I have loved Disney movies and Disney World for as long as I can remember and this past May I had the opportunity to dance in the Happiest Place on Earth. I got this opportunity through my dance club, Manhattanville Dance Ensemble. We went to sunny Orlando, Florida for one week with Manhattanville Sound, X & Y Chromotones and the Manhattanville Troupe and Minds In Motion dance groups.
From our first to the day of the show, we woke up early in the morning to rehearse before going to the parks. This extra rehearsal time was needed, as we wanted to look our best for the performance. The majority of the time we split our time between the four parks: Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and, of course, my favorite, Magic Kingdom. The only day we didn’t go to a park was the day of our performance in Disney Springs.
On the day we all performed there was a lot of positive energy from every group performing and we all watched and supported each other’s performances. Finally, when it was our turn to perform, we went to the Disney Performing Arts area that was just across the way from Disney Springs to get dressed and run our routine one last time. When we returned to Disney Springs we were “official Disney cast members” which was really exciting! I’ve always wanted to be apart of Disney in some way and through this moment I was able to live out that dream. As I waited backstage to go on I felt nervous and excited; this was such a big moment in my life and I didn’t’t want to mess up and look like a fool. Once I got out there, though, I felt this adrenaline rush come over me and I could see my family in the audience smiling at me so I couldn’t’t help but smile and have no care in the world if I messed up or not. It was truly one of the best moments in my life and I will never forget it. Disney is a place where dreams come true and I definitely can say that one of my dreams came true that day.