UPDATES!!!

I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot for a feature film and working with an amazing photographer, Dennys Ilic, and starring Rudy Youngblood. These two pics are a preview of our shoot!

Photo shoot with Rudy Youngblood Downtown.

I got to fill in for my friend Lisa Eaton in her burlesque show she created down at the upper manhattan lounge in Manhattan Beach... my new favorite hot spot!!

Pictures from the number "Sunglasses"

TV Series Promo Commercial for BONES...

The ladies posing with Zach Woodlee, our choreographer! We love him!

I suppose this is appropriate for Halloween :)

A legendary vietnamese variety show called "PARIS BY NIGHT"... we did number 98 in VEGAS!!

Each outfit is for a different Vietnamese Music Artist...

This one below was for the opening of the show... yes, those headdresses were difficult to dance in...

but i LOVE the traditional wear!!

We were bitter we didn't have as good a photo shoot as the boys... (see photos below)

Male Dressing Room photos...

they out-cheered us...

and out-stacked us...

and of course... one of these guys is not like the others!! haha

How could we not want to chill in their room?!?!

LONDON TOUR WITH LIVVI FRANC...

This was our first night out with Hannah and her friend from home, John!

It's not a true night out, until you find the late night hot spot and raid them for all the food they've got... and then consume it in its entirety!! haha

This was the crazy mob we sort of performed for at Carnival in London... but then they just started fighting and throwing bottles... crazy!

Before a show at a night club in London with Livvi Franc!

Me and Hannah in our room!! :)

MAUI - Ayn and John's Wedding J

As much as I don’t condone destination weddings, simply because I feel like forcing someone to fly somewhere to watch one get hitched, or leaving them out because they won’t/can’t fly there is somewhat selfish… I DO love them, because they give you an excuse to leave your normal life to celebrate someone else’s someplace amazing. Hence, Ryron and I took a trip to Maui for a friend's wedding.

Below is a picture of me hiding in the bamboo forest located the National Park on Maui Island just south of Hana. It's about the 3/4 point on the hike up to the largest waterfall on the island...

this is not even one fourth of the waterfall... unfortunately my camera could not capture all of the waterfall... but this is us after a two hour hike up to this beauty!!

Below is what it looks like to walk through the Bamboo forest... it was stunning...

We climbed this beautiful tree along the pathway to the waterfall.

IRON MAN 2!!!!

Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to post any photos with any outfits from the shoot in costume… but to summarize, this was easily the best movie experience I’ve ever had! The Ironettes were beautiful, kind and hilarious throughout the long hours of the shoot and our superiors took better care of us than I've ever felt.

Here are some of the "Ironettes" from the upcoming film Iron Man 2 at the after party held at Playhouse in Hollywood.

Mixed signals on the dance floor!

Getting into the grove on the dance floor... for the record, that's a shirley temple in my hand! After Chris wrote, "Vic, that better be watermelon juice!" hahaha

The amazing people who made it happen on the set of Iron Man 2...without them, we would have been a MESS... from the left, Jeanine Sabo (choreographer), Maria Giannini (E2K), Ron Kellum (E2K)

"Mustafa's Temple of Goddesses"

Family Barbecue :)

Jessica Croppers Birthday Party at Cliff's Edge... I LOVED this place!

BEACH DAY! Another excuse to have as many friends as possible at one time to drop everything they’re doing and just enjoy themselves at the beach!! Below are the pictures from that fun day J

I rarely get to see these amazing friends, but every time I do, they keep me smiling. I miss you all dearly. (Friends I went to high school with...)

LIVVI FRANC!!

Performances in Miami, Palm Springs and Atlantic City… I’ve been dancing with a new artist named Livvi Franc with her new song “Now I’m That Bitch” featuring Pitbull. She’s a super chill and sweet young woman who is so fun and easy to work with.

This was us in Palm Springs...

This is us before work :)

Atlantic City Post Performance

We found fun friends at the same House of Blues performance we were at!!

We like to represent for our boss :)

We drive topless to Palm Springs... no other way to go. I think Hannah burned haha, sorry girl!

Yep... still on the job!!

Below is a picture of Ayesha and I on set for the Livvi Franc ft. Pitbull Music Video Shoot...

Preparing to perform

Ayesha and I on set

All the dancers in the rehearsal studio in Miami, Florida.

GRACIE ACADEMY GOES TO FIJI 2009!!

For the first time in Gracie Family history, they planned a family trip with four of the brothers and their father to teach a 10 day seminar while enjoying one of the worlds most famous paradise, Fiji.

This picture shows the turn down service in their rooms... each room is like it's own hut.

This is the beautiful spa that overlooks the ocean, equipped with a waterfall massage not picture to it's left, a sauna not pictured on its right, and three other jacuzzis for dipping :)

My boyfriend likes to climb coconut tree... worth the picture, but his foot had a HUGE blister afterwards.

I was attempting Yoga during sunset

Jiu-Jitsu during sunset

Lunch by the waterfall with two of my favorite people! Victor set up an amazing lunch by a beautiful waterfall... he also made this whole Fiji trip possible. We love him because he's just an amazing selfless person.

The Gracie Family Men on Namale Resort's Coconut Tree.

Before you leave the resort, they allow you make a cement stone to leave your memories intact... Ryron and I now have one to stay there forever :)

The Blowhole just off the reefs of the resort! AMAZING!!!!

The meditation bure... pre jiu-jitsu pics

We brought all sorts of toys and coloring books to the children of two different local villages. It is an honor to be on their island, it's the least we can do.

Their village chief is approving the gift.

The group on their way to the village kids!

One of the village children

The first village we visited

Kayaking to Bat island... an island inhabited ONLY by bats... you can only get there by boat/kayak/surfboard

SNORKELING!!!!! :D

The blue starfish you can find on the water floor on your way to Bat island... breathtaking.

Pool day!!

RUBY AND THE ROCKITS!

Unfortunately I did not post this in time to announce the air date of the show, but you can still watch this episode called “it’s my party and I’ll lie if I want to” on: http://community.abcfamily.go.com/watch/ruby-and-rockits/its-my-party-and-ill-lie-if-i-want

I was very well taken care of, given this whole dressing room to myself. As a dancer, I’m not used to this… so I felt a little lonely … but still felt very blessed.

This job was awesome! I was in a scene with the three main characters of the show. The premise is that it’s a flashback to when they were in the 80’s… slightly mocking the style of music videos back then.

THANKS FOR READING THIS UPDATE AND I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO POST MORE OFTEN...

Best wishes!

South Africa
Sorry for the delay everyone, but I finally have pics everyone was asking for from South Africa!! My boyfriend and I traveled to South Africa for him to teach 7 seminars of 3 hrs each and 30 privates at a half an hour each… we were only there for 10 days, so when he wasn’t working… we ate, slept… and saw some sights!

Attempting to hide behind the rocks on top of Table Mountain... my boyfriend is so big, it's hard to hide ;)
Almost to the top... and the view is spectacular from here :)
Ryron and I like to climb rocks in general.
See what I mean...
The terrain we encountered on our way up this hour and a half hike up Table Mountain.

Ryron likes to make friends everywhere we go... in this case, he captured it and invited it into our bed and breakfast... that mess scared me.
Our amazing hosts, Karen and James Smart with us on the beach that has a spectacular view of Table Mountain.
Gary, Me, Ryron, James and Karen, on the day that Gary and James received their brown belts from Ryron...
A view of our security contraptions that protected our bed and breakfast (shown behind)
This was Ryron and I enjoying the sunset as the fog lay over the Atlantic Ocean.

Ryron vs. The Falcon

The Barn Owl is the softest feathered friend I've met yet!

Cheetah love at the Cheetah reserve where we got to meet and pet them...

Playing in the freezing Indian Ocean while Penguins strut their stuff around us...

Climbing the big boulders at Boulder Beach... a must see in Cape Town!

I can't believe I got to chill with penguins on the beach and that they didn't mind how close I got :) There are signs in the parking lots to look under your car for penguins because they have been known to hide from the sun and some have gotten run over! :( sad day penguins!

All of the penguins living a lovely life on the beach... must be nice!

Tissu

I’ve been training in tissu/fabric/silk more and more, and I really enjoy both it’s strength training ability as well as it’s therapeutic value. It’s also really rewarding to find myself being able to do more tricks with ease and make them look more effortless than ever before. I honestly think that people should embark on a new hobby that challenges their normal activity and can better them in anyway.

BASEMENT JAXX MUSIC VIDEO!! ..."it's like raindrops..."
Posing for the camera through the monitor...

Close ups with the camera crane.
Lunch break where we threw on robes and were scaring people with our crazy redness! The artistry looks much better under their lighting than in broad daylight.

Aerial shot of the dancers...

The high priestess herself walking through us...

Dancers are painted red... with eyeballs... and handprints...

Dancers with their shrubbery for hair.

Another aerial view, from monitor world.

Another Episode of GLEE!!!

After a 6:45am call time and rehearsal, we're ready to go to set in our uniforms... barely 9am...
On set performing the cheer segment of our routine. GooOOOoo Cheerios!

Second segment where we get to act like sexy tough women dressed in awesome football outfits!
On set filming the second segment of some fun sexiness!

All of the cheerios with director, choreographer, and assistant. That was when we wrapped.

Getting low for our football moment...

GUYS CHOICE AWARDS PERFORMANCE WITH ASHER ROTH 2009

"I love college" performance on Spike TV's Award show... party on stage!
Backstage before we went on ...

