DAY 3.
Love, Rachael.
What's up Day 3 !....
We had a super delicious breakfast this morning. There's a variety of different kinds of bread, cereals and juice. I was really full after trying all of the food! After that we headed to a Dance Workshop in Rome! We learnt new choreography which is different from what we've learn in Singapore. We also learnt how to pick up the steps fast. :)
We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant and we set off to Vatican City. The paintings and the structures are really beautiful. What a privilege to be there! After the we went to St. Peter's Basilica. I couldn't believe what I saw at first. The place is so big and amazing. It was such an experience to see these buildings with our own eyes.
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PASSION !
Passion is how you love and feel about something and express it out through your movements. It is not about a dancer's technique but their passion. We should dance by using our passion for it and not to dance for the sake of dancing.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you're doing, you'll be successful! 
The Ninja,
Victoria :)
Innamorato di Roma ♥
Gente buona giornata! I am back and ready to tell you about my third day in Italia. So are you ready? Excited? Wells, you should be dear readers because for me, this is one of the best days! Hehehe. Places we visited are: Dance Workshop, VATICAN CITY - St Peter's Basilica Vatican Museum Sistine Chapel St Peter's Square then we had Pizza and Pasta for dinner!
As usual, let me start at the very beginning.
Alphonsine Kartini and I woke up real early! Earlier than the wake up call. We didn't want to be late so our alarm was an hour earlier than the wake up call. Hehehe. The room was so cold! Like seriously. I remembered it was only 18 degree and when I checked in the morning it dropped to 15! Weird weird. Alphonsine used the bathroom first and yes, THE WATER IS STILL FREEZING LIKE HECK!
Can I just say that these ladies take so long to bathe? Hahaha. Anyways, I was the last one to bathe since I am the oldest! I know I know. Hahahaha.
After the killing ourselves (bathing in cold water at a cold country), we headed downstairs! We were the earliest baby, so fine, Mr M and Ms Mandy were already there. Tsk. Hehe. Anyways, since we don't wanna add anymore push-up punishments, we went around the rooms to ask dancers to hurry up!
ITALIAN BREAKFAST.
When I say that the food is great, I really mean it. Since you are reading my blog, you have to believe the things I typed here especially the food parts. Haha. Oh yes, the breakfast was AMAZING! I never been to a hotel before so mind my amazement okay.
There were so many food to choose from! Scrambled Eggs, Ham, Cheese, Bread, Different Kinds of Cereal, Cake, More Bread, Croissant (right?), Hot Chocolate and other drinks. Such wonderful Breakfast huh? Since I am on a strict diet, I opt for just scrambled eggs, 4 hams, cheese, 2 croissant, hot chocolate and water. I am watching my curves! Hehe. When I ate the ham, it was pure heaven. Mmmmm. It was just what I wanted. Salty and not too greasy! ^^ Nicole was worse, she had like 10 hams? Hahaha.
STARS DANCE ACADEMY
Yes peeps. AES DANCE ENSEMBLE is having an Italian Dance Workshop. Hehe. Right after we finished eating, we headed to the dance school. Ohs! When we reached the place, the air was so cold! Brrr. When we entered guess who greeted us? THE SUPEER SMILEY DANCE INSTRUCTOR, I do believe he is the owner too. I didn't catch his name though but he is such a friendly man! Hehehehe.
Anyways, having the Ciaos and changing, we went inside the studio!
OH OH OH OH! THE STUDIO IS FREAKING NICE, WAY NICER AND BIGGER THAN THE DANCE STUDIO BACK IN SCHOOL. The floor is wood but it's good for dancing! Hehe. So we started doing warm-ups. Hmm, there warm-ups were rather different. :D
I almost forgot to tell you that we have 2 instructors: Female and Male.
Should we forward everything?
