photos from Vendome

If you click on the imge it will enlarge-

Photos from the trip Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral -stained glass windows, carvings and picture from the bus

Eiffel Tower photo

I was just playing around with posting pictures, it will be a cinch through Picasa! I'll be working on some over the next few days so check back!

Diane

Also, if your dancer(s) have favortie photos that they have taken, I would love to have a copy to include in a slide show and/or scrap book that I will be making of the trip. You can put them on a CD or email them to me.

Day 9-Our last day

Day 9-Our final day in Paris-
So it’s late-really late-12:30 am and the kids in my room are attempting to pack their suitcases because they want to shop tomorrow morning.!
It was a busy day and many people did different things. We regrouped together at 7:00 pm and took the boat trip. It was wonderful and relaxing after a magnificent trip to Paris. We have a picture of the group at the base of the lighted Eiffel Tower. We are tired but happy and will miss the city.
See many of you tomorrow when we arrive at the airport. I will type up what happened today and post it, maybe with some of the thousands of pictures I took!

Diane

Day 8-Here and There

Day 8-Here and there
What a busy day again! Since it’s already 12:30-and yes we just got in!
We started the day with riding the open air bus from the Paris Opera house to the Sacre-Coeur. This was another amazing cathedral. Pilgrims still climb on their knees to this church that sits on top of a hill overlooking Paris. The view was beautiful as we finally had a bright sunny day. (In fact I think I got slight sunburn today!) In this church you have to be quiet as they continue to conduct mass throughout the day. I had to smile at the man who had to say “shhhhh” as people walked around the cathedral.
There was a little confusion with the group today on our meeting time and point so we ended up missing each other. Alice, Jori, Kathryn, Heinrick and a group of kids went one way and Lee and I went another. As Lee and I were riding the “green” Open Airbus tour I looked across at another bus and said “isn’t that Analies in front?” Sure enough, they had caught a bus from Sacre-Coeur to the Louvre. We met up again at the Louvre.
The Louvre is HUGE! We went in through the pyramid and made our way to the Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa and Winged Victory. The kids thought the Mona Lisa would be bigger. Each got their picture taken with the picture behind them. The kids enjoyed seeing the crown jewels also. We only saw a fragment of this museum. It was rather overwhelming with the number of people visiting and the immenseness of the whole building. It was very ornate in some rooms since it used to be a castle.
After the Lourve, Heinrick navigated us towards the Muse D Orsay. On our way we stopped at a café and ate a snack on the sidewalk (and paid 15% more!) The sixteen of us had a good time and the waiters were very nice to us. At the Muse D Orsay the kids searched out the Degas and Monet paintings. We only spent about 1 hour there but most of us like it better than the Louvre. There were less people and the kids knew the painters.
We then hopped on the RER (double deck train) and went to the Latin Quarter. The kids saw some street dancers and then stopped at a little store and some kids bought some earrings. Alice was on the lookout for a place to eat dinner. We walked by a Greek restaurant where the manager was smashing plates on the side walk! He offered us a full meal for 12 Euros and free drinks so in we went! Things got a little interesting as we sat there listening to the Greek musicians. Before we knew it, the dancers were dancing to the music. One waiter cleared a table cloth off a table and had a woman dance on the table. Well, it wasn’t long before Rachel was up on a table dancing! Alex joined her for awhile and then Heinrick had them come down. Ordering a meal for 16 people was a little complicated for our waiter so we ended up writing down what everyone wanted. What we thought would be a quick dinner turned out to be a 3 hour event! The short walk back through the street of the Latin Quarter was intimidating for the younger girls with the foreign language, close quarters and many people (mostly men). They were happy to get on the train and away from the crowded area.
We haven’t seen much of the older dancers (Brooked, Michelle, Hilarie, Katie and Elizabeth) as they are touring with Jane and Marge. We miss seeing them but we are having our own adventures and fun together. Tomorrow some people are heading to Versailles while others are planning to stay in the city to catch a few more sights. We will finish our trip in Paris with a Boat ride on the Seine.
Diane

