One of the front desk workers from our hotel even came, so sweet!!

The night finished off with a dinner out at a classic Taiwanese joint close to the theater. Lieneke had a friend named Celine from a college study abroad program who now dances for Cloud Gate (an amazing contemporary/modern dance company based out of Taipei) who came to our performance. Dinner was with Celine and her boyfriend, and the awesome stage manager Macy who also knew Celine from her school days, and Lieneke, Christina, and myself. I loved talking to them about growing up in Taipei and life with Cloudgate. They ordered a bunch of classic Taiwanese food us to try, but I was more conservative with my tasting for fear that some of the dishes might be cooked with meat. Don’t wanna make my stomach iffy before our last show tomorrow! I did have some Taiwanese beer that was really tasty. Thanks Celine and Macy!

Now it’s bedtime before our last performance tomorrow. I can’t believe it’s already here! I’m so sad! But ready to enjoy every last minute. Sorry I fail to keep these short, there’s just so much to me excited about😁

Night night! 👋Kate

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Pretty street electrical boxes, Taiwanese lunch, coffee runs, richard and the verb bonsai tree, our hotel desk worker friend, michael and I in our Ne Me Quitte Pas outfits, and dinner with Macy and Cloud Gate dancers!

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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

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Taiwanese lunches, the national theatre, some fans, and late night hip hop

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Day 12 (opening night!) 4pm post

Ahhh! I can't stop saying ah! I am still in disbelief that it's opening night of our performance series in Taipei! I've been looking forward to this for so long. I have been excitedly anticipating this trip ever since Ming invited us last season, but I have been wanting to dance abroad professionally ever since I was a little girl. Getting paid to travel and do what you love? Someone pinch me. Yay dreams✨ Ok sorry for the cheesy Hallmark movie moment, it's mostly out of my system now. After getting to the theater early this morning I was having an equally blubbery moment thanking Ping (BodyEDT codirector and dancer) when she noticed I had an apple on my dressing room place. "You take apple?" she said. "Yes I got it off the food table earlier," I said. "Ohhh," she said, "I'm sorry you have to put that back. It hasn't been blessed yet." That snapped me out of my blubbering sentimental moment. I had been the stupid American who had taken the forbidden fruit without waiting for it to be blessed! Ugh I'm the worst! I apologized profusely and ran to put my apple back on the table. I haven't had an apple in 2 weeks but I don't plan on trying to have anymore while I'm here. I was so embarrassed!! Sorry to any ancestors I disrespected!😳🙈 Snapped back to reality, I focused on getting ready for class and the dress rehearsal. I did my hair in my fancy "Aposiopesis" getup (lotso braids and twists) and stretched. Class was the perfect amount of hard but not too exhausting before a long theater day. It's one of my favorite things to get into "the zone" as a company. Then we had our dress rehearsal for Program A. "Aposiopesis" actually went pretty well! Fingers crossed it can go well again tonight🤞 Now we have an hour before the group theater prayer at 5 (no unblessed apples this time) and warmup at 5:40. During this time, the company dancers on costume duty are washing our costumes. They smell rankkkk. Maggi's (our artistic director's) biggest note to us after the dress rehearsal was that she could smell us from the audience. Yum!😝 Thank goodness the theater offered for us to use their washers and dryers and it's a fixable problem! Also thanks to the theater staff for finding Michael's sweatpants...after he took off his costume to be washed he was butt naked walking around trying to find them for an uncomfortable amount of time...t's a good thing we're all family here👨‍👨‍👧‍👧😂 I'll report back tonight after the show! Zi Chin! ☺️Kate

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Warming up, the experimental theater, yummy Taiwanese lunch, matching the program, and costume squad at work!

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Day 11- Betta werk!