We danced to AVE MARIA by Beyonce and everyone was like: Beyonce!! Hahaha. The genre was different from what we usually did and I was having a real hard time since JAZZ BALLET ain't really my thing. Hehe. My ballet techniques are poor so I couldn't really do the turns and the other ballet things. Hehehe. I must admit that the steps were great though! And the instructors were amazing! I love how the guy turns! I just realised that as we continue on dancing, the steps became harder! Hahaha. Weird. I was looking at the other dancers and I realised how much we've changed, especially the Sec 1s! They are more confident now even though they still prefer to dance at the back. Hehe. Their lines are improving! :D Hehe. And what can I say to Farliana? THAT WOMAN IS TRULY BORN TO BE A DANCER! She dances real well and so soft :D
After the 2 hours workshop (so tiring!), we had to say goodbye to our lovely instructors! D: So took a group photo (see above). And off we go tooooooo:
VATICAN CITY (screams real loud!)
The moment you have all been waiting for. The Vatican City is the world's smallest state, being only a few acres. I shall not bore you with the history and details right now. Let me just say that this is one of the best day I had in this trip. I got a little emotional :) Here are the places that we've visited:
St Peter's Basilica
Vatican Museum
Sistine Chapel
St Peter's Square
The place was just (I shall use this word again) BEAUTIFUL and uhm. holy? Hehe. Seriously though! You can't help but be amazed. This is where the Pope lives you know! Before entering the church, we headed to the museum where we saw a lot of statues and some are naked statues! Hehe. Ohs, some of the arms, legs or other body parts are missing. The place has this eerie feeling (not the haunted feeling). After the statues, we headed to the Map Gallery which has the maps of the different parts of Italy. Then there were the carpets as well which some bible stories were woven (is that the word?)
Ohs! I must tell you this, along the way, the ceiling was painted!!! Can you believe it? It was so amazing, I couldn't help but keep looking up! Haha. My neck was hurting by the end of the journey ^^
Extraa info: We had to wear this earpiece so that we are able to listen to Paula. Vistors were not allowed to make any noise inside the Museum or other parts! We have to stay really quiet. It was rather a challenge for us since we are known for LOUDNESS! Hahahaha
Hmm, moving on.
We went inside this room where the THE LAST JUDGEMENT painting of Michael Angelo is! Yes readers, we went inside the Sistine Chapel! Haha. Can you believe it? The place looks brand new, not exactly brand new. It was really well preserved! In tip-top condition except for the ceiling, a piece dropped after an expulsion nearby. Yes, the ceiling too is painted! :)
Okay, let's go back to the THE LAST JUDGEMENT painting.
I just have to tell you that it was rather disturbing to me. It was great, magnificent, beautiful! Hehe. You might be asking, why disturbing? Wells, it made to think of my own Judegement. I mean it made me think of the things that I have done in my 17 years of existence. My sins and my good deeds. We couldn't take photos inside that room. And I think it was just perfect. I mean this kind of arts and fresco should be remember by ourselves only. Wait, am I making sense? Okay, let me just say that it was better looking at it in great details than taking picture of it and posing. :D
OHS, this is where the emotional part comes in.
After Sistine Chapel, we headed to St Peter's Basilica! Let me just say that the place was huge! It covers an area of 2.3 hectares and has a capacity of over 60 000 people! Can you believe that? We went around the place and I feel at home suddenly. It seems that I am truly HOME. Is that too cliche? Ohs! The past Popes were there too, wells, some of them. Their bodies were preserved! There was this one corpse which was filled with silver so as not to decompose! It was rather weird taking picture of it, I mean it's a corpse! Pope or not pope.
Hmm, I asked Mr M if we have time to pray and wells, of course WE HAVE TIME! Hehe. So after walking around the HUGE Basilica, the Christians went inside this small prayer room. A mass was going on during that time but I couldn't understand since it was in Italian. As I kneel down and look at the altar, I feel very warm inside. The feeling was overwhelming! I closed my eyes and prayed to God.
Then there were tears in my eyes!
I didn't even realised that I AM CRYING as I prayed. It was so weird. Perhaps, I felt guilty that I have been a 'bad' Catholic, not going to church every Sunday or the fact that I've had so many sins? Either way, I asked God for forgiveness. I mean even though I have not gone to church for some time now, I do pray at night or whenever. All I know is that GOD is in me wherever I go. Hehe. So that's the emotional part. I did give thanks to HIM for blessing me with so many things! A lovely family, great friends and this Opportunity to come and visit Italy.
