Day 15, two weeks! Time goes fast when you're having fun!

And I am having loads of it!!


An early note today! I'm dancing at End of Professional Semester Showcase today (already had a rehearsal, went pretty well but stage is so quiet! Oh well, Jim Cooney liked it- I'm happy!!!) and that starts at 8 so I might not be back home until LATE should there be an after party!


Healthy Meals:

Porridge with Honey! Strawberries and Blueberries! (never mind don't mix raw fruit with dairy... you have to challenge your stomach from time to time!) And black tea with milk and brown sugar!


Daily practice:
40 min of Kurt Robinson and Kelley King's vocalizations plus 40 min of working at Bradley Ellingboe's Requiem! Never mind an hour mass at St. Partick's Catherdal today, the had music printed out in a program and books and boy, I WENT FOR IT! Good sight reading exercise! Anyway, back to Requiem, as I've written before, it's a piece for full choir, alto solo, symphony orchestra, soloists and organs. I'll be singing that with 100 people choir at Carnegie Hall on May 21st. I got a recording of it so I can practice my part with it. There are a lot of very close 4-part harmonies so it's crucial to listen to others. Especially as some of the parts are quite difficult and a'capella, so some of people (including me sometimes probably!!) pull it down more less half a tone per 16 bars. So there's no point in staying in the key while others are lower... transposition!! (Haha, as if I had an absolute pitch!). So today I sang it all through, making sure I got my breaths sorted out and clearing melody and polishing it in general. It's good! I say bring Brad Eliingboe on! I'm ready!!


On the classical note, I'm gonna add a new segment to my blog. Classical pieces you HAVE to listen to.


Classical piece of the Day:

Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.7 "Leningrad" 4th Movement, Part 2. I would 

marry this symphony if I could.

Ok, off I go now! Can't believe it's 6 already! So bright outside! Gotta gig to do! New York are you ready??!!


PS: Shout out to my sister, Magdalena Piotrowska, who will be touring Germany with one of world's greatest orchestras (and I am not exaggerating here, look them up!), National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra soon! She plays violin, currently at Academy of Music in Lodz, Poland. I'm so proud of her!!!

Day 14, quiet, is there a storm coming?

So I got up early in the morning again, to find that none of my flatmates bothered taking the garbage out. Well, I guess I should have done it myself anyway... though I had done that way too many times now. I'm not the only one living here!! And then I saw an ant on the floor. Curious little thing, how did it get here. Should I kill the poor bugger? No, let it be, it's just one ant. And then!! I WAS STANDING ON AN ANT HILL! I was so busy contemplating that one ant, I haven't noticed I've stepped on a hundred already! They were in a corridor as well... so many of them! I didn't exactly had time to solve the problem at its core but I decided to clear the kitchen! So the massacre started... and then finished very quickly. And do you know what? Later on that day, once I was done with all my things in town, I met my landlord and said we've got a bit of an ant situation upstairs. And do you know what, not a single ant to spot! It was quite early in the morning and I was still super sleepy but I was conscious! Apparently lonely people imagine seeing ants but I don't think I'm in that bad of a situation! Haha!

Anyways, then I had my healthy meal- porridge, that I forgot to photograph. And took off for my:

Private Voice Class:

an hour with Mdme Maria Zhorella- Fedorova.

First of all she made me dance around the room, because she wanted to see what exactly what I'm doing, as we've already established that dancers and singers breath in a completely different manner- which seem to cause me a lot of trouble and re-learning. Dancers think up, singers- down! Ok... great. So then we worked on few vocalization to warm up a bit and went on to "All I need is the girl" which needs more... spunk! Support and precision. Then "Come with me", for the very first time with Mdme Zhorella. We sorted out pronunciation and some of vocal technique. Generally, I'm not too bad but the devil is in the detail, therefore- I have endless hours of practice ahead of me! Man... Need to work on a staccato, breath support and proper placement for high notes. But she liked my little choreography so I'm glad :) I'm preparing this one for an audition for "Shrek". Should be fuuuun!