Asher Roth and the hot tub girls thanks to wireimage... i can't believe he jumped in the water in the middle of the performance! Love that he made it a real party... as did everyone else!! :)
Me and Menina booked as "Hot Tub Girls" for this performance... when else can you say that you're getting paid to party in a hot tub!? Gotta love life!

Thanks for checkin' in for this update... I leave for Fiji tomorrow and hope to be able to get some of those pics on here when I get back! Hope you enjoyed them!! :)

HAIR SHOWS!! I love them... why? Imagine live drummers, beautiful dancers, hot models, interesting characters, awesome music and talented hair stylists showing you demonstrations on the newest techniques of styling and cutting all thrown together into an evening event! That's what I get to help bring to life!

In this hair show I had the privilege of being a character that portrayed the word "De-Lush"... the character was supposed to embody curves, regal, glamour, love etc. I was in all red and oozed my way around stage as the dancers did a lovely ballroom dance and while the models came through modeling their fierce hair.



The other character "intersexxion" was that sort of masculine/feminine energy that gets mixed and somewhat comes out between the two played by Emerys (middle). Brianna plays "Utopia," a futuristic feel. I can't believe they got my hair to be this curly! I have stick straight hair... but Sonya Dove is truly talented in know how to work with hair! Brianna, on the left has amazing extensions... and Emerys has lots of make up haha...

This picture was taken during the dress rehearsal by Fred, one of the dancers, of my setting... the De-Lush flowers that create my atmosphere in addition to a red chaise lounge. UK based Kevan Allen was our artistic director and choreographer.

This is one of my favorites photos taken during the show as I'm performing on stage... Nathan Kim is who I have my arms around and Jeremy Hudson is posing like the stud that he is on the ground... I can't wait to post video footage of this performance! I had so much fun!


These were the four characters that set the tone at the beginning of the show and mingled with the audience before the show started. We remained on stage and in character for the full two hours of the performance!



This is an awesome shot of Dawn's character in her atmosphere for "Virtual Life." The ability to get lost in the world or comics or anime. A life in virtual animation... she represented those characters that are beyond our reality. Her choreography and overall number was REALLY cool!


Of course, after every performance, we must celebrate a night well done! We went down to the bar of the hotel every one at the hair show was staying at and took over their back booths! We got our grub on and even shook up the nearby dance floor.


People can always tell when dancers are in the room... we start dancing to any good song that plays... move tables out of the way and create our own party within the party. We even got the models to come over and start showing us their moves!

We definitely know how to celebrate, and I don't even drink! Food is enough fuel for me to have fun... as well as some good music! I would upload a video of our friend Fred dancing to Beyonce's "single ladies," but I gotta make sure he approves it first! :)




_________________________________________________


I love my job, every day something new, never the same. This time, Hoover was sponsoring Bravo's A-List awards and wanted to have a few of their newest products walk the red carpet.










Of course, these machines still need their human counter-part and what a better way to make a living that to be cast along side a Hoover Vacuum. I'm honored. I talked about my Hoover too, "This is the Hand Vac which earned the energy star in energy efficiency." Made me want one... my vacuum sucks. ha.

I would have never guessed that my first time being photographed by the paparazzi on the red carpet would have been while modeling a Hoover... Parents, I hope you're proud :) haha... I have to add that I think I had the easiest job having the 'hand vac' while the other ladies had to roll their heavy machinery.



Our segment aired yesterday, wednesday, April 15th on Bravo during the red carpet portion of the A-List Awards. If nothing else, it's worth a laugh! :D

I had to do a quick blog about the last two days...

Most dancers in my generation never thought the day would come that we might be able to audition for the one and only MICHAEL JACKSON. We never thought he would be doing another world tour. But this week, dreams came true... Michael Jackson held an audition for his "This is it" Tour.

I first found out from my agent that my picture was not chosen from the initial submission to the casting. He had to pitch me twice more before they agreed to allow me into the private audition. From this first moment I was hesitant to even go, feeling like they aren't interested in me to begin with...

Then I arrived to the audition as I watched about 250+ of the most beautiful and talented female dancers sign in and stretch to prepare for this incredible opportunity. There was at least two hours of scoping out the competition, adjusting our outfits, massaging our body, loosening our limbs, and eating to pass the time and nerves. They took us in to learn choreography... we fought our way to the front to utilize those mirrors... we turned and stared into the empty Nokia theatre and performed our hearts out to smooth criminal. They lined us up, so chorus line, then called my name... wow, I just passed the first cut.

They proceeded to teach us over 3 times as much choreography as was first taught. All I could feel was information overload and hurt feet after showing up at 9:30am and being there until 4:30pm. We absorbed as much as we could and then were told to come back for a callback the next day. I was exhausted but hesitant to rest because I knew everyone else would be at home practicing.


The callback was about 50, full of women of all types and styles... we waited anxiously as the boys were finishing their call. We were lucky enough to see the boys that made the cut, Jeremy Hudson and Dres were the only two I knew personally, but 6 booked it with 4 alternates. And so, it was our turn to hit the stage, review and perform for Michael Jackson himself. We went in groups of 8, only performing once with some modeling catwalk at the end. They sent us back into the lobby until all the women were auditioned. They brought us all back out together and made a cut... down to 16 women. I couldn't believe it... they called my name again. Final cut... they wanted us to walk... to strut... they told us to channel our inner Naomi... So in groups of four, we strutted around the stage knowing that our fates were being sealed.


Last line up. Last girls. 16 strong. So close, yet they only needed 2 women and 1 alternate. They called three names forward... Tyne, Sofia, and another girl(unknown). Asked if they had any conflicts in the next two years... they all shook their heads... "you're booked!" I ran straight up to my friend Tyne and hugged her as hard as I could, tears forming. I was so proud of her! This is a dancer's dream come true! A two year tour with MJ himself! I'm so comfortable with the fact that I didn't book it because I am so honored to have made it that far and to have shared a stage with some of history's best female dancers from all over the world. I don't normally post blogs about jobs I don't work on, but this audition was epic... an amazing experience and so very enjoyable. I really wish more auditions were as enjoyable as this one. Just honored to have danced/auditioned for Michael himself.

More updates to come soon on the Bravo A-List Awards and the Wella Hair show! :D
Departing for vacation to South Africa in a week!!

OH TO BE HOME... for more than a month! For the first time in a couple of years I've been home for weeks with the ability to audition, enjoy California's warm weather, and see so many people whom I've missed so much! 

I was so lucky to be used for an upcoming television series called "Glee." It's characters and detailed synopsis can be found on imdb or by clicking here: Glee

From what I've been told, this show is about a Glee club of students from all different cliques who are brought together to sing... I got to be one of the cheerleaders known as 'the Cheerios' and since I don't know how confidential the script is, I'll just let the pictures do the talking... 

I had the privilege of working with a great choreographer, Zach Woodlee, who smiles all the time and is constantly making us laugh. I also got to work with his assistant, Brooke, who if I could stop and steal any womans way of dancing, it would be hers. This girl moves her body with so much control and grace, all while oozing sex appeal, it's amazing. We were dancing behind Amber, character name 'Mercedes,' who can sing like nobody's business! 

When we're not behind the camera, life on set is pretty much the same for all talent... Kraft service!!! I consider myself to be very good at portion control as well as making good choices in the food I choose... but when you're on set, all is blown to the wind! These catering trucks specialize in every food that you have any nostalgic memory about or have had any childhood addiction for, but are never able to find again. They are like a Willy Wonka and Doritos heaven on wheels! If you can't find the dancers, look by the food! 

Auditions have been steady as luck would have it, but more fun than booking jobs at this point has been being able to see all the beautiful and fun ladies that I've been missing while I was gone! I start rehearsals next week for a Wella hair show in Chicago, and will update with those pics and any fun videos from that later! :P



Aside from that, I've finally been able to begin a project that moves me... an attempt at inspiring other people to get out of their everyday routine of the norm and challenge themselves to pursue something they didn't think possible. This will be different for every person, but with my project in mind, I'm hoping this will reach everyone in their own way. These last two pictures are behind the scenes of the hard work... it might be some time, but more to come on this as well! :)  

FEBRUARY... This was definitely a month of fun, of change, of adjustment, and of reality.

My boyfriend did the most this year surprising me with a bonfire of fun on the beaches of Los Angeles. Dockweiler was the place that he somehow tricked me into thinking a plethora of other things were supposed to happen... only to stumble upon a fire pit and circle of fun friends from past to present! I have to admit, I was clueless and stunned... I didn't know he could be that sneaky. :)


He continued to spoil me with Rollerblades as we enjoyed our very rusty skill of rollerblading on the beach together... he led the way to Burke Williams where he had a couples massage scheduled. I mean, really... turning 25 couldn't feel any better than this!

But while we were enjoying this celebration of the 25th year of my life... we were both aware of the recent loss of Ryron's grandfather, jiu jitsu master Helio Gracie.  I couldn't believe Ryron continued with the weekend festivities of my birthday after finding out about his passing, but this made his efforts mean that much more. 

The following weekend belonged to Helio.  They held a celebration of his life at the Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy in Torrance where over a thousand people came to tell stories of his impact on their life, give thanks to the gracie family as a whole, and to express their deepest gratitude for what Helio has given them... Gracie Jiu Jitsu. 

