First Live Performance

I like to think of myself as kind of a fly ball. If this is true at all, today was the kind of day that really hit me out of the park. As normal, the day started with the opening ceremony. We discussed world news and received our instructions for the day. The morning activities were very intense. Our staff broke us up into 10 groups in order to isolate us by gender and to focus on individual strengths. Each of the groups visited four modules, testing their ability to sing, dance, public speak and to set up and break down technical equipment. There was also a fifth segment which allowed us to work with costume designers who helped us select our show apparel. By lunchtime they had already posted lead dancing rolls for one of the songs of the show. We spent the afternoon in a culture seminar and attended a three-hour Movement Session. We learned the dance moves for our first piece. I found this Movement session to be very difficult; synchronized dancing is a lot more challenging than it appears. I left Movement early because I was called downstairs for a second vocal audition. I feel that the audition went really well. There are many accomplished singers on the tour and having the opportunity to be called back for a second chance left me with lots of excitement.

This evening was our "Cultural Jam." Given kind of a lame name, this concert is one of the biggest highlights of the tour. The hour-long event, allowed students from around the world to share original and ethic forms of performance that occupied their artistic ability before UWP. I found the evening to be incredible. Each student that performed had been hand-selected to participate in the UWP program so, as you can imagine, the talent of the evening was quite impressive. For me, it was a chance to play my original material outside the State of Maryland. Being able to play "Subscription to Your Love" for 150 people in Denver, Colorado was truly a new experience. It was an excellent time for me to show my ability to the group. Everyone became very excited to find that their excellent singing and dancing would be accompanied by another fine musician. This may sound conceited, but I can now comfortably be a part of the group because I have shown everyone that I am a reliable sound that can add to the greater art of the program.

Tomorrow I will begin practicing with the UWP band and start walking down the road toward becoming a touring guitar player.

Note to blog audience! My evening blog will soon become a bit more academic as I discuss deeper elements of global education, but I will still try my best to entertain you. Please keep visiting my experiences with world travel and enjoy russreitter.com. "It just might change your life!"