After praying, we headed outside to meet the other dancers. The outside air was so cold! We were practically freezing! Hehe. We went inside this souvenir shop where we bought a postcard to be sent to MR KEH! I did bought one to send to my parents. Hehehe. Ohs! I bought this rosary which costs 20Euro for my mom. Hehe. The Vatican Stamp was so nice (I am into stamps). LOL. Anyways, after sending of postcards, we made our way out of Vatican City to have our dinner!
Dianne Time (DT): Before I forget, when we were on our way to the Vatican, we had a taste of an Italian Romance! So here's what happened.. We were waiting for Mr Dan (he went back to the Chinese Restaurant where we had dinner on the 2nd day to get Alphonsine's video cam which she has forgotten) inside the bus. We saw this cute couple in the roadside and they were pushing each other and we were like: awwwwwww. Hehehe. They were right outside! Then all of a sudden, they kissed in front of us! And it wasn't just a kiss kiss you know, it was a passionate kiss! Hahaha. If you saw our reactions, you would think that we have never seen a couple kiss! Hahahaha. We were practically shouting: OHMYGOSH! haha. Totally hilarious. Atika managed to take a photo. ^^
PIZZA AND PASTA FOR DINNER!
Okay Okay Okay! This by far the most amazing dinner ever! Haha. I mean come on, we all know that Italy is famous for it's HUGE PIZZA and Tasty Pasta, am I right? Hehehe. We had a shock when the waiters served us pizza and pasta! Whoaaaa much? Hehehehe. The Pizza was HUGE and super thin, way thinner than SG's. And oohs! The Pasta was heaven, kinda feeling though! Hoho. Then the dessest was yum as well. Shall post a picture of it as I forgot what it's called again! Lol.
The Restaurant was nice too. It was very classy! Hehe. There were animals head hanging on the wall! Hehe. Creepy but classy at the same time! And ohs, there was a private party going on and there was a live OPERA SINGER singing! Whoaaa right? ^^
So after the heavy dinner, we headed back to our hotel!
Hmm, Rome was even more beautiful at night. ^^
And of course, we had to end the day with Reflections!
So here are the questions: What do you think is the hidden message of your SYF piece 'Passion'? So I shall let you have a peek of my answers. :)
Passion.
I think that this dance piece depicts dancers (which is us) who are passionate enough to go beyond their limit and do the unacheivable. For me, it's like a continuation of the AES DANCERS' journey which started with FLY WITH ME. Dancers are so passionate that they never let go ad continued dancing their hearts out. :)
What did I learn.
In order to be a Great Dancer, you have to be Passionate and of course, your technique must be PERFECT! I mean everywhere you go, no matter what genre of dance you do, basic classical ballet techniques are a must.
After writing so much ;) We headed to our rooms.
And this time round, we managed to find where the heater was!
So HAHA! We bathed in a warm water. Yay on that! ^^
Day 03 ended with a great bathe!
With love, Dianne Mae
ps/ Mr Dan is awesome! HAHA. Early in the morning, he gave us 2 choices: go inside the colosseum then head to florence or shop in florence and no colosseum. Hehe. Since we couldn't go inside the Colosseum on the 1st day, Mr Dan did the unbelievable! He managed to talk to the agency to squeeze in Colosseum for the 4th day! So of course, majority favoured the Colosseum visit! So yay! Hehehe.
pps/ Paula won't be our tour guide after today since tmr, we are off to FIRENZE (Florence)! She was so cute when she keep saying Mamma Mia! Heheh. Will miss her ^^
ppps/ MY GLOVES HAVE BEEN FOUND! Lol. I thought I lost it luckily, it was only in the Chinese Restaurant. Hehehe. And we finally ate the GELATOOOOO! Delicious!
