Saturday morning the alarm went off at 7:30 am. Troy and I were up and at it bright an early for a Saturday. We packed our overnight bag and hustled to make the 9:48 am Metro North train to Dover Plains. Why? We were to dance at the "Blue Jean Ball" for the Fitch's Corner Horse Trials!
Fitch's Corner is an annual horse trials competition located in Millbrook, New York. Fitch's Corner explains, "The elegant setting, challenging courses and wide array of associated activities attract both amateur and Olympic competitors." The country weekend features events for the equestrian and the social person. Activities include: the many trials, shopping at over 50 high-end vendors for equestrian gear and the latest fashions (such as JMcLaughlin), the Blue Jean Ball, the Spectator Luncheon, and a collectable car show.
All aboard! It was 9:48 am and we were off! Although the train was crowded, Troy and I managed to find two seats together. We both put on our Dr. Dre Beats, listened to music and relaxed. Before long we were at our connecting train at Southeast. On we went. As soon as the train pulled away the conductor made an announcement that the air conditioning was broken. Needless to say it was a long 30 minutes without cooling air!
Now 12:00 pm, we were greeted at the Dover Plains stop by our friends from Millbrook. Troy and I piled into the car and off we went to Fitch's Corner to check out our dance floor. The space was much smaller than we had thought and the surface was a bit uneven in spots (with grass and weeds popping through). Luckily our dance was in Keds sneakers and not pointe shoes!
After a quick glance around we headed back to Turkey Hill, our friends' country home. They made a delicious gourmet lunch which included a farmer's market onion tart, fresh zucchini salad and a kale salad. Nice and light since Troy and I had to perform later. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing by their gorgeous pool and playing with their two lovely five year old daughters. Not the typical pre-performance prep!
At 5 pm Troy and I ran through our dance (in bathing suits, pool side), which he had choreographed, titled "The Shag (is Totally Cool)". The girls watched our rehearsal since they would not be attending the Blue Jean Ball.
An hour later we were showered and in our JMcLaughlin outfits headed back to Fitch's Corner. During cocktail hour Troy and I mingled with the guests, refraining from having a drink as our dance had some technical steps. At 7 pm we went into the horse stalls to stretch and warmup.
7:30 pm and we were introduced to the 650 person audience. DJFlow hit play and away we danced!
The Shag (is totally cool) Blue Jean Ball 2013 from BalletCollective on Vimeo.
As soon as we finished we each celebrated with a vodka lemonade drink! Troy and I have a wonderful time performing "The Shag (is Totally Cool)". The audience seemed to enjoy the dance as well.
Then we danced for fun into the night!
Cool dancing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Monica! It was loads of fun!
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