During finals week this past May, while most of us were just trying to make it through finals and get to summer, 14 girls were splitting their time between studying and dance practice. Two weeks after finals ended, Manhattanville Dance Ensemble (MDE) along with Troupe, MIMO, and Manhattanville Sound got on a plane heading for the happiest place on Earth… Walt Disney World!
Getting to Disney was a lot of hard work and sparkle (not sweat). Each group had a 30-minute time slot to fill when performing on the waterfront stage in Disney Springs. MDE danced to 10 Disney songs from different classic movies and rides.
We arrived in Disney Wednesday afternoon, but we wouldn’t dance until Friday evening. We had a lot to do to prepare, but lucky for us having fun exploring the parks was on the list. Both Thursday and Friday mornings, we woke up early and had morning practices. We wanted to make sure when we took the stage we had everything down. After practicing for about 2 hours we were free to roam Disney.
Disney was one of my favorite places in the whole world and dancing in Disney is a life long dream come true! Being there can make anyone feel like they are a child again, which is just what we all did. We took pictures with princesses and other characters, and went on as many rides as we could fit into one day. When each park closed at night, we walked back to our hotel rooms and watched Disney Channel Movies until we fell asleep. Being in Disney with friends is honestly one of the best experiences ever!
Friday morning after practice, since we had to start getting ready pretty early, we spent the day at the pool. After we showered, did hair and make-up, and got dressed, we had a photo shoot. We found the perfect purple wall for picture taking.
When we finished getting ready, we took a bus to where we had to wait to perform. The time finally came for our performance and we got escorted to the stage. I personally was so excited I was shaking from both nerves and happiness. The time flew by and I didn’t want it to end. Dancing in Disney was so much fun! I would love to do it again!
After we danced, we stayed in Disney for four more days, and during that time we ran around each park going on every ride we could get in before the parks closed. Some days, by the time we got back to our hotel rooms, we could barely feel our feet. But I had so much fun during that week. It was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Disney will forever be one of my favorite places in the whole world and dancing in Disney just made it even higher on that list!