50p
Brentwood Takes on NYC
For the November Midterm Break this year students taking dance or musical were offered the opportunity to spend five days in New York City. It was a dazzling week of city lights, Broadway shows, and new experiences.
The trip started off bright and early at 5:30 am. We met in the Bunch Centre dance studio equipped with overpacked suitcases, nervous energy, and lots of snacks for a long day of traveling. We arrived at our hotel at 11:30 pm in NYC and went straight to bed to get a good night’s sleep before a long day of sightseeing.
After a complementary Applebee’s breakfast, our first official day in The Big Apple was kicked off with a guided tour from a local New Yorker. He took us all around the city, showing us well-known places such as Hell’s Kitchen and sharing the city’s unique quirks.
We hopped off the tour bus at Grand Central Station to learn about its history and get some much-needed coffee. Our guide took us to the whisper gallery, where two people standing in opposite corners of the room having a conversation felt as if they were right next to each other.
Later that evening we went to the opera and saw Don Carlos (although by that point, most of us were too tired to make it through a four-hour opera and had to go back to the hotel at intermission). Sylvia E, Alexandra ‘23 reflected on the show, “I had never seen an opera before so I didn’t know what to expect, but it was surprisingly interesting!”
The next morning, after our tried-and-true Applebee’s breakfast, we went to Rockefeller Center for a guided tour. We learned all about the architecture and history of the building, and got a glimpse of the Rockettes rehearsing for their Christmas Spectacular show. After the tour, we got to meet a real Rockette and ask her questions about her career, which was a memorable moment for many aspiring performers on the trip.
The subway took us to The High Line for an early dinner, and then we went to our first Broadway show – SIX, a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII – and personally, I think Anne Boleyn stole the show. Throughout the trip we were fortunate enough to see a total of five fantastic Broadway shows (SIX, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, Into the Woods and Kinky Boots).
Each day offered novel adventures – one day we rode the ferry to get an up-close view of the Statue of Liberty, another we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the next we took dance classes at the Broadway Dance Center.
“The trip was super jam-packed, and I was so glad that I had such wonderful students and chaperones to make the trip go seamlessly”, said Dance teacher and chaperone/organizer of the trip, Ms Amy Staples.
We arrived back at Brentwood exhausted and jet-lagged, but incredibly grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime experience we got to embark on.
Emma W, Alexandra ‘23
The trip started off bright and early at 5:30 am. We met in the Bunch Centre dance studio equipped with overpacked suitcases, nervous energy, and lots of snacks for a long day of traveling. We arrived at our hotel at 11:30 pm in NYC and went straight to bed to get a good night’s sleep before a long day of sightseeing.
After a complementary Applebee’s breakfast, our first official day in The Big Apple was kicked off with a guided tour from a local New Yorker. He took us all around the city, showing us well-known places such as Hell’s Kitchen and sharing the city’s unique quirks.
We hopped off the tour bus at Grand Central Station to learn about its history and get some much-needed coffee. Our guide took us to the whisper gallery, where two people standing in opposite corners of the room having a conversation felt as if they were right next to each other.
Later that evening we went to the opera and saw Don Carlos (although by that point, most of us were too tired to make it through a four-hour opera and had to go back to the hotel at intermission). Sylvia E, Alexandra ‘23 reflected on the show, “I had never seen an opera before so I didn’t know what to expect, but it was surprisingly interesting!”
The next morning, after our tried-and-true Applebee’s breakfast, we went to Rockefeller Center for a guided tour. We learned all about the architecture and history of the building, and got a glimpse of the Rockettes rehearsing for their Christmas Spectacular show. After the tour, we got to meet a real Rockette and ask her questions about her career, which was a memorable moment for many aspiring performers on the trip.
The subway took us to The High Line for an early dinner, and then we went to our first Broadway show – SIX, a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII – and personally, I think Anne Boleyn stole the show. Throughout the trip we were fortunate enough to see a total of five fantastic Broadway shows (SIX, Hadestown, Beetlejuice, Into the Woods and Kinky Boots).
Each day offered novel adventures – one day we rode the ferry to get an up-close view of the Statue of Liberty, another we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and the next we took dance classes at the Broadway Dance Center.
“The trip was super jam-packed, and I was so glad that I had such wonderful students and chaperones to make the trip go seamlessly”, said Dance teacher and chaperone/organizer of the trip, Ms Amy Staples.
We arrived back at Brentwood exhausted and jet-lagged, but incredibly grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime experience we got to embark on.
Emma W, Alexandra ‘23