One Week!

Can you believe that last week I was checking into the hotel? It seems like such a long time ago.

I've gotten very very use to the NYC routine. I love the busyness of the city and the independence. It's also a nice change of pace to have an internship instead of classes and all the amazing cultural events I have the opportunity to go to.

Friday was my first day at The Paley Center. It's a beautiful building right next to the CBS studios and pretty close to Rockefeller Center. I got there a little early so I walked around, grabbed a cup of coffee, and just enjoyed the crisp Friday morning air. Then it was time to start my day. I have the opportunity to work with the Paley Center's creative team on their social media sites. I spent the day writing potential tweets and Facebook posts for the upcoming PaleyFest in March. It looks like an amazing festival and if only I was in LA!

Last night was also the New York City Ballet. We finally met our final professor, Patricia. She is absolutely lovely and we had a nice walk from our hotel to the David H. Koch Theater (near Lincoln Center).

And the ballet was OUT OF THIS WORLD. Incredibly elegant and beautiful. We saw three movements (not sure if that's the correct technical term). The music was Tschaikovsky and it was choreographed by George Balanchine.

The first movement was entitled "Serenade" and was very dreamlike. The ballerinas were wearing gauze like skirts that when lifted into the air, slowly drifted back down. Stunning. The loose story around this was a girl walked in late and then became the star of the show. The final "scene" was three men lifting her straight into the air and carrying her almost off stage. Again, just absolutely beautiful.

There was a short intermission and our room snapped a quick photo. Patricia talked to us for a bit, seeing what our initial reactions were. Then it was back to our seats for the second movement called "Mozartiana."

That was also beautiful  A little "darker" than the first, emphasized by the music and darker colored costumes. My favorite part of this piece was the clarinet. Such a rich and gorgeous sound came from the pit. I can only dream of playing that well. It was crisp and full, filling the entire auditorium as the ballerinas danced to it on stage.

The second intermission was spent with me babbling on about how great the clarinet sounded. My friends, bless them, were understanding and just smiled as I talked about the tone and the richness.

The final movement was Tschaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2. This was probably my favorite piece of the night. This one was loosely structured around a girl and boy who kept trying to find each other among a large group of other ballerinas. There were so many people on stage but they were all in sync. Their outfits were also beautiful with long, flowing skirts in a pale pink for the majority of them. Two girls had a pale purple skirt and the principle ballerina had a pale blue/teal/gray skirt.

Needless to say, the group was pretty speechless by the end. We walked back to our hotel, chatting about the ballet and our first impressions.

So that was Friday. Busy, right? We don't have anything scheduled for today so currently, Whitney and I are at the Morningside Heights New York Public Library branch taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi and getting caught up on our journals and general writing. There is an art gallery opening tonight recommended to us by Kathy so I believe Ashely, Whitney, and I are going to check that out.

Have a wonderful Saturday!