Day 7 Eiffel tower and More

Day 7-Paris
After a little later start than we wanted, we took a city bus to the Eiffel Tower. Jane was able to get us a group passes so we didn’t have to wait forever in line. We took the elevator to the second floor and really enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with us and it has been overcast and sprinkles today. After we all got done on the second floor, we headed upwards to the TOP! Everyone, including Marge and Kristina, who are afraid of heights, joined us at the top. The view was amazing and we have TONS of pictures for all to see. To save time, we didn’t walk down the stairs but took the elevators. We were crammed in like sardines when we went from the third to the second floors. Fortunately it was just Bangor Ballet going down!
We broke off into different groups once again. This has made traveling easier for all. Our group headed off to Notre Dame. This is magnificent cathedral that was more impressive than I thought it would be. The sheer immenseness of the building was a surprise. We quietly looked at the candles, stained glass windows and the altar. Tommy asked at information how to get to the towers and we climbed up the 200+ spiral staircase to the first tower. The gargoyles were cute and adorable (we don’t know if they come alive at night or not). Once again we were able to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. We climbed up into the bell tower. Lee and Sharon were a little too close to the other tower when the three o’clock bell rang. From Notre Dame we took a short walk over to the Latin Quarter where the girls bought some clothes and the boys watched. Sarah bought a dress, Rachel bought a new bag, Hallie bought shoes and Erin bought some earrings. Other dancers went to the Sacre-Coeur in Montmarte. Alex and Kelsey had their portraits done in Montmarte. We all tried to get back to the hotel around 4:30 to have a bite to eat. We found the perfect take out pasta place right next to the hotel. Erin was in seventh heaven-she’s been dying to have pasta for the past week!
At 6:30 we headed off to the ballet. There were three different pieces being performed. One was a Balanchine piece, on was Nureyev and one by Forsyth. The dancers LOVED this performance. I kept hearing them say “Amazing”, “I Love this”, “Isn’t she amazing” and “this is sooo Cool”. Most didn’t want it to end. After the ballet most of the dancers were headed out to dinner or to see more of the city at night. A small group of us headed back to the hotel to get some desert nearby and to go to bed early. (Ha, early in Paris is midnight!) Tomorrow we will do the Open Air Bus tour and the Louvre or some other things.
Diane

Day 6-To Paris!

Day 6-To Paris!!
Most of the kids went to school with their host dancers. Some had a good time, while others thought the teachers were mean. They were surprised about the amount of smoking that was allowed at the school. Sarah and Michelle were the subjects of their English classes.
Everyone made it to the train station on time and there were tearful farewells on the platform. Once on the train there wasn’t a dry eye as dancers read notes from their host families. I gave Hallie, Sarah, Analies, Rachel , Shannon and Erin mom hugs to help them through their sadness. Rachel tried to lighten the mood with the notes she and Brooke were writing back and forth, but I had to tell her to stop as some of it just wasn’t appropriate for the TGV! That train was FAST! Before we knew it we were in Paris!
Once off the train we waited for Jane to get Metro passes for the adults. Then the fun began! With Tim and Emily’s guidance, 18 dancers and 10 adults navigated their way through the Paris Metro system, suitcases in tow. This was NOT an easy task as there were stairs, escalators and more stairs and escalators to navigate. Alice almost wiped out at the end of a moving walkway and about 5 of us almost joined her. No one got left behind on any trains as we pushed our luggage and kids in and out of the doors. It was an interesting experience and we were all happy when we emerged onto the streets of Paris!
Our hotel is lovely and we all settled down into our rooms. Around 4:00 groups began to venture into the city. Our group (Kathryn, Ariel, August, Diane, Hallie, Analies, Erin, Sharon, Abby, Tommy, Lee, Shannon, Sarah, Rachel) were starving so we ate at small restaurant near the hotel. Everyone enjoyed their food and some of the kids tried escargot. We then headed back to the metro to go the Champs Elysees. Thanks to Sharon’s made skills we made it with no problems. The kids enjoyed looking in the shops and watching the variety of people walking the streets. Our destination was the Arc de Triomphe. After stopping at a few shops to buy some clothes, chocolate and drinks we made it. What a massive structure it is with ornate carvings. We saw their tomb of the Unknown Soldier and caught sight of the Eiffel Tower in the distance all lighted up. We climbed the old spiral staircase to the top and what a sight it was to see the Eiffel Tower all in lights!! We took lots of pictures. It wasn’t a perfectly clear day, but it was still awesome! On the way down we stopped at the gift shop and bought a few souvenirs. Once we were back down on the streets we watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle! It was unbelievable, like a fairy tale, sparkling, amazingness (those are Analies and Erin’s words). It was an amazing day-Lee and I kept saying, we are in PARIS!!!!
We got back to the hotel around 11:00 and the kids are taking quick showers. Tomorrow’s wakeup call will be at 6:45 and we will head to the Eiffel Tower and then the Open Air Bus tour.
Internet access is not free at this hotel. I’ll still be posting as a bought one hour of internet time. This unfortunately means I won’t be able to post pictures. I promise I’ll make a slide show for all to see when I get back and maybe others can do the same, although most of the kids are taking pictures of themselves with their cameras. I’m not sure how much of the scenery they are getting!
Diane