Then I helped her to write a letter (she can't see too well) and went to the post office to send it! I guess it could be my good deed! Haha. Anyway I then rushed to Bridges VE rehearsal. 1.5h of Bradley Ellingboe's Requiem. Good stuff. It's getting better and better. I feel quite comfortable with it already. There are just few places I'm a bit unsure of but I'll sort it out tomorrow, never mind like 25 tenors that are gonna sing it with me in the choir! But that's not an excuse. I want to work for and deserve that Carnegie Hall credit. Which is amazing and I can't wait for Saturday. I'm gonna have more less 3 million rehearsals with the full choir (finally! About 100 people!) upcoming week, but I say- bring it ooonnn!!!

Later on that day I did my laundry (about time... about time) took a power nap and went down to Broadway to see:

Live Performance: (you gotta love student rush tickets!):

The Fantasticks at The Jerry Orbach Theater

Edward Watts, Matt Leisy, Juliette Trafton, Dan Sharkey, Bill Bateman, MacIntyre Dixon, Michael Nostrand, Matt Dengler with Robert Felstein at the piano and Jaqueline Kerrod playing harp.

I loved it. LOVED IT. It was my first Off-Broadway show to see and I'm very glad I chose The Fantasticks! It was more of a play than a musical though. Which I didn't mind, quite opposite, it gave everyone in the cast an opportunity to shine as an actor and shows me how much work I still need to do! I think I should stop watching all these shows cos I'm getting all depressed! They were really good. Especially Juliette Trafton! Very good actress, she has a nice voice too! MATT LEISY- amazing voice though! I wished he sang more in the show. It seemed so ridiculously effortless (an impression I'm failing at every single time) that it wasn't only a pure joy to listen to him. In my case it was also an extreme jealousy! Haha! Oh well!

Songs I liked:

"Try to remember"

"Never say no"

"Soon it's gonna rain"

Do you know what I have to see now though? A proper drama! Drugs, dirt, poverty and pathology. I do enjoy watching comedies but I need some more drama... Something to think about before going to bed. I guess I have to compensate lack of "life" that I'm not getting! In a way that I'm grateful I don't live under the bridge but to experience life's true colors.

Day 13, busy yet very uneventful!

Daily Practice:
At least 40 minutes. Took it easy today, no songs (except "Come with me" that I sang three times at Vocal Performance Class today) just Robinson and King's vocalizations. With all the pollen allergens hovering about, my throat feels very tender...

Healthy Meals:
Breakfast: asparagus, tomato, 2 fried eggs (on butter) and 2 whole grain English muffins. Keep in mind, that was prepared after 6am in the morning...
Dinner: Spinach, tomato, rice and some parmesan cooked in a pan (that had to end up in a tortilla OBVIOUSLY!) and asparagus.










Fitness:
Theater with Seth Steward (who worked for example with Madonna, Jay-Z and many Broadway Musicals!)
Floor Barre with Rickey Tripp
Ballet with Joy Karley
Tap with Ofer Ben

 A good day, I'm exhausted though! I have finished my BDC 12 class card already so no classes on the weekend. No DANCE classes. I still have a voice class and choir rehearsal on Sat, tech reh and show on Sunday... Couldn't this judgement day come a bit sooner?

Day 12, Thusday

Daily Practice:

30 min plus about 10 minutes of a voice class with Mdme Fedorova on the phone! Haha!!

Audition:

I have audition for "Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular"!