Family members, celebrities, fighters, and friends gathered in waves as speakers took their turns. I did not have the privilege to meet Helio before he passed, but I know he lives on through Ryron... and Ryron says that all of who he is comes from jiu-jitsu, and jiu-jitsu comes from Helio... so I have to thank Helio for making the Ryron I know and love.

The next day I was supposed to leave for Malaysia and Indonesia continuing our tour, when tragedy struck someone I truly respect. I don't know the details on the Rihanna/Chris Brown story, so I'm sorry I cannot be the continuing of any gossip, but I do know that these people are human beings that I have spent time with and really wish the best for. I can't understand why anyone would want to leak such a photo of Rihanna, especially on her birthday... but I hope that karma does it's job in reprimanding whoever thought they could come up in the world by doing so.

I hope the media turns their moral compass to a better light of allowing this issue some well deserved privacy. We, the public, do not "deserve" to know what happened... just like no one wants what they do in the privacy of their home splattered on magazine covers.  When they are ready to speak about it, they will, but until then... I suggest learning a new language, a new skill or spending some time with loved ones. Better yourself by doing something for yourself...rather than by feeling you are better by reading someone else's tragedy.

After finding out our tour was not going to happen, I of course had to take my career back into my hands and steer it into a direction of possibilities... I'm back in the audition world... 2 years older and many dance classes behind all these young kids who haven't been traveling the world for a living. Plus the economy has hit Americans like a ton of bricks, so the entertainment world isn't as thriving as it was when I left in early 2007.

In late February I attended my father's wedding reception and welcome his new wife into the Parsons family. It was out in Arizona that my brother and my boyfriend joined me in spending an afternoon with a bunch of people over 60. I loved it. We had a live band playing and watched all of these couples dance on the dance floor... some with more energy than some twenty year olds I know!! It truly had me appreciating life and all the people in it. But it is interesting to see that although we grow older, we don't necessarily grow out of old habits... ones like gossip, eating choices, judgement, and even jealously. With age comes wisdom... but only with consciousness can positive change occur. 

So other than the obvious work hustle that is now harder than ever, I'm trying to enjoy the little things that life has to offer and hope I can continue to share it with everyone... I just did a photo shoot for some special effects to be used in the new fast and furious four and up and coming on my calendar is shooting an episode of "Glee" this weekend... I also started taking hula classes! :) I made my own hula skirt from scratch with my new sewing machine! (which took almost half of a day... but it LOVE it! Hopefully i'll have more photos up soon! :)
Peace and LOVE... Vic

These are some quick picture updates from our florida trip... I didn't have many pictures from our Mexico cities, because I didn't have as much time off there as I had last time. We went from Monterrey to Mexico city to Orlando for some time off to Tampa for our Superbowl performance... 

I don't mean to put my homies on blast... but considering I look just as crazy in this picture, I thought it quite fitting! This was the Aerosmith roller coaster ride at walt disney world in Orlando! :)


This was the beginning of a great few days spent in Orlando with some great friends! We're utilizing our skype/ichat capabilities to have video conferences with friends all over! I love this ability. And the friends in this picture! :)

These were some screen snapshots of our performance of "breakin dishes" on Pepsi Smash's live TV superbowl show shot in Tampa, Florida.

Our in tour dates in December of 08 were supposed to begin in Mexico, but for whatever reason, the shows were rescheduled and I was lucky enough to make it a sightseeing vacation! :) My boyfriend, Ryron, set up a seminar to teach down in Mexico city at his friends, Guillermo and Rodrigo's academy. They were so kind to take us around to see all that Mexico City had to offer! This is the ancient cathedral in Mexico City...



This was us in front of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City with the cathedral peaking out of the back right corner. The Templo Mayor was an ancient aztec temple destroyed by the Spaniards when they settled in Mexico City and is now an archeological site that tourists can come and walk through the ancient ruins.



This is Rodrigo, Jackie, me, and Ryron in the walkways of the Templo Mayor.

Ryron and I in front of a waterfall that is in the center of a presidential building that has paintings painted by Diego Rivera all over the inside.

This is the courtyard of Frida's home. I loved being able to see the home she lived in that they've now turned into a gallery of her work and museum of how she lived and laid in her bed painting all day after her tragic accident. Her story is SO interesting!! I highly recommend the movie "Frida" if you've never seen it. 


Performing "Breakin' Dishes" in Phoenix, Arizona.


The best seat on a plane is definitely a first class one, followed closely by business class. With those being full or unavailable to you, I highly suggest grabbing what our tour crew has come to call a "skybed." Same price as a single seat, more leg room, and more luggage space! Through luck or awesome maneuvering from an agent, we try on a regular basis to get three (or four!) seats consecutively empty. These are prime seating and sleeping arrangements! Get into it!


Performing "Breakin' Dishes" in Houston... Shopping mecca of the south! I can't even begin to explain how large and in charge their mall is there... its pretty ridiculous.  My wallet proved it.


In London we stopped by the palace to get some pictures... Sooner, Rachael, Jason and I were freezing our toes off! But we HAD to get pictures in front of the palace! So glad I did :) 


I loved that we found another set of the Christmas German markets that europe is so notorious for during the holidays! They have the best snacks, the most Christmas spirit and trinkets galore to choose from to bring home! Unfortunately for us touring, we rarely have extra room for fun stuff.


Proof that it was the palace! ;) haha


We may not be sponsored by Burton, but we may as well be! Almost everyone on our tour is rocking these Burton Wheelie Subs. I live by this piece of luggage that comes up higher than my waist but conveniently splits into two separate pieces when they need to be checked in! It's genius allowing us to packed them to the max and never be overweight, yet still only be rolling one piece of luggage! Props to Burton... but you should sponsor us!


Another performance shot of our Breaking Dishes song...


Third surprise in Chicago and my boyfriend is still doing the romantic cute stuff! I guess my boyfriend knows me well... i LOVE surprises! :) ...and him.


Julius, Bryan, Me, and Eric getting into character for our performance in Chicago. Besides Ryron coming to surprise me, the main thing I remember is the snow storm that made it take almost an hour to travel a 10 minute trip. I love the snow, but I don't think I function well in it.

updating more soon... I've got some catching up to do!

the Philippines

I didn't get much time to get around in Manila, but I have two bold memories...

the main one is our performance. We performed at an outside venue that barely held the 70,000 fans that came to watch. In a review I read that many were denied entry and simply enjoyed from behind the barricades. My mind had a really hard time grasping over 70,000 people watching us... moreover, when I went to take pictures of the crowd, I couldn't even find the end, the people just kept going! I was on the side of the stage for Chris Brown's performance, having a hard time keeping focus on it when the crowd continued to hypnotize me.  I kept watching them yell in an overwhelmingly loud unison, singing every lyric. It was unreal. 

After he performed, there was a fireworks show. It makes sense they felt they had to do something to prevent the crowd from losing it. I can only imagine how hard it would be to gain order back if that many people went loopy! 

Finally, we were approaching the stage in costume. The dancers all moving their limbs and head to warm up, looking like we were contorting into crazy positions. The singers warming up their voices and tucking their mic packs to ensure their stability behind their backs. The band all pushing buttons, strumming strings and hitting drums to ensure their sounds were tuned. All of us still not digesting the 70,000 in front of us. The lights dropped, the sounds blared and it began. Our set was normal starting with her current hit, "Disturbia"... going straight into "Breakin' Dishes," when the female dancers come out, to "Break it Off," where the male dancers join to "Let Me," where the dancers all exit for a change. 

She continues with two ballads as I preset my next costume and tried to get in some quick shots of the show and the audience. We returned on stage for her first single, "Pon De Replay." It's a quick one for us so we can run off and put on metal scratch boards, gloves and knee pads for our dance number. We enter back on and perform just the dancers and band as she usually uses this time to do a quick change. We call this number 'scratch' as all the dancers are wearing scratch boards that we hit to make sounds that are cohesive to our bands music making. Meanwhile we're wearing laser lights on our head to further stimulate the audiences view. We continue making beats until Rihanna comes back up on her elevator singing "SOS." 

That is our quickest change attempting to go from a full outfit to another, including a change of shoes in time to finish that song with her. She then sings 3 more ballads as I went back to our air conditioned dressing room. Did I mention that it's REALLY hot in Manila, and doing an outside show had us drenched before we even started dancing!

We come back out for "Please Don't Stop the Music" which is a party on stage, followed swiftly by "shut up and drive" where we make chairs our make-shift race cars. Of course, finishing our show with the famous "Umbrella" song.  The show went smooth and the energy was great, but the real indicator of a great show is how much we sweat during it! Without a doubt we were soaked! 

 

the minor memory is simply the shopping. Go figure... I found a new shopping spot. 

The "Green Hills Mall" in Manila is notorious for their perfectly replicated knock-offs with serial numbers and all, and for real designer items that are slightly defective. You could get some really amazing duplicates for as cheap as eight bucks! We even saw Bathing Ape shoes for as cheap as 20! This sounds crazy... but we couldn't believe it ourselves. Styles that are just barely being found in their main stores yet are draped all over this indoor outdoor market. 

Moral of the story... if you want to do some cheap and fun shopping and perform to a great crowd, don't pass on the Philippines... they know how to do it! 

… at the InterContinental in Singapore, they are overstaffed with people at the corner of every hallway greeting you every time you walk by. It’s a little overwhelming.
My first day there, I went out to the Tekka markets in little India where they sold fresh meats and fish, and it smelled like it too. There was also food places that haggled at you to eat at their place over the ones two feet to the left or right of them. They kept yelling things at us to try to make us choose their food hut…Strangely they all pretty much offered the same thing. There is a tea there that is slightly reminiscent of Chai that would make you feel all warm inside! It was delicious!We walked around little India more and caught glimpse of some seriously intricate Hindu temples.