Ni Hao! I'm reporting from the Chaiin hotel after a full day in the theatre. It was a hard but good day! Love those! In my opinion, the best days are the ones with hard work in them. More rewarding I guess? From the way the company dressing room smells, we definitely have been working hard! Haha I kid I kid (well kinda😝) The day started off with the breakfast club in the hotel where Maggi, our artistic director, told me that this blog has been picked up by Dance USA. If you're crazy enough to spend your time reading my rambling thoughts, let me preemptively caution you that there are many spelling/grammatical/sentencilogical malodies (I usually write these posts at peculiar hours and have yet to hire an editor😉). Also sometimes I make up words. And overuse emojis🙃🤷🏻‍♀️. And write terrible puns. You've been warned. Now enjoy your PUNishment by reading on. Heh😏 After breakfast I packed up all of my costumes and hairspray and shoes and makeup and backup shoes and backup hair supplies etcetcetc (I looked like an especially baggy bag lady) and made a move to the theatre. I love getting to dance early so I can stretch and get in the zone, especially before performance time. It's only a 20 minute walk from the hotel to the national theatre so we are practically neighbors! Before company class I stuck a couple pieces of glow tape in strategic places so I could spot them during quick turning parts and know where I am in relationship to the front, especially during "Aposiopesis" (that's the hard stamina piece that I'm doing the lead in this trip). I wanted to "turn things around" from yesterday's rehearsal😝 We took an hour and a half company class (first full length class in a while!) where we focused a lot on the shape of the stage and readjusting our positions to complement the long rectangular proportions. Part of being a professional is being able to make choreography look good no matter what the performance space is like. Then we quickly spaced both casts of "Ne Me Quitte Pas" before going into another tech run-through for Program A, our opening night show. I was able to fix most of the mistakes/disoriented parts from yesterday, but of course I had a few other weird things happen. Hopefully I can fix those during the last dress rehearsal tomorrow🙏 Oh the excitement of live theatre, as much as you want to control it, you never know what is going to happen on stage until it does! Body EDT provided boxed lunches and dinners for us at the theatre. I know I sound like a broken record, but we're all so appreciative!! Although a boxed lunch might seem somewhat standard in a business setting, the dance world does not usually come with these types of perks because of perpetually tight funding. Ming, Ping and BodyEDT are so generous! And these were killah boxed lunches! Each box had rice, deliciously cooked veggies, egg, and a choice of pork, beef, chicken, salmon, or tofu. Not your standard turkey sandwich and bag of chips from the states. We also got fancy teas to go with it. I'm sure my performance was enhanced by my lemon rose frothy tea!🥀 During our hour break Michael and I walked around the theatre district in search of a drugstore. My shopping list: liquid foundation, gum, peanuts, and good smelling spray. Michael needed tattoo coverup and bananas. So pretty standard performance time shopping outing😉Amazingly, we managed to find all of our quirky things quickly and in stores where they only spoke Mandarin. Have I mentioned thatI have gotten really good at charades? I chewed air gum like the best of 'em and it got the message across somehow! After giving our costumes a light spray of whatever Taiwanese fabreeze equivalent I ended up with (we usually wash them between shows but our resources are limited) we had another warmup class and got ready for a dress rehearsal of Program B, which is Anthony Krutzkamp's "Appropriated Memories," Daniel Precup's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" with myself and Michael dancing, and Ming's "Arrival from Departure." We will do Program B Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Program A is the same except Charles Anderson's "Aposiopesis" replaces "Appropriated Memories" and Omar and Lieneke perform "Ne Me Quitte Pas." We will do Program A Friday night and Saturday afternoon. It's exciting to bring 2 programs because it means we get to show more of our rep, but it also means more to rehearse! The Program B dress rehearsal went pretty well overall. We all had some things that we hope to fix for the show (my braid is supposed to unravel midway through "Ne Me Quitte Pas" but I must have braided it too tight because it only unraveled at the very end, woops!) but nothing too major went terribly wrong...knock on wood! We spent the second act watching Body EDT perform their new work "Initial-Space Starting." Imagine liquid quality modern dance performed to mind boggling optical illusion projections and thought provoking music. It was pretty incredible! As a beginning choreographer myself I have so much respect for Ming. 1- How can he think of movement that interesting to being with? And 2- How can he then incorporate other complicated elements of projection and lighting so seamlessly and tastefully? That's so much to coordinate in one brain! Everything was cohesive--although there was a lot of visual stimulation nothing was too much. It's an honor to share the stage with them! We set our final group bow and then we were released for the night. Kelly and I took our boxed dinner home and had a tasty picnic on our hotel floor before bed. Now it's sleepy time before another dress rehearsal and opening night tomorrow!! Ahh! Sweet dreams everyone ❤ Kate

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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

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Day 10-our first day in the theater!!

