I first have to say THANK YOU! Your votes, share, comments....all of it that got me to Madrid...you all are AMAZING and I am so happy to have you as readers, fans, and friends :-)
To those of you that don't know I won a contest to dance for WE Party New Years Festival in Madrid, Spain December 27-Jan 2. And for those of you that do know....here is the story :-)
I arrived in Madrid on the morning of December 27th and was greeted at the airport by one of the drivers from WE Party...a sweet fella named Javier. (and so began my spanish lessons lol). When I got to the car I was surprised and delighted to find Abel Aguilera (one of the DJ's from the USA in the car as well). Javier drove us to our accomodations in the center of Madrid. I was staying in a lovely apartment on Calle De Preciados, a main pedestrian street in Madrid that leads to the center of the city Puerta Del Sol.
Here are a few views of the city in that area as well as the little bedroom I called home for 7 days :)
I was really tired after the flight so I went right to bed and slept until the evening when my roommate Fabio was to arrive from Milan. Fabio, was another one of the winners of the contest and was to play on of the "GODS" at the Gods of the Olympus party on the 31st. Fabio arrived and we instantly hit it off....joking and having a blast! We ate some dinner slept a little more and then were off to work our first party at a club called Fabrik for "WE Party Attacks". I will admit I was very nervous the first party...meeting everyone for the first time, etc. Everything went very smooth.....the people of Spain are so very welcoming and kind. Doron, one of the organizers of the God's contest was especially fun and helped us around the city a lot. Here are some pics from the opening party :-) As well as a little video so show you how massive the club was! The first pic of is Daniel S (Apollo), myself (Ares), and Fabio Di Domizio (Dionysus), (3 of the GODS for the party) missing in the pic is Fran Suarez who was to play Poisedon.
Each day in Madrid was very similar....we worked from about midnight to 6 am, came home and slept. Each night was a different theme and party all leading up to the main event on the 31st. WE Party Gods of the Olympus. That night was amazing. At midnight we did the countdown, ate 12 grapes (a Spanish tradition), and toasted to with champagne. Then we headed backstage to get ready for the main show around 2 a.m. All week long leading up to the party we had been filming visuals for the background screens, getting fitted for our costumes and mentally preparing for the big event :-). I got to play ARES the god of war. My costume was amazing and consisted of a head piece much like Maleficent, a cape, and some extras. Below are some pics and video of the night!
Its hard to describe all the emotions from that night. About two months lead up to that one moment. The application, the fan voting, training hard in the gym, and finally getting to Madrid to do it. It was so humbling so be on stage, with visuals of myself behind me, surround by dancers. It was still hard to believe. So again I am forever thankful to all of you who helped me get there! Big Big kisses! Growing up in a tiny village in Louisiana....I surely didn't know I would be doing this when I was an adult....and I LOVE IT!
I am adding a few more pics and videos from the rest of the week for your enjoyment! And a big big big Thank YOU to everyone at WE Party for making me feel right at home! EXTRAñO a todos USTEDES :-))