One of the most graphic included a colored sculpture of a group of people, one being eaten by a lion. They went into detail. We also saw lines of stores selling typical Indian jewelry and scarves.They were beautiful but got pricey.We made our way back to a restaurant called the banana leaf. We enjoyed a traditional spicy vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf. The men literally walk around with huge pots of various curries, sauces, rice and concoctions spicy enough to burn your insides and spoon out a dollop of each on our leaf.

These curry rice dishes are traditionally eaten by hand… the right hand to be exact, because from what they told us, they use their other hand to wipe themselves. I’m learning something new everyday... and I just used a fork.



As Singapore started to literally pour, we hopped in cabs and made our way over to Chinatown. Streets lined with ethnic trinkets and gifts for any visitor wanting to remember Singapores culture.As we walked through, there were people holding up signs with promotions for feet, back and full body massages. Sooner, our new amazing lighting director, convinced me this would be worth the barely 40 American dollars we would be spending.

I got a 30 minute back massage, 30 minute foot massage, and ear candling done for about 40 bucks. Steal of a deal, especially as good as it was.

Ear candling… I don’t know if this is even good for you, but I tried it. Basically, they use a hollow candle about the size and length of a pencil. They stuck one end in my ear and proceeded to burn the other end. The fire at the other end pulls in oxygen through the candle and in doing so, acts as a vacuum for your ear, extracting any old debris and large amounts of ear wax. Sorry for the graphic verbage... I was so disgusted when I saw the aftermath of this experience that I took a picture, but believe me it’s not for the weak of stomachs, it really grosses me out. Now I can say, though, that it is no longer in my body and although I don’t feel any difference, seeing how it looked makes me know it made a difference.






The following day, the rain continued as I was blessed with meeting up with a friend from home all the way on the other side of the world! I spent the day walking around Chinatown again with my friend Nick, his girlfriend and his buddy from their show. He was performing at the same venue we were, only a few days after we’d left. We opted out of doing any clothing changes for our show that night and the crowd was larger than we had heard it would be, so overall the night went well! I was excited because I love having friend in the audience... I just feel like I dance better.


After our show in Jakarta was cancelled, we were lucky to have an extra day in Singapore to do more wallet damage. I started off walking out by myself and ran into some of my favorite partners in crime, Jill and Sooner... We found ourselves in a Japanese style photo booth that was equipped with a bench and monkey bars to sit and climb around on. This photo booth was easily the most advanced I've ever encountered, allowing you to have post production capabilities in personalizing the end result. We were impressed, but unfortunately, all of the post production instructions were in chinese or japanese. This left us guessing and pressing random buttons and since they give you a time limit on editing, we had no time to figure it out! None the less... I love these things!
They have an amazing 4 story high indoor mall attached to our hotel’s back door! A bunch of our people got their electronic gadgets personalized with something they call digi art. It’s simply a better version of art worked saran wrap that is put on anything from an ipod, cell phone, computer, etc and lasts about 6 months to a year. They also had a market right across the street that seemed to be able to fit 100 little shops where 20 should only be. Similar to santee alley in downtown LA, but only cheaper and more haggle friendly. I literally shopped from the moment I woke up… until about 10:30pm when everything closed.

Singapore thrives off of tourists and the commerce they bring to the country. I suggest a visit, if nothing else to get a great inexpensive massage and eat amazing food!

Let's take it back to Melbourne... where the shopping reminds me of Melrose back home. Affordable pricing with interesting styles and nothing else to do there, we spent our two days in Melbourne performing and shopping. The best thing that happened in Melbourne was the birth of our new favorite activity between the dancers/band/crew of the Rih/CB camp which is known as "Mafia." Anyone who attended any student body retreats, or camps in college or high school might be familiar with this interactive game of clue where people are assigned characters in a role-playing game where the majority of townspeople have to decipher who the fake killer is using deductive reasoning and learning to read people. Once this game was introduced, it became a regular activity for our downtime in upcoming cities...

ANOTHER TRAVEL DAY! And we roll DEEP!!! 

Arriving in Sydney, Australia... down under... the accents are cool, the beaches are beautiful, the food rocks, the people are fun, transportation is a breeze, and the audiences are almost as good as the Europeans!  There is not much negative that can be said about Australia. Except for the random fly infestation they seem to have. The flies they have haunt you, they'll just hover around you no matter how much you swat at them. 

Arriving in this town we were overwhelmed with options of things to do. I couldn't fit it all in considering I still wanted to fit sleep into my schedule, so I started the first day there walking to the harbor to see the world famous Sydney Opera House. It was truly breathtaking during the day. I felt like it was just a large monument no one could even enter. It was hard for me to fathom people enjoying opera inside that place. Did that and ate at 'pancakes on the rocks' with DJ Drew and Kevmo. We walked around the rest of the harbor and finished in time for our call time. After show activities involved taking over the lobby and playing Mafia again for hours and hours!

Day two in Sydney I went shopping down on Pitt street which I highly recommend to anyone looking to get trendy things for average prices. It wasn't anything to overly rave about... but for a woman... it's shopping. Isn't that equal to millions in therapy? 

Day three in Sydney I decided to wake up early and enjoy the 'Market on the Rocks' down on the harbor. It was a bunch of tented outdoor markets that sold handcrafted items and edible goodies for any occasion. I came out with nothing because I was so overwhelmed with all my options. While walking about I ran into Yusef, CB's cameraman, and he and I decided to check out the famous Bondi Beach! It was breathtaking and couldn't have been a more perfect day with better weather! The sun was beaming, the beach was crowded! The graffiti artists were out adding more art to the walls of Bondi Beach. I convinced a guy to put my favorite symbol on the wall!  We continued our trek past Bondi Beach through the cliffs where there are walkways with awesome views of the water and the rocks. We followed this trail all the way to Tamarama beach, a white sand beach slightly less populated than Bondi but still had a similar feel. Tamarama seemed to have more surfers in the water... and the water seems to break more clearly on that end. After all this walking I was getting drained and realizing that I had to perform that night, went back to the hotel for a nap.

Upon arriving to the venue that evening, we were handed a sheet of paper informing us of the usual after-party... only this time, it was a private party just for our two groups on board a yacht, thanks to our amazing boss!! Basically after the show, we were bussed straight to the port to board a yacht that sailed around the harbor until 4 am with all of our crew on it! It was three levels of mayhem with DJ Drew and Kevmo spinning on the middle level and food being served every time you turned around. This was probably the best night we've had out, especially since there was no show the next day and we got to get to enjoy ourselves and just have fun. I still can't believe this is my job... I'm pinching myself as I type. That was an incredibly entertaining evening.

Sydney ended to soon as we headed to RANDOM Perth...

For anyone who is familiar with Australia's layout, Perth is in the western region and although the weather is nice... the town is different and everything closes at 5 pm. We definitely played Mafia in this town, because there was nothing else to do. The show that night was our last with Chris' crew on the Australian night, so we had what we would constitute a "prank night." Basically we do things to mess with the other crew's show... although it may have gotten out of hand in some people's mind... we all truly had a blast and hopefully the audience still enjoyed our pranks and good fun.

Will update soon with Singapore details! :) 

Everything I've heard 

about Australia... is awesomely true...

 if not more than I have heard and

 imagined... and from what my friends have said, I haven't even been to some of the most notoriously cool spots yet!!

In fact, I’ve only been to Brisbane so far.  The weather is tropical and perfect. The people are generous and friendly. The nightlife is lively and they celebrate Halloween… so all in all, they’re good in my books!

Our first two shows in Brisbane were on a larger scale than any of our shows in the past. 

We’d added pyro, a larger set and stage, more costumes, and more theatrics including Rihanna flying at the end of the show. 

 

During our off time in Brisbane, we were lucky enough to be able to visit the Australia Zoo (Steve Erwin, the crocodile hunter’s zoo). 

It was one of the best experiences I’ve had on tour! Or ever!

 

We saw crocodiles, extra large turtles, birds, tigers, elephants, etc.

  We were even lucky enough to get to hold animals.  I held a large python around my neck and it wrapped tightly around me.  I also held a smaller python that actually frightened me a little more than the larger just because I could envision it moving quicker and not being able to stop it. Small and stealth-like was that reasoning.

I got to pet and smell a koala that looked adorable and smelled beautiful! I got to hold a bird on my arm. Pet a dingo. 

I even got to feed a kangaroo straight from my hand and it almost attacked me because I didn’t read the signs that said not to pull away when you’re about to feed them. But I’m alive and well. 

I also got some cool video footage of the what’s called the fierce snake. It’s venom is said to be able to kill up to 100 men from one drop. We were watching them being fed mice. 

Really cool, but kind of freaks me out how snakes eat. The Zoo itself has beautiful structures and tranquil walk-thrus of each animals habitat.  

If there is any place I can recommend on a visit to Brisbane, there's no doubt that I would suggest this Zoo.

Before Australia, we were in New Zealand. Auckland was where we started off our large shows and the audience made us feel well at home. I didn't know what to expect from this small island of people, but their energy jump started our tour run! The shopping wasn't bad either. 

After Auckland we did a quick stop in Wellington, New Zealand to be met by some strangely ugly weather... and of course after our 

time there, we left with beautiful memories of New Zealand... the sun came out, perfect beach weather. 