Day Five

Chambord-Chambord was built in 1500’s by Francis I in the French Renaissance architecture. It is HUGE!!! IN the middle of the chateaux is double helix spiral staircase designed by Leonardo de Vinci. The rooftops are elaborate turrets and spires with carvings of salamanders, clouds and geometric motifs in slate. There was a chapel with pretty stained glass windows. The acoustics in the chapel were amazing as a man came in and sang a chant. The kids enjoyed exploring the castle and walking out on the terraces even though it was raining. The grounds are immense and you could spend days walking around the area. We were a little disappointed that the carriage house was under reconstruction so we were unable to see the elaborate carriages the royals used. The dancers were amazed by the size of the building and I heard on say “this is insane!” Brooke was excited to see the moat around the castle.
Chenonceau was originally a fort but the land and buildings were sold in 1512 and in 1521 the new castle was finished. The castle eventually was given to Diane de Poiters who was the mistress of Henry II. (I loved this Chateaux, it had my room and my gardens!) The chateau sits IN the River Cher and you could walk out over the water. Since it was spring, the water was moving quite rapidly. The rooms in this chateau more elaborately decorated and the kids enjoyed exploring this castle. Downstairs there was a kitchen area with butchery, bakery and a room with fresh herbs and larder. It was lined with shiny copper pots and pans and clay pottery. Outside the castle, there were two elaborate gardens. The flowers were in bloom, but due to the cloudy weather, many were not open today. One garden had a beautiful fountain in the center. The kids enjoyed the hedge maze which wasn’t very challenging (our corn fields are more challenging!) but they had fun once they got to the small gazebo in the center.
Dance class-Emily taught a ballet class and Sophie taught a modern class. Even though the room was very crowded the dancers enjoyed class with both teachers and the French dancers.
After dance class, the kids had a short break before heading to the Farewell Party. They were all somewhat tired (and hungry) from the past four days of travel, sightseeing, dancing and late nights. Jane and Emily had a sing off to break the three way tie from the scavenger hunt. Afterwards, they thanked the families, dancers, and Heinrick for the wonderful time and time invested in the exchange. It was then time to DANCE!!! (And I don’t mean ballet!) The DJ had a variety of American and French music for the kids to dance to. At one point a group of the girls did a hip hop piece for the crowd. Later in the evening all the American parents were even dancing (yes, we dragged Jori and Kathryn out for a short dance). It was after 11:00 when the last dancer head out the door. There were tears as they realized they would be leaving their new friends in the morning. It’s amazing how strong relationships can form in such a short amount of time. The French host families have been wonderful to everyone and it very nice to know that we have helped bridge a gap between the dance parents here in France. Some of the parents had never met or talked to each other before and by the end of this exchange they were getting to know one another.
We hope those kids are all packed and ready to go on the TGV for Paris!!!! Lee and I are waiting for them, as we had to return our rental car by 10:00 am this morning. Lee successfully filled the car with gas-we weren’t even down to ½ a tank and she put 20 Euros of gas in the car which would be about 30.00. This was NO minivan either. It was a small car, you don’t see SUV’s here in France. Tommy’s host family has the biggest family car we’ve seen-an n old yellow Volkswagen bus! He rides in the McCarthy Bus in Bangor and the biggest vehicle in Vendome!

Day Five-Chambord , Chenonceau and Farewell party

What another busy day for the dancers! We visited two Chateauxs, Chambord and Chenonceau and arrived back in Vendome around 5:00. This will be a short Blog. Lee just informed me that it's 12:34 again! We have to have our rental car back to the TGV train station at 10:00 am.