*note* sorry this didn't post sooner! Wifi gets spotty here sometimes. Day 11 coming soon! Hiya! I'm currently writing while backstage at the National Theatre of Taiwan....ahhhh! So so cool! All dancers grow up with a profound respect for theaters and this is the biggest theatre I've performed in. We are dancing on what's called the experimental stage. The National Theatre houses several stages so multiple productions can happen simultaneously. I could hardly believe it when they gave me my backstage pass at the stage door today--I'm going to be performing professionally in Taiwan in just 2 short days! I spent the morning before the theatre bopping around Taipei. After my full night of sleep I was in a great mood so I was more chatty than normal (sorry Kelly, Christina, and Michael) and despite my hyperactive tendencies they let me come along with them on their outing to the dance store. The ladies found cute leos and Michael got a pair of rockin sweatpants. Yay Taiwanese dance clothes!💃🏽 Still filled with lots of energy, I split off from the group to do a couple of Taipei things that I wanted to squeeze in before being in the theatre for the rest of the trip. First, I took the MRT to city hall and tried lots of yummy samples in the schmancy underground food court. One bakery had this wine quinoa walnut bread that was ahhhhmazing (it also had squid ink bread which I didn't try due to my vegetarianness but it certainly piqued my interest!). Next I went to the Discover Taipei exhibit on the 3rd and 4th floors of city hall to learn a bit more about the region's history. This island has been through so much! The Sino-Japanese war of 1894, declaring itself the Republic of Formosa, Japanese colonization, and many years of complicated relationships with China. Since it was just around the corner, I walked to the famous Taipei 101 building and checked that off the must-do tourist list. I didn't want to pay to go the top of the 8th tallest building in the world (I already got a pretty killer view of Taipei from elephant mountain) but I did want to learn more about it! It is shaped like a tower with 8 sections, and every section is supposed to look like a traditional Chinese money box to bring prosperity to the city. The money boxes are stacked up to look like a bamboo shoot, which represents growth and learning. How cool to make a skyscraper that's so meaningful! I walked around the Taipei 101 mall for a bit (more samples yusss) then I walked over to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. On my way, I passed a block filled with small stores and food trucks. One store was entirely dedicated to toilet paper that smelled of different flavors--they kept giving me samples even as I was trying to walk away! I love the idea, but unfortunately I'm not at financial level where I'm able to budget for nice smelling toilet paper. Haha maybe one day! Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall had a surprising amount to do! I was expecting a nice walk around a park, but in addition to pleasant greenery I experienced multiple art galleries, a musical performance, a mini museum, a calligraphy lesson, and a cow themed cafe. What's not to love?! My favorite art gallery was made by adults who had had disabilities from birth or had developed them later in life. The docents spoke to me about the program, which in works to make beauty from potentially ugly situations. How smart! Ugh I love it!The pieces were incredible and the artists' quotes were inspiring. We can all work to make the best situation with the hand we're dealt! I MRTed back to the hotel to meet up with the company and we all walked to the National Theater. After getting our swanky backstage passes (still can believe it😸) we set up in our dressing rooms and took company class onstage. We didn't have barres so we had to use chairs that were a little too short...time to get on your leg! Getting on your leg is what dancers refer to when talking about finding your center of balance. Richard, our rehearsal director, gave a tough but good class. I love that we get to continue working on technique even as professionals. Then it was time for a long night of rehearsal. The experimental theatre has some of the most technologically advanced production capabilities I've ever seen (or danced in). It's equipped with every type of lighting you can imagine. Strokes of light shoot through the air, waves of color glimmer across the stage with a 3D quality, fog bends light in all directions...the possibilities are limitless. These production qualities make for a very ambient stage but also for some disoriented dancers on tech night...oof again. My stamina felt better today but there were several occasions where I had no idea which way the front was (the audience, the back wall, and all 4 corners of the stage all appear to be pitch black from an on-stage perspective) so I was frequently turned around and consequently not on my leg😑 The main purpose of a tech rehearsal is for the light and sound people to coordinate with dancer cues, but it is also a chance for us dancers to learn where to anticipate particularly disorienting parts so we can find a visual anchor for the next run (i.e. a piece of glow type or light fixture). I have some serious anchoring to do! I am writing this while watching rehearsal for the last piece, "Arrival from Departure" which Ming (BodyEDT's director) set on Verb last season. It's 9:30pm so almost time to head home for the night and get some rest for another theatre day tomorrow! Update: I wrote my last post from the theatre, but I had one more adventure on my way home. As Michael and I were passing the main entranceway to the theatre (imagine a grand stairwell and vast roof over a terrace), I heard some funky music playing from above. The stairs are so high that we couldn't see what was happening from below, so we ran up to check it out. OhMyGosh!! Jackpot! We found a street dance crew practicing their moves in three rings--one circle for practicing flying, one for popping, and one for breaking. When you're a dancer, it's practically irresistible to withhold from dancing when there's a sick beat and bunches of other people dancing around you, so I went over to the popping group and introduced myself. They were super excited to have michael and I join! They explained that they were experimenting with slow movement accented with popping on counts 1 and 5, so we played along and improved with them. I love how dance can build relationships among people of all backgrounds and languages, ultimately people want to move together! One woman named Cynthia was especially good at English. She offered to introduce us to the dance captain so he could teach us some of his moves. Before we knew it, Michael and I were on the stone ground learning how to swing our legs around our body for a breakdance move. I was terrible, but it was super fun to learn! Their dance captain was a great teacher and very accommodating to our balletness. He kept reminding us not to point our feet...Haha. Street dancing with the "90s breakers" was definitely one of my favorite moments from this trip! Now bedtime time for meeee! 😴Kate☺️