So I got not too early in the morning, around 9.30, had a very relaxing morning, watched Glee on fox.com and slowly started my day. I didn't want to freak myself out for the audition. I did many auditions before, some were dance (invitation only, so it's different!) and those I had for voice were for music schools! So this sort of audition I did today was absoultely new to me! I loved it!! So first of all I went to print my resume (which is shite... but I pimped it today!! So I'm ready for next audition! Haha) and headed to Radio City. I was there about 1.5h ahead of time, so I got a ticket saying- come at 2! So I thought I could maybe practice some more but I was afraid I'd be late for my call, so I chose Starbucks instead and went on Skype. I have talked to my dear, lovely friends Hayley and Row. We had a good chat and they've lifted my spirit before the audition!! Always a good thing! So I went back to Radio City, waited a bit more in a line, got a paper work to fill out and around 2.20 entered the building. Audition took place at 9^th floor (that'd be 8^th in Europe!). They collected our papers, headshots and resumes. About 40 minutes later I was asked to sing. 16 bars only, if you sing more, they wouldn't stop you but would hold that against you! As I didn't really care, I went for 16 bars like they asked. Actually 19! But it was an uptempo song (All I need is the girl) so I don't think it mattered. It took me about 16 seconds. Then "thank you" and "next please". That'd be it! Haha!

Then I went home to find out that Poland is not included in Green Card Lottery for at least next 1.5 years. I guess we're supplying way too many house keepers and gardeners so there's no room for people who have actually finished good schools (and are in a proccess of finishing a good universities, haha! Or at least they want to finish them at some point... oops)... Oh well, whatever america wants.

On the up side, I think I'm elegible to join Equity Union with the experience I have so far! Good buzz!

Heatly Meals:

Banana, strawberries, apple and blackberries. The best lunch ever! I didn't dance today so I thought fat and sugar free meal would be most apropriate!

Then I met an old friend of mine, Nicolas, who moved from Europe to Florida few years ago and is visiting his brother in NYC right now. It was very good to see him again and chat for a bit. Awww....

That's it really! Oh, btw it's the Judgement Day on May 21^st! Don't forget, haha! I hope it comes late at night, because I have that Carnegie Hall Concert in the evening I dont want to miss...

Day 11, busy Wednesday, no depression this time though!

Daily Practice:
Today only a little more than 40 min. Had so much going on today (all got something to do with voice thou! Read the bottom for details). Did some of Kurt's vocalizations, and worked on my musical theater repertoire. Made few recordings so I know what to be aware of!

Ftiness: 
Ballet with Yuka Kawazu- not to self- I need to stretch...
Tap with G. Salsberg and her lovely assistant Shelby.
Theater with Laine Munro! Loved it... eventually, haha! It was quite hard in the beginning but had loads of fun in the end! We did a song about a wedding (don't really know what it was!) from the 80s. I could dance the choreo! More less... I thought it would be a good idea to treat each and every class like an audition to a theater production! No sad faces and doubts! FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!! Seems to work.

Healty Meals:
Porridge for breakfast, almost as usual, no photo this time.
Banana and apple for lunch.
Turkey, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower with rice. Have a guess where that ended up- a tortilla!! I think I might have a problem, where else better could I have it though! haha. That was a dinner.


So today, I have also sorted out my audition book (where I keep my songs selection for auditions!) which wasn't an easy task! Copy machine at Staples just didn't want to cooperate! I have concurred it in the end though. Also, my friend took a headshot of me! It's ok... must be enough for now! I don't really have a spare 200 dol for a proper photographer! And all the hassle today, because I'm doing a Radio City Music Hall audition tomorrow! Exciting stuff... still have to write my resume tonight... Not a good buzz, I'm so tired! Ok, off I go!

Day 10, some hard work, some deep career thinking and good entertainment!

So today I thought to myself, while on the subway- isn't that amazing that I'm here, in NYC? Learning all this new stuff and loving it? The very next one that followed, an answer of some sort, was a bit more down to earth- yes it is... but you still suck!! Haha! Well, I guess I still need some more time to "master" the many of my talents (*whipping my hair back*) (kidding here obviously, never take anything that I say seriously!) but I'm glad where I am and it feels like I'm on my very right way to achieve my goals! (One of them btw is to do a split by the end of my program at BDC! So not gonna happen! Haha!)

Anyways...

Daily Practice:
30 min of vocal warm up and working on songs (Come with me and also my new pop ones, Drowning and You and me). I'm struggling with the lyrics! I think I have about 20 pages of text to memorize!!!

