Artist Emerge 2012
What can I say about AE 2012? It was a great experience, and I’ll never forget it. It was a weekend where blood, sweat, and tears were shed. I love this family! SO what went down during the week…
DAY 1- MARCH 14
We started on our 13 hour drive journey. Not whole lot of excitement. We did stop in on Costco in Kamloops for a bite to eat.
DAY 2- MARCH 15
We arrived in Edmonton around 6am their time, and barely slept during the drive and once we arrived. The company met up at the theatre to watch solos, duets, etc.. but Chris and I left to go meet up with my brothers at West Edmonton mall. My first time going there. It was quite an experience. I honestly thought it was going to be crazy like Vegas but it wasn’t.
In the evening we had rehearsal, and a showcase between the crews/company from Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. It was amazing to be in one room filled with aspiring dancers. There was so much love and support.
DAY 3- MARCH 16
It’s day 3, and still haven’t really caught up on sleep. A bunch of us started the day by going to the mall and hanging out there. We gambled, played games, and shopped, and then finally made our way to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium where AE was holding the crew competition. Seeing the size of the stage for the first time was quite an eye opener. Not only was the stage big, but the the whole auditorium was; it could fit hundreds of guest.
DAY 4- MARCH 17 (BIG day)
Words cannot explain this day. It was filled with excitement, nervousness, sadness, joy…everything. Being on stage for the first time was quite a shocker. I’ve never experienced such excitement. Yes, there were many screw-ups, but in the end it was so much fun. I did dry-heave, and was going to puke after the performance but hey it was worth it. We ended up scoring a Diamond (points between 95-100), and winning first place in out category (extra large group). This led us into the finals in the “wildcard” category, where we competed with many talented crews that won first place in their division.
During the finals the intensity was maintaining. We all knew what we had to do to make up for our mistakes during our first performance. Luckily we learned, and didn’t repeat (I still wanted to puke after the finals performance). While waiting on stage to see if we placed or not was intense. We had no idea what to expect. When Mike (emcee) announced that we won first in the “Wild Card” division, everyone’s heart dropped. We couldn’t believe it! Also, we were awarded with the “Icon” award which goes to the highest scoring crew in the WHOLE competition. I honestly didn’t think we would get this because Mike mentioned that this award goes to the crew with best costume, theme, etc. We didn’t really have a theme, and our costumes were pretty plan. When he said “2-4-7” … wow, did we ever jump out of our seats. It was a glorious moment.
DAY 5- MARCH 18
Lat day in Edmonton. I got sick, and was not looking forward to the 13 hour drive that was ahead of me.
Looking back it was an amazing experience. The company became closer than ever, and I’ll never forget this weekend.