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More memorial hallness, cow cafes, rehearsal, and street dancing

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Dance stores, steam buns, history museums, Taipei 101, and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

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Day 9

I am actually writing this post the next day (I hit a hardddd wall and fell asleep quickly last night--first full night of sleep straight through since I've been in Taiwan, wooo!) so it shall be brief. Yesterday started with a delightful morning walk to Lungshan temple and Herb Alley. Along the way, I ended up finding a cute street that was reconstructed to look like its original architecture from the early 1900s. I walked into a gallery on the street and was guided by a chipper senior design major through a series of graduating design students' final projects. They were so excited that I stopped by and eager to show me their work...and they were very talented! Each group gave me a little gift before sending me off to the next gallery. I now have several custom-designed hand fans and postcards😎 At the end, everyone asked for my advice on their work (which made me laugh because who am I to critique them?), then they wanted to take a picture with me (group pics are hugeee here) so now we're officially buds! After my impromptu art walk I wandered around herb alley. I've never enjoyed inhaling so much! Ha. Being surrounded by all of the healing plants felt so invigorating, I wanted to smell everything. Unfortunately, I had no idea what most of the herbs were (only mandarin labeling--I feel illiterate here!) but I ended up getting one bag of something thanks to lots of sampling from a kind Burmese man. I think I'm supposed to boil it in water and let it cook for 40 minutes or something along those lines? I have some serious googling to do when I get back to the states. But why would I want the adventures to end in Taiwan? Post walk, I met up with the company and we headed to Fu Shing High School for our last outreach event. The students were incredibly respectful and lined the halls standing at attention. They did welcome and thank you cheers and bowed often. I felt kind of funny being treated with such reverence, so I made sure to introduce myself to as many students as possible to invite conversation. Although it made me feel a littler weird to be on the receiving end, I think American students could learn from the respect that Taiwanese students display. They're so well-mannered! After a eating a tasty lunch provided by the school and taking many many group pictures, we took a masterclass from Richard with their senior students. It felt so good to dance and move again! Even though I took a ballet class Saturday, The company had the rest of the 3 days off so most of us were starting to feel antsy. We are a group of movers that are addicted to exercise endorphins! We said goodbye to the students after the mini performance with another selfie session (where two girls followed me to the bathroom and waited for me to pee to get a picture😳) and moved studios to rehearse. Oof. Rehearsals were tough today. 3 days off! That might not seem like a lot but when you have a tough program and you had 5 days off prior to that, it's easy for choreography to feel alien. I got a lot of notes today; notes are corrections you get after doing a run of a piece. Because we have such a quick turnaround before our performances this weekend, I made sure to write them down so I can review and fix them for our next rehearsal. Then I can get more notes on different things, and then hopefully I can fix those too! And the process will continue until the pieces performance ready...hopefully 🙏 Nice and sweaty, team verb decided to pass on a hot spring excursion for a shower and dinner instead. Christina is severely allergic to eggs, so we opted for an Italian restaurant that used egg free noodles. The food was fine but eating at a place where the full company could be well-fed was real treat😍 Plus our waiter was SO patient with all of our special requests (including my own vegetarian-oriented blabbing). I'm sure most American staff would have thrown in several eye-rolls with what he had to put up with. But he smiled the whole time!Tummies stuffed with pasta, we decided to take a late night shopping walk (we killed that souvenir game) before headed to bed. And then I actually sleptttt!! Yayyy! Can't wait to see what all happens in Taipei today! Kate✌️

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Masterclass and mini performance at Fu Shing High School, all of my corrections from sweaty rehearsal, in transit to family dinner, and mandarin thank you notes!

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Morning walks through Herb Alley and Lungshan temple and lunch at Fu Shing High School