Italian Breakfast Italian Dance Workshop
Vatican City Italian Dinner ♥
Day 3!! :DD
It’s getting colder in Rome
We attended a dance workshop in the morning. The instructors are friendly and we are being welcomed by them. They choreographed a dance piece for us. The song was Ave Maria by Beyonce. There are many fast movements and sometimes I could not catch up with it. The dance that we are learning was jazz, but it seems like we are learning ballet.
We went to the Vatican City
Then we went to a church. The church was really BIG. Some went into the prayer room and some walked around the church.
By looking at the works of Micheal Angelo,
Passion to me is what you love to do. It makes you feel like doing it everyday. Although it’s tough, you will not give up; you will still do your best in it. I hope that I can be able to inspire other people and pass on the passion to others. :)
End of Day Three!
xoxo,SiChing <3
CIAO, PEOPLE READING THIS!
Hey, Today was already the third day! I've experienced a lot today, it was a totally busy day, it was awesome.
In the Morning, we went for breakfast at 8 a, and had a super big and delicious breakfast. After that, we rushed to the dance workshop. It was a two hour dance workshop, there were two dance instructor and they are all very friendly and fantastic dancers! Within 2 hours ,we managed to do a quick but effective warm up and a half of song of choreography.
Btw, it went colder today, so , after the dance workshop, i was freezing , we went for lunch at a chinese restaurant (ni hao) and had super nice food.
After that, we went to the Vatican city, and visited the museum where Michael Angelo's work of art is displayed, then, we went to the Saint Peter Basilical, where i felt totally holy, safe and just feel good , even though i am not a Catholic nor a Christian. I saw bodies of the past popes that is preserved in there. Then, we went to the post office, because Vatican city is a state itself in Italy, so , the stamps is available only within Vatican city, which is very unique and special.
Owh Yeah, I left sth out, The Sixteen Chapell, which is the greatest experience ever, photography was not allowed there , so i guess it is super precious inside. It took Michael Angelo 4 years to finish the ceiling of the Chapell and 5 years to finish the main painting in front.
After all that, we finished around 6, and headed to a souvenir shop there and bought a lot of things, then , we went to eat dinner and head back to the hotel.
*Passion?
We wouldn't be able to feel passion if we don't have commitment and preserverance. We wouldn't feel passion if we don't like it and dream to achieve it.
*What were you inspired by the whole trip?
I was inspired by the Saint Peter Basilical, where everybody is supportive and holy and also willing to learn all this things.I felt inspired where some people go all the way to Vatican Citoy so that they can pray. It is as though, it is making people do the right things and holy.
*Legacy?
I want to be inspiring so that people will remember me and i will do my very best so that i can success in everything i do.
BIG BIG HEARTS,
KARTINI
HEY PEOPLE ^^
At the museum today, seeing all the artist works were just amazing. It is like you are dreaming and that you're in a world of fantasy. It is definitely not easy to complete everything. To do so, passion is definitely needed. To me passion is something that urges you to do what you want, even if it is difficult, even if though it seems impossible. I think the dancers in dance is passionate about dance. Simply because dance is not an easy cca and dancers who did not quit, would want to continue dancing even though its not easy. Today, i have learnt that Micheal Angelo has a lot of passion for art. Everyone who had viewed his artwork, could clearly see that. I am also very inspired by the vatican city. The place is actually a state itself. That alone shows how important it is. When you enter the church, you are just speechless. Seeing with your naked bare eyes how it really looks like, is just amazing. Even stepping into it is really fortunate. It's like stepping into the beautiful house of god. I was so lucky to be able to pray in there even though the father was speaking in italian.
The st. peter basilica really inspired me a lot as well. The pope is there. WOW. The opputunity given to me makes me feel really fortunate as other than today, i may never ever be able to be in there ever again.
After that we went shopping and bought some italy stuff. And then we went for gelato. Dinner was awesome! I truly enjoyed today as it was extremely inspiring. I believe that we can inspire eveyonre using our dance. With our hardwork, i belive we can inspire others.
xoxo, lessthanthree<3
ALPHONSINEKOH
Hi :D
Day #03
Brr.. Its cold here in Rome. In the morning, we attended a dance workshop and our instructors choreographed a piece for us with the song Ave Maria by Beyonce. I felt independent during the session as it was not the same back in our trainings at Odessey Dance Theatre. The warm ups we did was quite similar to what we did in Mr Tan's dance session although there were some exercises we have not learnt, it was quite fun..