Their skies are bright blues with perfectly white clouds, gorgeous home on the mountain side and lining the beach waters. 

The road to the airport showed water the entire time!

CHINA! 

Super long time since

 I've updated, but we've had some time off and we actually have

 something

 cool to blog about...

 HONG KONG! 

After a 15 hour flight of movies, sleep and snacks, I arrived in Hong Kong to a surprisingly large amount of English speaking advertisements and shops. It made getting around so easy. 

That being said, first thing we did was hop on a train to head to the Po Lin Temple... 

This temple is a large Buddha that sits on top of the hills of Hong Kong that are surrounded by a village of shops and eateries in China's traditional customs.  The most famous way to even get to this attraction is via a large cable car that can fit up to 14 people that travels about 5.7km from its base to the village. 

The cable cars offered breathtaking views of the rolling mountains, Hong Kong airport, and

 waterfalls all the way to the top of the hill.  They even took pictures of us in the cable car.  I definitely splurged on items from this temple because the view from the top as well as the eerie sense of calmness among lots of people made this one of the coolest places I've visited.

As we climbed to

 the Buddha, we counted the stairs at

 390 steps one way.  At the top of the stairs there was a level of

 female statues, three

 each way.  It took two levels higher of stairs to get to the base of the main Buddha.  They didn't want us to touch or take pictures of anything inside.

After we hiked down and enjoyed the cable car in

 the opposite direction back to the subway... we went to the new Hong Kong Disneyland. Unfortunately we didn't arrive there until 6:30pm, so we were arriving during their Halloween nighttime festivities. I didn't mind it but I wanted the classic Disney feel. 

 Also, they didn't have a bunch of my favorite rides (like Indiana, Haunted mansion, Pirates, etc)  Although they had space

 mountain an

d made it devilish for 

Halloween as well. I 

definitely don't recommend making a trip out to Hong Kong JUST for their

 Disneyland... but if you are here, it is definitely interesting to see their treehouse and other stuff made to the Chinese culture. 

The following day, Rachael and I took a 30 min cab ride down

 to the streets of China where they set up street vending shops and sell things and dirt cheap prices.  Similar to downtown LA, you can bargain and deal with the vendors to get your price of choice.  They even offer to take you to their "showroom" where you can get either stolen goods or illegal business happens. We were to told be weary of these places because they take you to alleys or private rooms to show the goods... and dangerous things can happen.  Rachael and I soon learned that you don't even need to go to these places to feel like your life is being threatened... As we were looking at a top, the vendor lady pulled it off the rack and proceeded to type numbers into a calculator repeating "good deal" over and over again.  We kept trying to tell her we weren't even sure if we wanted it to begin with, let alone start bargaining the price... we finally lost interest quick and told her no thank you... it was then that she grabbed my arm violently and continued to ask "what price, what price??" Rach and I looked at her like she was crazy and kept trying to leave... she followed us for a bit, bet then returned to her stand.  I love China, but those vendors are relentless about it.  They wanted to make a sale no matter what.

Now, I'm writing from the venue in Auckland New Zealand going through production rehearsals for our opening night tomorrow night.  New Zealand is beautiful and green, raining one moment, bright and sunny the next. I'll update soon on the shows and any adventures in this country :) 

First, I have to express how amazing it is to be touring in America. I love being on my home soil… where I am familiar with the language, food, directions, shopping, etc. I love my whole foods, my vegetarian friendly restaurants, my inexpensive clothing stores, my dollar being worth something, flip flop days, tank tops and jeans weather, my cell phone working, passing through my home town, beaches, visiting long lost friends in every state. I love America.

Touring the states has proven to be a far different audience than that of Europe. I commend the Europeans on their openness of their expressions during a concert. To analyze this correctly, I have to take into consideration that in Europe, Rihanna was headlining, people were paying the ticket price to come watch her as the main attraction. Here in the states we are an opening act for Mr. West. We are simply the pre-party, if you choose to partake. The crowd response every night is not always as we’re used to… our fellow Americans are a little more laid back…or hard to impress…or jaded…or simply need to drink more alcohol. (this is not every night, just something we’ve noticed) On top of that, I was used to performing a show that would last over an hour, and now I feel like we’re barely getting started when we walk off stage after our 30 minute set. We go on earlier in the day, sometimes leaving us performing in the daylight at certain outdoor arenas. Kind of weird to perform a glow in the dark show in the day light haha.

As I’m sure many people want to know… “what is Kanye like?!” Well, on a personal level, he’s a sweetheart to all of us, always saying hi greeting with hugs and a smile. He often comes in before and after shows to say good luck or good job. It’s quite nice of him, and he really doesn’t even have to make the effort. As for on the professional level, he took our show, which you can see in some of the pics, where we wear glow in the dark tape and fluorescent colors to a whole new level of a set and costumes. As appreciative as we all were, it was just rough that it all had to happen in 2 days between our Virginia Beach show and Madison Square Gardens show. It just made it that much more stressful dancing on a whole new set and changing some of our timing and choreography right before the infamous Madison Arena. Either way, he’s a perfectionist who means well, but will settle for no one else’s vision but his own. Can’t blame him I guess, it’s his tour.


All that being said, let’s go all the way back to the beginning… Seattle. As with many live performances, we didn’t really get to have a full dress rehearsal on our stage until our opening night. Unfortunately, some of the clothes that were expecting to make it to the show, didn’t, so we had a few temporary show clothes. Either way, it was a first show… we’ll leave it at that. Our next city, Sacramento, was still working out the kinks in costume… as we were with the set down in San Diego and LA.

Luckily, while I was in San Diego, my boyfriend came down and I got to play! He got to see my life on the bus, the coffin-like bunk I live in, the craziness the crowd can be during a show and all the fun in between! I had no memory of what Sea World was like, so we explored the fun animals. Its crazy that I really get paid to do all this…Also, Victor and Tara drove all the way down as well to see the show... thank you!!!

Then I got to perform in my hometown of LA… but we had complications with our set. We use scaffoldings for the “SOS” number and someone in one of the crews accidentally fed our keyboardists wires through the scaffolding that was supposed to be free to move about the stage, but it was tied down thanks to the genius of a stage hand who didn't look around to see what the wires were feeding through. Even worse, we didn’t find this out until we were already on stage attempting to use them for choreography. So we were definitely stuck dancing with only one (instead of two). It was just a bummer because all of our family and friends were in the audience and we spent an entire song free styling choreography to attempt to make things work with the complication given.

From there we did a random one-off show in Orlando for the Grad Bash parties they have there. Again, I got paid to get VIP entrance to the front of all of Universal Studios lines. It was pretty amazing… then we got to perform late at night for the grads. May I personally recommend the Spiderman ride to anyone who likes to have fun... imagine an indoor roller coaster, with 3-D glasses on, and real water/fire thrown at you. Honestly such a great ride! Not to mention the Hulk ride was incredible! Yes, I get paid to critique these rides for you! haha...

After a few days off for fun, we flew back to Denver to meet back up with the Kanye tour group and it all started there. Every night we started changing small things in our show, from the music set list to a few placements on stage and what not. We have performed 6 nights a week for the last four weeks and still don’t have a consistent feel of the show. We’re constantly evolving, which is good, but for a dancer who practices and memorizes things as choreographed, I’m constantly being challenged in front of large audiences.
Many of our shows have been at outdoor venues which restrict our stage space, but have had some great audience turn outs. One night we were just a few hundred short of 22,000 people in the audience. Since it was an outdoor amphitheatre, the awning covers the seats up until the back area, where it’s just grass for the cheap seats in the back. When the people on the grass area stood up, there was nothing behind them, just sky, so it looked like the crowd was never ending from stage. It was amazing. Then, by the time we went on stage, there was a hurricane scare and we were performing watching thunder and lightning behind the back row. It was like we were watching a show while putting on a show!

This tour also happens to land on the month of birthdays! So far, we’ve celebrated Kevin’s on the 3rd, Chris’ on the 5th, Dae Dae’s on the 10th, TJ’s on the 11th… and will be celebrating Rachaels on the 19th, and Julius’ on the 29th. Needless to say, we kind of go all out and get some great service at local clubs to celebrate their birthdays. The stories are great about these birthdays… something better told over an afternoon bqq or something, just not as good to read! Just as a preview... when we went out for Dae Dae (our Drummer's) birthday, we entered a club called "Love" through the back entrance. This entrance conveniently brought us through what we called 'the puke room.' It was essentially a room lined with chairs and buckets for all the overly intoxicated folks in the club. The room smelled like fresh vomit and if guys like going to clubs to stare at this hot chicks in skin tight outfits, I'm sure it's because they never see this aftermath of spandex spitting up in a bucket! Brutal!
Not to mention that this club has four or more levels and everyone seemed to be packed into one frickin' floor staring at Rihanna of course!

We also went out for fun times in Oklahoma City where we found our sound guy, to be left unnamed for his own protection (yet you can see pictured here haha), walking the streets drunk as a skunk. What's wild is that in the whole area near our hotel there are streets lined with bars... but our drunken friend happened to walk into the bar we were all chillin' in... and ironically he didn't call one of us to find out where we were. It made us laugh all night!