Private Voice Lesson with Kurt Robinson:
We worked on technique first and then moved on to "A bit of earth" where we started adding an interpretation and musicality to the song. Some work ahead of me!!! I have obviously forgot to take a picture...

Fitness:
Ballet with D. Koppel and Broadway Jazz with S. Samuels.
Loved the broadway jazz class. Feeling after you've successfully completed a choreography- priceless.

Heatly Meals:
Eggs, spinach, tomato and a bit of sausage for breakfast.

Vegetables and shrimps risotto for dinner.

Live Performance:
"Memphis" at Schubert Theatre

Performers: Chad Kimball (!!!!!!), Montego Glover, Derrick Baskin, J. Bernard Calloway, James M. Iglehart, John Jellison, Nancy Opel.

I AM SPEECHLESS!!! 

I loved the show to bits! Set is incredible, music and songs outstanding and cast... A TONY AWARD FOR ALL YE PEOPLE!!! Ok, I'm not gonna lie, at first I thought... wtf?! Where's the string quartet? Will they have something more traditional later on maybe? Yes, I am that narrow-minded. Over 12 years of classical training does this to people. However, after a first song, I didn't care! I fell in love with the show. It was highly intense from the very start and I enjoyed how they've kept me "alert" for such a long time! Dancers were INCREDIBLE! One of, if not the best, I've seen so far in a Broadway show! They took my breath away. And then they started singing (and I had a front row seat!!!!! I saw... EVERYTHING!!) and they were more less 20 million times better than I am. NEVER MIND dancing (I'll have to sigh a pact with a devil first!). And that front row, in the middle, seat was awesome! It did keep my head up for about 2.5 hours but I felt connected with and really close to the action. I got occasional glances from the cast as well, which was a bonus! (I have often wondered how does it feel for Lord of the Dance audience to sit in the front row. If as good as it felt tonight for me, I understand why our fan-club keeps coming back! Note to self- look at the front row people more often!). 

Chad Kimball is out of this world. extraordinary singer and actor. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

And such a beautiful story... It got quite emotional at one point but all the credit goes to Mr. Kimball and Ms. Glover who performed beautifully together. I am so motivated right now! 

I think I'm gonna go and see the show again (since rush tickets are 26.5dol! Still not the cheapest but worth every cent!) but I sure will miss my front seat! 

Anyone who can go- DO IT! 

Off I go to bed to dream about Memphis... I'm sure I will!!!

Day 9, new energy!

Daily Practice:
About 20 min vocalization and learning new song (Come with me from Boys from Syracuse")
1.5h choir rehearsal (Bradley Ellingboe's Requiem)
30 min reviewing all of my songs for tomorrow's class with Kurt.

Fitness:

Ballet with D. Hochman
Theater with J. Cooney


I LIVED THOUGH JIM'S CLASS! Without a second of thinking about bursting into tears or jumping off from the window (though it would have to be quite a substantial leap, as the studio is located exactly in the middle of the building, so I'd have to get through a lot of walls...). For the very first time I could actually dance the choreo! Or at least most of it. That's because- I have decided to do well today, I had an espresso at Starbucks before the class, choreo was a wee bit easier and I had a friend by my side, who acted as a second, private teacher. Thank you Dineke! Also I like to think I start to improve... :) Jim said well done (... to my general direction...) so that made me happy!

Healthy Meals:
Iceberg salad, tomatoes, poached eggs on whole grain english muffins for breakfast. Because I have decided I am not a feckin rabbit and I need an appropriate breakfast to get me though the day. I think Everyone can agree healthy doesn't mean calories free but apropriate to your life style. I dance a lot (never mind how!) and I'm very active. An apple for breakfast and banana for a dinner is going to get me into trouble! (I would know). Anyways,
tortellini with spinach and ricotta with self-made sauce (based on 4 cheese sauce) with onions, tomatoes and turkey for dinner. Super yummm!













That's it really... Bring on Tuesday!