The dancers also had a dance class at the studio with Emily and Sophie. Afterwards we headed to a hall to have a going away party. There was food, smiles and lots of dancing until 11:15! As dancers began leaving there were some tears. It is obvious that this trip has meant a lot to them and they have made new friends that they will miss. I will post more tomorrow about our trip to the chateauxs and the Farewell party.

Tomorrow the kids will be attending school with their new friends and then catching the TGV at 12:30 to PARIS!!!!!

Love,

Diane

Day Four-The Little Memaid

SHOW TIME for the Little Mermaid-
The dancers spent the morning with their host families. From what I heard, most of them slept in this morning, waking up at noon. Some had stayed up late the night before, visiting with their host families while others chose to hit the sack early. Tommy reported that he had 14 hours of sleep and felt great. An unidentified dancer reported that she went to bed at 5am but slept until 1 am. They looked rested and ready to perform. Sharon McCarthy arrived at the show in her new French haircut looking lovely! Just wait until Jim and the girls see her!
Heinrick warmed up the French and American dancers on the stage. They all gathered into a circle at the end and held hands. Together they walked to the middle of the circle and wished for a great show. It was wonderful to see them all together, preparing for the ballet. It was exciting to know, our kids were about ready to dance in France! I hope Bonny doesn’t mind, but I took her front row center seat for this show and I hope the dancers were happy to see a familiar face smiling at them throughout the show.
Before the doors opened, Rachel and Katie re-choreographed their swim up the Amazon. They were so cute working together and coming up with ideas. Erin and Tim practiced the near drowning scene one more time, as Tim had missed his cue during the dress rehearsal. All seemed ready for the show as everyone got into costumes. Suddenly Erin was in a panic, she had left one Pointe shoe at her host family's home. Fortunately Amelia had an extra pair that was too big for Erin. They added a few gel toe pads to the shoe and she danced in Seafoam! The magic was there for sure today. Seafoam was beautiful as always. The mermaid sisters each looked stunning as they danced. The French dancers joined Ariel on stage as White Fish and they really looked like a school of fish swimming around the mermaid. Elvers were as cute as ever dancing with Michelle. Each group of seahorses that brought gifts to Katie walked perfectly across the stage and sat quietly as during the mermaid dances. Surfacing was gorgeous with the arabesques all in unison. Katie danced her solo and she flowed so gracefully across the stage.
For the second act, the sailors were on board ship. Tim Bragg had made an awesome ship mast and helm. The lighting was great and it looked like the dancers were on board ship with the red sky warning of the impeding hurricane. The French hurricane dancers were outstanding! The kept their circle big and round, making it look like Katie and Erin were truly in the eye of the hurricane. Tim had rigged the ship mast fall, as if the whole ship was sinking-it was really cool!
The Amazon scene was next. The French dancers were spiders as Amelia (Inna) met Katie and Rachel to swim up the river. Their costumes were so cool with extra legs hanging below their arms. The butterflies and parrots were show pleasers as usual. Tommy and August jumped on stage and Brooke leaped into the scene. She was commanding as ever with her drama and a HISSSSSS at Katie when she looked her in the eye. Since we didn’t bring the potion table, two of the spiders were called into service and formed a table for Brooke to mix her magic potion on. You could feel the drama rising as Katie drank the potion and gained her legs.
What can I say about Ana and the Prince? Elizabeth was enchanting as the princess and Tim (clean shaven for the role!) was handsome. They danced beautifully together. Elizabeth’s extensions were lovely and she positively looked like a princess. Her dancing has come so far the past year! Tim and Elizabeth picnicked on French bread and wine, while swooning over one another! Katie danced the knife dance with passion and drama. She too had fantastic arabesques and extensions. One minor technical glitch happened at the end. The music for final seafoam started but it was the wrong music, it was for Finale. They finally got the correct music. While they figured out the music Katie did a great job acting like she was confused on the stage as she woke from her "dying". Once final Seafoam started the goose bumps began! I always love watching this part of Little Mermaid and I believe the audience did too.
The ballet was amazing today! The girls all looked so beautiful (and Tommy, August, Tim and Heinrick weren't too bad either!) Lee and I were in tears once again. I give Heinrick a lot of credit; he choreographed a wonderful, moving ballet. He seemed very happy with the show and proud of the dancers.
The French and American families gathered afterwards for pictures. There were camera flashes everywhere as families took pictures of the dancers with the French kids. Afterwards there was a cast party at the dance studio with bread, cheese, salads and desserts. The ballet was taped and we were able to watch it all over again! It was fun to listen to them complement each other or laugh at the mistakes they made.
Tomorrow we are off to the Chateaux’s. The bus leaves at 9:00 am so many of the kids need to be up bright and early (like 6:00 am) The French dancers are back in school tomorrow so I’m sure there will be some busy homes in the morning!
(I hope to catch up on Day Three on the bus tomorrow, if typing on the bus doesn’t make me sick!)
Diane
(Sorry still no pictures. :( I never realized how busy I would be and how late I’d be up working on the blog!)

Day Three, Troo, Lavardin and rehearsals

Day Three-Troo, Lavardin and rehearsals

The dancers headed off to Troo this morning with some clouds but the sun was trying to break through. Troo is a troglodyte city with houses nestled into the hillside and there were also caves. To get to the top we climbed narrow staircases and walked small passageways and streets. The views of the valley were amazing with the rapeseed fields in the distance. Rapeseed is harvested and made into canola oil. On top of the hill was a ruined castle. The houses were quaint and it was astounding to see flower and vegetable gardens nestled into the hillside amongst the homes. There were small table, chairs and hammocks near different homes. It was interesting to see the contrast between the ancient homes and the modern world. We were told that the cost of the homes in Troo is extremely expensive and the Japanese would like to purchase homes there. Since the homes are built into the hill, the homes remain cool during the summer. Lee, Kathryn and I weren’t sure we’d want to lug our groceries up the hill and I wondered how the children got to the bus stop in the morning!

After Troo, the dancers traveled to Lavardin. This is a picturesque town centuries old. We visited the Church of Saint Genest which has frescoes and mural paintings. I’ll tell more about this church tonight and a church in Lunay.

The kids were at Lunay in time for run through and dress rehearsal. Between the rehearsals, the dancers taught the French kids the clapping game. It was fun to watch them all sitting on the floor clapping away! Rachel had taught her little French sister a ballet dance and showed it to the group. Dress rehearsal went fairly well, but there were rough spots. The kids were getting tired at this point and really wanted to go home and rest. They were happy when it was time to go home.
More later today. We are heading out to see some more sights this morning.
Diane

Day Three-Stay Tuned

O.K., so it was hard getting up this morning, and we had a busy day. Lee and I went to Erin and Hallie's host family's home tonight and got back at 12:34 (nice numbers!). I will post about the wonderful things the kids saw in the morning.

Diane

PS Deedra: Shannon found the note!

Day two-Vendome

Day two in Vendome-

The kids all looked well rested today and happy this morning. The kids were separated into groups and went on a scavenger hunt in Vendome. They had five spots to find in the city. One place was an old, ruined castle on top of a hill. The view from the top was beautiful but the hike to it was long and uphill. There were three churches they needed to find. Holy Trinity Abbey founded in 1032, Church of St. Mary Magdalen, and Saint James Chapel . They had to find the Hotel de Ville (city hall) and sketch the statue in the park. They had to find carvings of some men on an old building that is now a bar. There was some kind of tree that was unique that Jori called the Monkey tree. The scavenger hunt gave the dancers a chance to learn about Vendome and spend time with the host dancers.

Vendome has a wonderful street for shopping. On Friday mornings there is an open air market with all. kinds of different vendors. Rachel and Brooke bought matching coats, Brooke’s is Black and Rachel’s is white. Rachel added some shoes and earrings. Alex bought hot pink shoes, sunglasses and a big red purse and spent enough money to get free earrings. Sarah bought her first pair of sunglasses. Shannon purchased shoes and a scarf. The kids enjoyed all the different stores and learned that sizes are very different in France. Sarah found a size 16 pair of pants that equaled 00 in the USA. They thought the prices were great, hence all the shopping they did! Lee and Diane bought some fresh fruit to have back at the hotel. There were also meats, cheeses, vegetables and seafood available.

After rehearsal in Lunay, the kids went back to have dinner with their host families. A small group of the dancers went out to a “bar” in Vendome to have some “drinks”. The kids there were looking a little weary by 9:30.

Tomorrow they will travel to Troo to see the troglodyte (dwellings in the hillside). They then have a run through and dress rehearsal in Lunay.