I obviously couldn't help myself when we were in Miami... I HAD to go down to South Beach! This was my first time in the southern end of Florida, but it's easy to see that I love that place! The water is clear as ever! The sand was beautifully white... and the food was brilliant! My boyfriend told me he wanted pictures of me in the water and asked me to find some guy who I could con into getting into the water and taking the pictures for me... as you can see, I was successful in this task :) At first I thought my boyfriend was crazy, but I love the way the pics turned out, so I can't complain!
There are also picture records of us going out for Kevmo's (our pianist) birthday at a club in Atlanta called Verve. It was another eventful night out spend dancing on the VIP couches they had for us! Jill, Eric and I ended up at the local Waffle House the earliest in the evening and I couldn't be happier... food=happiness. Below is a picture of Meho, me and Jen at the club (left) and me and Kevmo on the right.















Here are pictures of our new outfits that Kanye got for us... and our new set... ya'll just aren't ready for this! Not to mention our set is large and in charge now, so our dance space has (yet again) been shrunken to a strip of a stage. Check back soon for more updates! :)

TIME FLIES when you're touring... We've already spent a month long tour in Europe, stopped by Russia, spent a quick week of shows in the states and am writing from the end of our week here in Japan!!

Forgive me for this blog is going to be long and completely out of order!

I'm going to start with our random show in vegas... mainly because it was more like a vacation for me and because my amazing boyfriend got to come out and play!

It's pretty hard to get to him tear himself away from his academy, but he had the time to train in Vegas and even teach a class, so we were both working!

We stayed at the Palms in Vegas and performed at club Rain. I don't know how many clubs are in Vegas, but the fire/lights/fog/etc made it really interesting! Our dressing rooms were upstairs too, so we go to view the whole club over head, I love that.

Ryron arrive a day before I did, but I went arrived a day earlier than the Rih-entourage. I figured if I was going to have a show in Vegas and a day off right before, I might as well extend my trip! So Ryron and I went to go see a Cirque show, Mystere, at Treasure Island. When I wasn't blown away by the amazing acrobatic tricks and performances, I was laughing hysterically. I truly recommend this show to anyone who has a limited time in Vegas and wants to see an amazing show.

After my day off, the crew showed up and it was back to work...We were doing a private corporate event for some large company (tmobile i think, but not sure). Rachael and I had to hustle to get our boyfriends in... Luckily Nelson, Rih's bodyguard, took care of us.

We were basically dancing on a stage the size of a bed. California King, but still... the stage floor was uneven, but we made it work. The crowd had no idea who was going to be performing (the company surprises them), so it wasn't our usual crowd of crazed fans who bought tickets the second they were released. Just another day on the job I suppose.

But really, neither of us can call what we do work... especially with these pictures, no one would believe us anyhow.


I'll do the Japan recap next, since it's the freshest in my mind... then we'll dive into the past!
Kevin made me laugh the other day when I heard him talking to his girlfriend about what we were doing and then said, "Hey, isn't it cool that I'm talking to you from the future?!" I had to use it... I stole it and butchered it... but it made me laugh because Japan is 16 hours ahead of LA, so when we would call home, we would joke that we were talking to them from the future... and that it looks promising. Might be dorky to some of you, but I got a full day of entertainment from it!

Now, we arrived in Tokyo after a significantly long day at LAX where our flight had been delayed... for almost 4 plus hours. It happens... but after arriving in Japan and a decent nights rest, Rachael and I found ourselves wandering the busy city to come across a working temple.

Usually you see very touristy ones that are lined goods, but this one was hidden up a staircase of beautiful red banners and red painted with merchants attempting to sell authentic bamboo poles with Japanese writing on it.

We stumbled upon this staircase by mere luck, being attracted to the bright red sitting against a green hillside. We just wanted to take pictures of it... but once we followed the staircase up, we were int he midst of Japanese natives enjoying this temple. We were enthralled with everything about it and went camera happy (living up to the American tourist stereotype!) The temple was beautiful and it made me feel complete that I came to Japan and got to see that!

Our shows here went great... the first broadcasted from a large arena performing along side other artists like Ne-yo, Keisha Cole, Sean Kingston, Kanye West, NERD... and the second in a small venue to where we could easily see the back row. I love the Japanese, but they are so accustomed to being conservative, that it's hard for them to break that sometimes during shows. Unless they're in the front row, then they scream a lot... and we totally feed off of that for energy! I learned how to play the card game spades... with a few self-acclaimed masters. This definitely helped pass the time during the long days before our shows.

My Japan adventure is coming to an end, seeing as I fly home in less than 12 hours... but I still have yet to go visit my friend Kenji at Universal Studios out here in Osaka, so I will definitely have more fun pictures from that extravaganza!


This last European tour was filled with ferry rides! Some were better than others, but they are huge ferry's that our tour buses and semi's full of gear load onto to cross the bodies of water between these Northern/Eastern European countries. We were on ferry's anywhere between 40 minutes to 12 plus hours! Luckily for that long one, we got cabins that I heard were similar to rooms on a cruise ship. (I've never been on a cruise, so I cannot back up that information.) All I can show you is a picture of how large our ferry could be.

I never really go out while we are on tour, for multiple reasons which I will spare boring you with, but Helsinki, Finland seemed to be the night of choice to celebrate our hard work. We all gathered post show and hopped in a huge van taxi (we're ten people deep with band and dancers alone) . We went to a club that allowed smoking inside. Despite the obvious discomfort of lung cancer slow building up in my system, it was quite an eventful evening! We got to watch some Finish people bust a move on the dance floor... I was really hoping to be able to capture some video, because I really thought a few of these people were going to hurt themselves, but the alcohol probably saved them...and provoked them. Either way, it was comedy. I'll be honest to say that I just sat in our comfortable velvet line seats they roped off for us (as 'VIP's' haha) eating the watermelon and watching an ancient Victoria's Secret Fashion show that was on repeat on the huge flat screen above our area. I saw it in it's entirety at least three times through... it was after the third time that I proceeded to the dance floor... and not soon after, called it a night.

Backstage time and before shows we are constantly having fun. Most of us are pretty camera happy (none as bad in the sickness as myself) but at least we'll have great memories to talk about later. The dancers in general come off stage pretty winded... not that we're out of shape, but every audience is different and can sometimes pull things out of you that you didn't even know was possible. Backstage Rachael and I are constantly laughing with the boys about things they did by accident or on purpose to mess with us on stage. We've done everything from hit/run into each other, messed up someone else's choreography, taking the boys hats, the boys grabbing our ankles when we're supposed to be kicking, hiding backstage when Rihanna is looking for us... One time Rihanna threw off one of the boys chairs during a number where we all needed one and he was left speechless, free styling to attempt to figure out what to do next. The list goes on. We definitely maintain the quality of the show, we just find innovative ways to throw each other off.

Other than that, our shows were going great. We played pranks that the audience probably didn't know whether we were being serious or not.

For instance, during our performance of shut up and drive, we run out with chairs and create a make-shift automobile on stage for Rih to dance around. While this was happening, one of our crewThe bond between the band, dancers, and Rihanna was definitely solidifying itself into a truly organic and natural performance. Sometimes we would be so engaged in each other on stage, we worried that the audience wasn't included... mainly because we guys thought it would be funny to walk out in a large fluorescent yellow jacket acting as a law enforcement and handed Rihanna a "parking ticket" ... she was singing while trying to read and all of us were cracking up. There was no way for the audience to know what that paper he handed her said, but we all definitely found it funny. Our group is definitely not one to hold back on the pranks... here is a video Kevmo (our keyboardist) created and edited as a gift from all of us to Rih...




I'd like to introduce you to our bus life... performing on stage is easy to see and understand...and forgive me if I've dwelled on this in a previously blog, but stick 14 people on a bus together... all who have different sleeping/waking times, preferences in temperature (you'd be surprised at how big a deal this gets to be), cleaning habits, noise level control on both themselves and their electronics, respect for other peoples space or property... the list is endless. Real world has NOTHING on what could be capture on this tour bus. Then throw in the dynamic that we range in age from as young as 20 to the middle to late thirties... and have both estrogen and testosterone battling at all times. Despite all odds against us, we've still come out alive! So here are some photos from our bus... Our bus was the best one yet in Europe equipped with 14 bunks upstairs, a small seating area up front upstairs and a large lounge with a decent size flat screen in the back. Downstairs was our kitchen, bathroom and dining table. It also had two quasi couches (even though the size would fool you otherwise) that faced each other and two flat screen tvs above each. The driver had his own "private quarters" as he called it, up in front right behind the driver seat where a bed folded down for him as well as a DVD collection to keep him sane from having to drive with us! ;) Lucky for the boys, this trip Rihanna decided to have quite a few girls nights, where the female dancers and background singers went onto her bus for the overnight drives and had our moving version of a slumber party. I would go into detail, but our production manager probably wouldn't appreciate me telling the embarrassing story of him! haha... This one you'll have to hear in person, be sure to prompt me if you're interested.

I have a bit of empathy for these bus drivers... they have to clean up after us (which is not necessarily in their job description), work crazy hours being kept awake by our loudness when it's their time to sleep (hehe sorry!), and have to endure some crazy driving conditions. There were quite a few nights where we were woken up in our bunks being slammed from one side to the other, thinking we were going to tip over.