After lunch, we went to the Vatician City where we also visited a museum and a church including the 16 chapels. We attended prayer sessions for the catholics and the others explored around. I saw some sculptures and paintings made by Michaelangelo. Its was BEAUTIFUL! Michaelangelo was passionate about making sculptures and painting, he did not give up throughout and he is willing to sacrifice his time to do those things.
Passion to me is of someone who has a desire or interest in something. Michaelangelo is what inspired me somehow. Michaelangelo is a great example that i think people should follow. For me, i feel that dance is my passion and i would not give it up just because of the difficulties i face along the way.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAD TIME FOR SHOPPING!!
Mr Michael and Ms Mandy purchased a post card and stamp. We signed on it and it was meant to post to Mr Keh our principle. Some of us queued and bought a post card and a stamp to send back to our families. All that i can say is that I'd miss Rome.. :(
Love,
Sheryl <3
Hey :))) second day at Rome, and I'm still alive in this cold weather!! Lol...
This morning we had a dance workshop, and it was so fun!! Like seriously, the choreographers kept teaching us many ballet movements, and we were kinda not so good at it..hahas
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| Dancers following the choreographers. |
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| Hey Maryanne, dancers doing own warm up, and some doing their hair. |
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| The choreographers doing warm up with us,and in the background we have two Mr.M :) |
After lunch, we went to Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world, but it holds the largest Catholic Church on the planet, cool huh??
St. Peter's Basilica was AMAZING!!! It was big and beautiful inside and out, but i felt a bit sorry and disappointed that most people mistaken it as a musuem rather than a church.Everyone was busy taking pictures, its fine to take pictures, but it somehow feels like i'm going there to see stuff and statues than the real purpose of going to a church...
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| this is the mummified Pope. |
Oh well, thats all for day 3, Bye for now,
Love, Kim Sarah.
This is the second day in Rome, we had our first dance practice today in italy! I looked forward to today's practice:)
Dance:
We learned how to do turns some jazz, and also a choreography. The song was Ave Maria by Beyonce, I love the dance:) We had lots of fun dancing learning jazz, I found out that ballet and jazz were quite similiar in some ways too...
The Vatican City;
Afterwards, we went to the musuem and it was full of large paintings of the stories of the old and new testimonies in the Bible. Then there was the famous; Sistine Chapel, painted by a famous artist; Micheal Angelo, it was pretty amazing on how he painted the cellings and all with such details and color it looked like 3D, I could imagine him taking 10yrs to paint the whole celling.
We went to the other side of the museum and there was a church there. As I entered the church I felt so small and humble in the presence of God. Some of us went into the prayer room to pray for blessings and needs.
Reflections on Micheal Angelo works:
From his passionate works, I learnt the perseverence of oneself and being compassionate in whatever we do. I also learnt the importance of inspirations and hope that I will be able to inspire the new batch of sec1s to be passionate and compassionate in dancing...
wenxin-
Dance Workshop in Roma
Woohoo! Our very first dance workshop in Italia experience!
We learnt abit of Jazz and did a choreography to the song Ave Maria by Beyonce Knowles.
I liked the choreography as it was very graceful and feminine and everyone looked okay when dancing it (Since we're all girls)!
I learned that Jazz is rather closely linked to Ballet and most of the techniques are repeated.
Only the techniques aren't entirely the same but is different in terms of some of the leg and arm placements.
Chinese Restaurant (lunch)
I was hoping and praying so hard that it would never come during this trip.
But as always, it was out of my control.
Before lunch, I found out that my bloody friend wanted to tag along during the trip too.
Just what every female wants to avoid especially when staying overseas for quite some time.
Troublesome much -.-
Vatican City
We walked through this corridor filled with statues made up of marble and ceilings with beautiful paintings overhead until we came to the Sistine Chapel.
It was incredible! The fact that it was still in a pretty good condition till now...
Well, except for a piece that had fallen off from the ceiling due to a nearby explosion (according to the tour-guide, I was paying attention heheh).
The walls and ceiling were all covered with the works of Michel Angelo,
and seemed to have a 3-D effect.
A spectacular sight. And to think it was done single-handedly.
Then we went to visit the Basilica of St Peter's and the Christians managed to pay homage there.
It was a great honour to get a chance to do so. The church was really big and spacious.
Although there were many people around, it somehow seemed very peaceful and still.
I must say so myself that as a Roman Catholic i'm not a very holy person. But when we went into an inner room where some prayer session was being held, all I wanted to do was to listen and I felt myself being lifted and thinking about nothing but God. The priest was leading an assembly of not more than about 30 in a hymn that I always heard at the Novena. Although it was in a language which I failed to understand, I quietly sang along in English and my heart felt at peace.
Before we left holy-ground, we stopped by a shop to buy souvenirs and send postcards.
We picked one out for Mr.Keh and everyone signed it while the teachers wrote some message on it.
I also sent one back home to my momi and sis.
It was cold that night and we linked arms together for warmth as we walked to the meeting point with our coach driver. =D
Italian Restaurant
Pizza and pasta for dinner that night, followed by ice cream for dessert.
NICE!
I noticed they always served in huge portions, so it wasn't surprising at the amount of output that came out when we went back to the creepo hotel.
Workshop in Roma
Vatican City
Vatican City; Through the long corridors
In the Basilica of St Peter's
Pizza + Pasta = Mmmhm!!
Up next, Maryanne's day04!
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roar DAY 3!
Had a dance workshop in the morning. jazz-ed to "ave maria" by Beyonce (Y) it was really fun, love the dance. love the instructors <3
we then visited the vatican city "HQ of the pope" bwahahaha. ok, anyway, it was really cool and noooo we didn't get to see the pope.. -_-
Bought a rosary for mummy. also sent a postcard home.
had Chinese for lunch, italian for dinner.
back to the creepy hotel for the night, and yes we had a good night :)
xx,nicole.
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Day 3
We had dance workshop in the morning. We danced to the song, ave maria by beyonce. Managed to complete a few eights. We sorta impressed the two choreographers, so they had to think of the new steps on the spot to complete the end of second chorus. I enjoyed this choreography a lot, as it had a combination of jazz and contemporary. So we have learned couple of new moves from a slightly different dance style unlike Mr danny's style of dancing. Hence it has further widen our skills and creativity and also to control the amount of energy that has to put in different steps. We had our meals at the Chinese restaurant to keep us going till dinner.
We went down to Vatican city, to learn deeper about its history. Perhaps the religion or the previous popes. The church inside out was just spectacular. Every detail or a picture tells a story. We made our way to the souvenir shop and had the chance to send a postcard to Mr keh and our family. Lastly we went back to the hotel to have our daily reflections.
-farliana ghani(4/5)'2010
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Day 3
My roommate for the night was Kim Sarah and I was a lil freaked out by the vintage and nostalgic texture of the hotel we stayed in, I even had to open the toilet door a lil cos I was afraid haha! However, my mind eventually changed after learning about the breakfast buffet they had there. Caramel croissants, eggy eggs and thick, malty hot chocolate! Mmmmm...
We had a dance workshop in the morning to kick start our day. It was awesome and we learnt choreography from Beyonce's song, Ave Maria. The instructors were friendly and helpful and chirpy. When I had difficulty in getting the steps right, she will demonstrate it again and help me out. Overall, I enjoyed this workshops or should I say all of em? :)
We went inside the Vatican City afterwards and what amazes me is that its an independent city by itself inside a country! And oh my, it is beautiful beyond words. I have never been to any place so dazzling as this before, it really blew my mind away. And learning how it all came about with the work of Michelangelo and seeing the output of what he did for the Sistine Chapel really inspired me.
Went shopping and dinner to finish off the day :)
Atika 3/1, 2010