Lee and Diane were successful in taking a taxi to the TGV to pick up their rental car. In the afternoon while the dancers were rehearsing, Lee, Diane, Kathryn and Alice took a drive in the French country side looking for a winery. We ended up on some narrow back roads that went past farms. We saw a typical old French man who was so cute! We finally found a winery , tasted some delicious wine and even bought some! Once back in Vendome we stopped at a small shop to get a corkscrew. It was a unplanned exploration of the area.
res to
I'm sorry there aren't any pictures. I have tried a number of times to upload pictures and it's not working. I'll see if I can get them to upload to Snapfish tomorrow night.
Diane

Day one-Bangor to Vendome

No lost dancers in the airports and no lost luggage!

Our first flight from Bangor to Detroit was uneventful. We were seated in the back of the plane and the flight attendant wished Bangor Ballet successful perfromance in France. The kids loved the Detroit airport and could've stayed longer in the tunnel watching the lights dance. I'm sure they would've danced with them had we not kept them moving so they could eat some dinner! There was a cool fountain also in Detroit and the kids took pictures of each other and the sunset behind the fountain.

The trip from Detroit to Paris was LONG!!! Many of the kids did try to sleep, some with more success than others. Hilarie and Katie were behind me and they worked out interesting sleeping arrangements in the two seats they had. Sharon let Tommy and Abby sleep in shifts across the two empty seats next to her. Rachel stretched out across four seats (occupied by three other dancers) and slept most of the flight! At 3:00 am there was a medical emergency on the plane which awakened everyone-announcement on the speakers, flight attendants rushing around and the lights were turned on. Our decent into Paris was very turbulent and you could heard the kids say "whoa" as the plane dipped and rose. Some of our dancers handled this better than others. Once on the ground we had three with motion sickness, Kelsey, Erin and Shannon. Kelsey and Shannon bounced back a whole lot quicker than Erin. Before we left the plane I grabbed about 5 motion sickness bags at Lee's suggestions since we had a two hour bus ride ahead of us.

Once off the plane we made our way through the airport, found Jane and boarded the bus. Many of the dancers fell asleep again as we headed to the catedral of Chartes. We had a nice lunch at a small resturant with fresh baguette bread. Shannon was completly over her motion sickness and ate a salami baguette. Erin on the other hand was still recovering from her motion sickness and was out cold at the table as the motion sickness Lee gave her also knocked her out. Rachel helped me wake up her. Rachel had been concerned about her in the airport. (thanks Rachel!)
What a magnificent building the catherdal is. The stained glass windows are amazing and so detailed. You could spend days or months studying them. There were also intricate carvings throughout the church walls. The building left some of the dancers speechless. Abby learned the improtance of staying put when she can't find people. She didn't see anyone in the catheral so she walked back to the bus! The bus driver immediately brought her back to the cathedral to be reunited with Sharon. Lesson learned for all of us, stay put if you think you are lost.

After the cathedral the bus continued through small towns to Vendome. The roads in France are narrow and there are round abouts instead of intersections. The towns are quaint and the buildings very old. The land reminded us of Iowa, mid west and North Carolina. Some flat with few trees, other times, rolling hills and lots of trees. The roundabouts brought on another round of motion sickness for some, but without the same affects as the plane.

Vendome is a beautiful old city. The dancers were met by their host families and had a short gathering at the dance studio. Even with the language differences, everyone seemed to be getting along adn learning about each other. There were smiles and laughter as they talked. there have been no phone calls to the hotel so we hope everyone has had dinner, a shower and are sleeping! (Lee is asleep already!)

Lee and I are in a nice hotel and are happy to have internet access. We walked around the nearby streets looking for a place to eat but found very little open so we had desert for dinner tonight. We enjoyed our long hot showers when we got back. It's time for bed now. I'll post pictures tomorrow as the blog isn't letting me do it tonight! and I'm beat!

Love,

Diane

Pictures from Little Mermaid

Time to practice a little more with adding pictures. Hopefully you enjoy these pictures. These are all from the Dover show and hopefully I'll be able to get some up tomorrow of Ellsworth.

Please try to post some comments-I can always relay messages to your dancer! Lee and I have found a hotel in Vendome with internet access so each evening I should be able to post updates and pictures.

Diane

Congratulations on two great performances!

Wow! You all did a great job dancing the past two weekends. I look forward to seeing you all dance in Vendome!

Diane