One night in particular, we were driving to Prague through a huge blizzard... we all had definitely woken up quite a few times through the night to the sideways jolts, but it wasn't until we reached the Prague venue that we had heard what happened. Apparently two of our semi-trucks got deeply involved in over an one HUNDRED and EIGHTY car pile up. People were driving faster than was safe and simply could not stop in time causing one of the largest vehicular pile ups in Prague. There were many deaths, but luckily our truck drivers remained unharmed. Not the same could be said about our gear truck... another semi lost control and L-shaped while the back end aimed right for the cabin our truck driver, who seeing it coming, jumped out the passenger side onto the mountain side snow. The road stretched for over three miles of cars just mangled and pushed into each other. To add burden to the truckers mind, apart from just surviving this ordeal, these two trucks were carrying our ENTIRE stage set, backdrop, lights, and wardrobe for the band/dancers AND Rihanna. We obviously found alternative gear and found a way to get our wardrobe in time, but it was definitely a day of high-intensity.

Last but not least on the European tour, we found ourselves in Moscow, Russia.

Traveling to Russia was brilliant... we chartered a private jet out of Germany. The seats, service, and ease were truly needed at this point on the tour... and pretty much our only option consider our performance schedule. We were tired considering we just did a show the night before and had a 4am lobby call to head to the airport.

The drive to the hotel from the airport was long... with no help from Moscow's traffic. But the sites were a culture shock. Russia looked like a larger than life miniature golf course, minus the green and throw in some overcast weather. Their buildings are colorful pieces of artwork that bring an essence of royalty. Although, it also has the worn down look of a miniature golf course's ornamental constructs.

Our hotel... The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow. If I can recommend anywhere to stay while in Moscow, this would be at the TOP of my list... heck, anywhere to stay ever, the Ritz-Carlton is supreme in service, free wireless internet (unheard of in Europe, so this was a treat), cleanliness, and the ROOM! Wow, the room was brilliant. I had a jacuzzi tub AND a separate shower that felt like I was standing under Niagara falls... it had one of those shower heads that came straight out of the ceiling the diameter of a basketball and shot straight down! Brilliance!
Not to mention the tile-like floor of the bathroom was heated. The bed was large, tall and heavenly! They had a large glass bottle of candy tasting water. I know you're probably thinking, wow, Vic is super exaggerating or just easily impressed... and while I'm known for both... I can guarantee you there is not much room for exaggeration. I mean, honestly, the water from the bath felt like it was laced with some amazing cocoa butter or something because I cannot remember the last time my skin and hair felt that soft! These pictures don't even do this place justice.

Anyhow, on to the performance... we performed at an Olympic size arena that I heard was larger than the Super dome. The audience was interesting... the front middle section, which is usually reserved for the rowdiest standing fans they can find, was a red carpeted roped off area of seated rich people. It was very obvious that these were the people with money. Past the wings, off to the sides of the stage were the standing fans who yelled with excitement. Our middle area was near silent until Kevin ran into the crowd with his wireless keyboard to get them off their feet! The crowd seemed to be never-ending in a building that went so high, none of us could even see the last person on the top level in the back row. It was huge.

The European tour ended successfully and we all made it home alive... but we barely made it home at all... The four dancers had a 6:30am flight back to LAX from Russia via Germany. We arrive at the airport about a quarter to 5 and proceed through one screening to a check-in counter. None of us had tickets in our hand, because we're used to having electronic tickets. The man at the counter told us that we didn't have electronic tickets, that we were booked on the flight but should have paper tickets in hand. We all look at each other confused, then to our dance captain to see if she received them, and she knew nothing of the situation. Luckily, I had a phone that worked internationally, because otherwise, we would not have been able to call our production manager who had our paper tickets and didn't tell us. We call him, waking him up and told him our situation. He rushed himself awake and jumped in the first cab he could find and took the 40 minute drive to our airport to get us those tickets. After a month of being away from home, we almost got stranded in Moscow. We laugh about it now, but we were kind of scared. I love being in the states... I appreciate it now more than ever before.

"February will bring you good fortune... "

The most recent update would still have to cover back to our Bahamas getaway up to our recent Grammy Performance!

February was definitely a great month, both on and off tour. For starters... my birthday is on the 2nd, Groundhogs day!
Did anyone catch whether we're going to be having more weeks of winter or not? I never caught it.
Anyhow, after a wonderful celebration of my twenty-fourth year of existence, I arrived at LAX yet again at 4am for a flight to the Bahamas. Our arrival that afternoon allowed us to still watch the sun set on the beaches of this beautiful island. Our driver was delightfully well-informed in the history and inhabitants of the island listing fun facts at each turn of the road. It was when we starting crossing a bridge from the mainland Bahama island, to the private island of the world famous Atlantis resort that we all paused for a few moments to truly take in this flawless island. It had 4 hotels, one room was famously stayed in by Michael Jackson at a crazy 30,000 dollars a night. I don't think I need to even mention that I didn't stay anywhere near that... or in that price range... but the trip was still amazing in my eyes.

The first thing we did when we arrived was eat and napped. All of our luggage had been delayed so I chose not to go out and sleep early to be able to enjoy the morning sun.

Sure enough, at the crack of dawn I was awake and ready to run amuck. I started solo at the Dolphin Cay where I got to swim and play with dolphins. It was about an hour experience that started with a tutorial of their daily life and an interactive swim, pet and play with dolphins. I have a keen liking for dolphins in general so this was definitely something I wanted to invest in. Could you imagine the job of the trainers there? They get to swim and play with dolphins all day! (not that my job is bad… just another cool one)






From there I met up with the others and found
our way to the beach (which was just steps away) to go jet skiing. All of us got our own jet ski and next thing you know almost ten of us are creating waves in the fluorescent blue/green ocean. There was another private island off of our island that wasn’t even large enough for a bedroom but it was told to us that it was off limits and not to go that far out into the ocean. So of course… we all agreed and went straight to that island. We only rented them for thirty minutes, and it took most of that time to get out there and back, but we tore up the Atlantic ocean none the less. It took all of the jet ski owners to flag us all in and get us to come back to shore. We didn’t want it to end… but we didn’t want to spend another fifty bucks for 30 minutes.

Instead, we wanted to spend our other 50 bucks on para sailing. This was the first time I’d ever been para sailing and it is something I suggest for anyone to do if they get an opportunity! Especially in such clear waters. It’s one thing to look at an ocean from your hotel room, or a plane, or even from a boat… but to sit thirty or forty feet in the air and simply hover over the ocean for miles is a truly breathtaking experience. I kept looking for wild dolphins or sharks or anything of the sort. I think the area was a popular touristy area and just outside the coast where cruise ships disembark, so I didn’t expect too much wildlife.

Interesting story to follow that as our boat was taking us back in, Naka and I tried to get the driver of the small boat to drop us off in front of our hotel (which was around the way from where most everyone else unloads from boats). He was cool, so he agreed and pulled around the cove only to find that there was a net close to shore that rang along the shore a few miles to keep wildlife from coming up to the beach and the guests. We found a small break in the net and took the small boat up to shore. As our boat approached the white sand, Naka and I stood up to jump out of the boat when in the two feet deep water we saw a baby shark about four feet long! It was insane! People were snorkeling ten yards from this crazy creature.

Obviously we were there to work... so that evening, Super Bowl Sunday, timed between halves of the game... we rocked out on the beautiful beach for a show for the guests of the hotel. It was a quick show and so many people were interested in the the Giants vs the Patriots that it went quick. The beach made for a musty, slippery and sandy stage. All of the factors that make for great dancing (sarcasm).



Our last night in the Bahamas we went to Aura, the hottest nightclub on the island... the club was cool, but not really that packed and we were exhausted from a long day in the sun, so Rachael and I took pictures around the cool hotel.



From the Bahamas we traveled to New York for the Madonna/Gucci fund raising event to perform at the United Nations for an auction thats money went to support the research, awareness, etc for HIV/AIDS in Africa. These children from Uganda performed at the opening and talking to them was truly humbling.






We went back to Los Angeles after this for Grammy weekend. Our first stop was a private show that 'In Style' magazine put on for the hosh posh of Hollywood. As soon as we arrived on Thursday, we went to a sound check for a show that consisted of a fashion show and ended with Rihanna closing the evening in a show.





The next morning we were in rehearsals for the Grammy performance with Morris Day. We were doing his "Jungle Love" into Rihanna's "Umbrella" into her "Don't Stop the Music." I've never performed at the Grammy's before, so it was an honor to be able to join in this performance. It was amazing to see the audience give us a standing ovation! (I know I'm hardly the reason they did, but amazed to have been a part of a group that got one) The Grammy's were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and we were in the first fifteen minutes of the show, so as soon as we performed, we booked it out of there to avoid the aftermath traffic. I made it home in time to watch it air live on television (since it was being filmed on eastern time).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SUPER SORRY for such a lapse in updates! Let's back up a bit to the interesting part!
Basically, I've been out of the US for every holiday with the exception of Christmas (my favorite!), so obviously, it only seemed right to also spend New Years Eve in some foreign town... how about, hmm... let's say ETHIOPIA. That's right, friends, I counted into 2008 in central Africa!

My previous experience in Africa was in Nigeria with this tour group as well and it were slightly over the top with security measures (but rightfully so). This time, we were a bit more chill on that notion, but got some super amazing travel accommodations that aren't our norm. This was just the security in front of the venue...

