One by One

Wow wow WOW.. So i had to wait until this morning to talk about my day yesterday.  First of all let me just say... without all of you mom's out there freakin out, that this week has relatively been a bad week =/ Classes have been overwhelming and just plain hard... I have discovered muscles I didn't know I had! And well I don't know if you know how I feel about school... but I don't like it (be proud of me for not saying hate! ) =) But actually classes are kinda fun and a lot more interesting than high school classes... but anyway! I have left the warehouse every night with a bad headache! And I've just been plain frustrated this week.  Well last night/yesterday was our Sunday rehearsal which is 9 hours long... and I went in not excited about it at all.. expecting to leave with this horrible headache AGAIN.  We started out the afternoon working on 42nd street.... the big tap number! I was scared of it because I am NOT a tap dancer... but actually I got it really fast and I even learned my triple time step!! One of our directors, Ross, came up to Alisha and me and told us we were doing really good and actually asked us if we were tap dancers (which i don't know if I mentioned.. we are NOT!) so that kinda made my day =) So thats just the beginning... NEXT we learned the Beatles medley!!!! After we learned the choral part they asked if anyone knew the solos (which I do happen to know since I LOVE the beatles!) So before I knew what I was doing my hand shot up and I hear myself saying "Me, me, me, me, me!!" hahaha Well Nick (director) looks at me and goes (get ready for your heart to melt =P) "You're so cute.. come sing!" So I'm like OH NO! haha but actually I think I did pretty good I sang "If I Fell" and It was really exciting... and of course when we sang "Let it Be" everyone cried because we're Young Americans and that's what we do.  BUT HERE, is what I really want to talk about.... 

Wow wow wow... We finished the night by doing Lion King.. Which is, to me, what Young Americans  revolves around almost... they have done it on every tour I've been a part of and it is absolutely my favorite.  I was BORN to do Lion King =) So I told you yesterday we learned all the songs and today we finished learning the dances... And they are all very emotional in that in every dance you really have to be breathing in time with the person next to you and there is someone ripping his hands off playing the djembes and you all have these massive bamboo sticks in the beginning and you're creating this heart beat that goes throughout the whole song! SO the other thing about Lion King is while your dancing.. your friends are behind you singing in a choir... It's like there would be no music if they weren't behind you supporting you.  So let me describe the order a little bit... It starts out with one guy on stage and he starts the "heartbeat" along with the djembes.  The choir starts singing as the dancers come on stage "One by One" (which is the name of the song) Next is "Shadowlands" and thats when the land goes dry and it's the dance where you have to absolutely be breathing in time with everyone in the dance... I can't describe it it's like you're one person dancing in that song... so then the choir starts singing at the same time that the dancers turn around and do this part where you're breathing in and out in and out for like 8 counts and on both sides you look out and see your best friends dancing for you or singing for you and it is just this pivotal point in the dance where there's this crazy connection with your friends.  ( I know I'm getting intense about this number you'll see why lol) So next it goes into "Circle of Life/He Lives in You" This is the crazy African dance that is the happiest/funnest/craziest/breakyourneck dance ever! And when you're in the choir you get so excited watching them dance that you can't help but just scream "He lives in you!!" when it's time haha.  So then the choir comes down off the risers and joins with the dancers and everyone stands in the middle and sings " 'Till we find our way, on the path unwinding in the circle... circle of life" And then the dancers go forward and do one last crazy jump then fall to the floor while the choir sings these crazy beautiful high notes.  ALL that to tell you because last night we did Lion King 6 times in a row! ( That has never been done before EVER) I know it doesn't sound like a big deal to you but Lion King is the most intense dance vocally, physically, and emotionally.  So we did it with 6 different dance groups and everyone else sang in the choir.  So the first 2 times Nick Titus (director) directed the choir.  He gets sooo into it when he directs so obviously the choir is getting into it too.  So the third time I'm singing again... for the third time.  And this time Nick asked Melody (director) to direct the choir.  Also, the guy who came in to do drums for us hands his djembes to one of my friends Walter... who had learned the drum part earlier.  So the last part of this go round is that one of my best friends here, Erin (random right? but not my sister =P) is dancing and Tara (director) gives her the mini solo at the beginning.  So Melody starts out before we start singing by saying that she has never directed Lion King before so "bear with her" We start the song.... my friends are dancing... my friends are playing the drums... I'm singing in a choir of 75 people... it comes to the part where the dancers turn around and look at the choir... Erin caught my eye... (I am so my mother) she loses it... I lose it! And I don't know what it was other than the fact that... I AM A YOUNG AMERICAN!!! I'm doing Lion King and it's not old kids telling us what to do or doing the solos ... it's me! and it's my friends! Well I couldn't sing I was so overwhelmed with this realization.. so there I stand on the front row crying and attempting to sing.  I was a sight =) I look over and Erin is still crying and then behind her stand the drummer guy and he's crying and beside him is Nick Titus and HE'S crying!!  And Melody is crying because she's never directed this before and later said that we as a choir just overwhelmed her! So after we had a 5 minute break and apparently it was ME that made Nick Titus cry he came up to me and said "Lindsay! Can I just say thank you so much for that in there, you just completely let down all your guards and I totally connected with that, thank you so much you're absolutely amazing" ?!!!! Of course I cried again... And then we did Lion King 3 more times =) I got to do the dance and then sing one last time and after talked to the directors for forever and finally I feel like the directors are connecting with us (or at least I connected!!) and they are great mentors! And reading back over this I know we sound like a big bunch of emotional basketcases.... BUT the thing about this group is EVERYTHING is a lesson of some sort, whether it be a dance or a song or just a story... there is always some sort of insight from Ross, or Nick, or Melody, or Tara.  And I sat there talking with Melody and Tara afterwards and told them that I can't wait to be the one teaching a kid and get to pass on the insight they are giving me... because they are SO brilliant in the things they say to us! All that to say... I left the warehouse last night with no head ache at all... happier than I had been all week and so thankful for the place God chose to put me this year.