Let's break it down: We flew from LAX to Toronto, Canada, then Canada to London on a private jet that usual transports the Dallas Mavericks athletic team... so needless to say these seats were used to holding large burly men quite comfortably. Not to mention it carried their WHOLE team, and our travel party was about 30 people... we barely fill 1/3 of the plane and we each had two huge seats!
In London we switched planes into another private jet, one provided by a super important man in Ethiopia, that basically consisted of two large lounges filled with couches, more first class seating, and only 5 rows of coach in the back. That's where most of us just threw our bags.
Let me remind you that we don't NORMALLY get to travel like this, so yes, I WAS excited!
The biggest benefit of having these jets and such accommodations was simply that in traveled about 27 hours straight (including plane change time). This can get pretty brutal on the body and emotions! Not to mention we have to arrive in Ethiopia to perform and it's at a significantly higher elevation that we are used to performing at.

Once we get there, we realized we were staying at one of the nicest resorts (from rumors... ) in the world! I guess I'd have to stay at a few more resorts to justify this statement, but as of now, it's definitely in the top 3 I've been to... and I can't even name the other two right now :( haha! But let's be honest, from the looks of these pictures... can you believe this is my JOB! In these pictures are Kevin Hastings (our Keyboardist) and Bryan Tanaka (fellow dancer)... they were the only two I could convince to come take a swim so early in the day. After soundcheck everyone else found their way to the pool no problem! How can you say no to this beautiful opportunity?

Finally, our whole reason for going there... we got to perform our travel version of our show. Basically, we have a big version that we were doing in Europe that took about four truck loads of equipment alone! Then, we have our travel dates in which we take basic equipment and build the rest out of what they have at their venues... so we don't have our original sets and what not. Hopefully people still like the show, but as much fun as we have, we can't imagine them not!

We performed a little over an hour before the midnight strike of the New Year and got to count down with all of these Ethiopians shown here in the picture! It was incredible! This picture was our dance break that we do taken by the Kevin while he was chillin at his Keyboard... shows how much HE works! haha ;) this crowd was pretty incredible!

Backstage while all of the performing was looking normal, Rachael and I, between changes, found ourselves sucking air from a tank because the elevation really started getting to us! I had only danced in a super high elevation one other time and after 27 hours of flying, I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through this performance. I guess adrenaline helps... but we definitely were truckin through this one!

Since the beginning of January we've had a bit of time off, which has been rare. We are now in rehearsals for the Grammy awards to be performed in February. Our choreographer Tina Landon and her assistant Jason Myhre, have been drilling us in rehearsals, putting together more impressively creative performances. I can't even tell you how many versions of routines we have of each song! I have never performed at the Grammy's, so I'm really excited and Rihanna was nominated for four of them (I think it's four)... so that's really great for her.

Until that happens, we're leaving this Saturday, February 2nd (MY BIRTHDAY!) for a radio show in the Bahamas! I love that I'm going to be in the Bahamas on my birthday... but really I'm going to be on a plane the whole day... (not in a private jet) haha... it IS my birthday, but they don't love us THAT much! We literally fly on the second, perform on the third and fly back on the fourth... so I we'll see how much time I'll get to enjoy the beaches of this famous island!

Euro Tour Photo Recap

Well, we're posted up in Manchester right now at our favorite chain of hotels, the CityInn's. Which I highly recommend to anyone traveling around the UK! (free internet, imac tv/comps in room, large beds, delicious room service, etc) We leave today to travel to New Castle...

Our boss has a bronchial infection that has made us postpone a few shows. This is something that she and the band definitely needed. They have been going non-stop with chartered shows in distant countries everyday. Unfortunately, that just means we come home later... and considering I haven't seen my family, boyfriend or friends in almost two months, I'm definitely wanting to come home. I just hate missing all the holidays.

The dancers have been lucky enough to have a few days off here or there in some amazing cities,
Manchester being our current one. Everything closes super early, so it's the perfect opportunity to update with some pictures!

The dancers dressed and ready to perform 'Umbrella' at the World Music Awards...
This is one of the shows where we added more dancers from the UK to perform with us. They were a kind lot and definitely liked getting to know their ideas and lifestyles and how being a dancer in the UK differs from that in the US.


This award show was in filmed in Monaco, France. If there is one place I definitely want to go back and visit anytime of the year... it would be Monte Carlo, Monaco. Rumored to be the richest city in the world, this is an dream getaway and all of us had a hard time grasping that we were getting paid to enjoy this beauty! This was the view from the gazebo of our hotel! The weather reminded me of LA!

On our way to the hotel, our driver stopped and took a picture of our car full of ladies in this breathtaking city! (from left) Ashleigh Haney (background vocalist), Me, Tina Landon (choreographer), and Rachael Markarian (other dancer)





Beautiful Birmingham and their wonderful Christmas spirit! Just imagine Christmas huts continuing to the left and right of this photo... they go one forever!







Rachel and I messing around backstage in our wigs for the "Breaking Dishes" number... For those of you who haven't seen this one performed, we basically act like crazy and quirky robotic-like girls who know that their boyfriend is acting stupid and it's almost as though we lost a few screws... we tick, tip, and basically dance like we're going to break dishes we're so mad. It's my favorite routine without question.


The monstrous Dom Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. This cathedral has a spiral stone staircase that Rachel and I climbed over 600 stairs to overlook the entire city from the top! Germany had some of the best shopping too... I mean, I had a week off in that city, so I definitely did some damage! :D










Performing "Breaking Dishes" in Serbia... this was the crowd that before we even got on stage broke the front barricades... we love crazy crowds!
They give us energy on those days we feel like we have none.






Ladies in our dressing room before our rainiest show yet!
This was the first time I fell on my a** and nearly couldn't get up on stage! The show was an outdoor show and it was raining... quite fitting for an artist whose main hit is titled Umbrella, but none the less the stage was soaked and as soon as the opening song started, I pranced out with heels on attempting to grip the stage, only to have my feet slip from under me as I nearly slid off the front! This was a painful show... not to mention Bulgaria was one of our larger audiences too! Hope they enjoyed the fall!


Iscghl, Austria... When we chartered into this snow covered country, Kevin (our keyboardist/DJ aka Kevmo) and I were too busy filming and taking pictures of the deep white mountains and trees to even exchange words of disbelief. We would glance at each other with surprised faces and then both look out of our respective windows still breathless... We entered this small town of only about 1500 people where everyone knew their neighbors and nothing opened before noon. It was quaint and cold.

These pictures are just from this European Tour... I'll attempt to put some up from our Canadian Tour and Promo dates in other countries.

Begin Again!

This is the beginning of a new blog that I will do my best to keep up while on the road. My old blog page was much more difficult to keep up and access, so this is the new address! Thank you for catching up with me and all that is going on in my world.

For those just tuning in, I'm currently in the United Kingdom, Birmingham to be exact, touring with Rihanna. She is a music artist most notoriously known for her 'Umbrella' song off of her 'Good Girl Gone Bad' soundtrack. This was a picture taken from our show in Munich whilst performing her other hit 'Break it Off'...

I absolutely love my job... we get to travel around on our buses, perform in a new city every night and best of all, get to experience all the Christmas spirit these Europeans can throw at us! If you've ever been to any city center of any European town, chances are you'll have crossed what is known as the 'German X-mas Markets.' They are a slew of holiday huts, similar in size to a food cart at a carnival, and they sell traditional German treats. Everything from crepes, candied nuts, mulled wine, rum cocoa, homemade jewelry, gingerbread everything, scarfs, and trinkets galore! If there was a ever a year that I felt the Christmas spirit, this one is it! This picture here is the Christmas market here in Birmingham that continues past that corner for a long while of holiday goodness!

Our shows having been going great... my favorite audiences have been in Dublin, for reasons that you probably already know (they're irish), Serbia (audience pictured), because we were 70% oversold and when you pack more people than should fit into an arena, the circumstances just make it significantly more interesting. From what I heard, our largest audience has been something short of about 30,000 people and I think that was during an outside performance in the rain in Bulgaria. I'll have to double check those statistics, but that was the rumor. Our coldest performance was in Iscghl, Austria, where we performed outside at night on a ski resort. Yes, we were definitely surrounded by snow!

Of course with live shows, mishaps are bound to happen and I can only confess my own... Basically there are a few songs that have super quick changes between them. I change on the side of the stage in order to make it out on time. The only problem is that we go to a blackout between numbers, so I was changing in the dark. I put on my outfit for the song, 'Shut Up and Drive,' and about halfway through the routine turned to the other dancer, Rachael as she starts laughing out loud on stage. I had put my outfit on inside out. It's a race car jumpsuit costume that doesn't look so cute inside out. That was the hardest time I've ever had keeping a straight face.

As for my pleasant company... I'm blessed to work with 3 other amazing dancers who have toured with many artists before and have learned so much from each of them. Rachael, my normal partner in crime, is an amazingly talented and kind-hearted individual who I often go to for advice on everything from the professional to personal issues. Bryan(second from the right), the man who doesn't stop moving, is an incredible performer who likes to mix things up on stage. He has also taught dance classes in nearly every major city we've toured when we don't have a show. Julius (far right), the man with his own language, is not only known for being a master of movement, but has a language all his own. If you have ever heard of skeeter bop or pankin' the tweeter on the banger... then you've spoken his language fluently. It's got no pre-defined meaning or insinuations, but in whatever context you read it, you'll understand it's implication... then laugh loudly.

We also travel happily with a band filled with Bass, Drummer, Keyboards, Guitar and 2 vocalists. They are also part of our tour family and never let a moment go dull... Their introductions will follow shortly but as you can see in this picture of all of us posing after bowling in Sheffield... they're a fun bunch! And we finally got a wardrobe assistant! Miss Jaclyn gets to come play with us now!

I'm so blessed to have such a great family on tour and only wish to be able to share more of it with all of you! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :D