THE OLSON'S

NYC: MUSEUMS....

Museum of Modern Art

One morning we hit the MOMA. There was Tim Burton exhibit that was phenomenal. I wish I could have taken some pictures of it, but no photographs were allowed....I like several of his movies, but I have a whole new love for him after seeing his many talents!

Van Gogh - Starry Night

Andy Warhol

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The MET was definitely a checkmark I was dying to make on my checklist of things to do in NYC. I REALLY wanted to see the costume institute, but sadly it was closed for some renovations : ( Huge bummer. BUT come on....it's the MET....the 19th/early20th century wing was calling me.....I could have been in that section alone for a whole day. Actually, we had to break the MET up into two mornings because of our dance schedule AND there was just too much to see......and even with doing that, we didn't even touch the surface! INCREDIBLE!

Early Prada! ha! Theses are toe covers!

I thought this was a classic picture....Eric had his iPod in listening to his competition piece (always practicing!), and I found him doing a tendu (ballet step) in front of this painting!

I have such a love for Rodin's sculptures. While I was doing my Masters at the U, I had the opportunity to do a beautiful partnering piece inspired by one of his sculptures.

And there she is.....Degas' 14 year old dancer. When Degas' bronze sculptures were on national tour, I had the opportunity to dance in the gala unveiling at the Phoenix Art Museum....and my inspiration for my choreography was this piece by Degas.

Like I said, I could have been in this section for a whole day.......

NYC: SIGHTSEEING.....

In between dance stuff, we would take advantage of the amazing sites to see in NYC....here are a few of them.

Times Square

A Broadway Musical. We went to see Mary Poppins. Oh my goodness....this was spectacular. The sets were amazing, fun dance numbers, and there was even tap dancing on the ceiling!!! I highly recommend this show!

Our hotel was across the street from Carnagie Hall....shout out to my dad!

Coaches were not allowed into one of the classes, so I went for a little stroll. I walked around Columbus Circle...you can see the entrance to Central Park in the very back....and made my way to Lincoln Center to get another picture of the LDS Temple.

LDS Temple

Macy's

What would a trip to NYC be without a visit the Empire State Building. I loved being at the top because as busy, crazy, and noisy as New York is....when you get up to the top it is so peaceful. What a view. What a city!

I am a huge fan of Project Runway, so here I am posing in front of Bryant Park baby!

Grand Central Station

Ground Zero. This was a very humbling place to visit. It brought back the memories of that day; where I was, what I was doing....I can remember the whole world pausing and being brought together in love, support, worry, fear, bravery, etc.... It was indescribable to look at the skyline and imagine that two huge towers use to stand.....right here.

NYC: COMPETITION-CLASSICAL PIECE

Each day, Eric would have a class at the New York City Center. All the kids would line up out here and wait to go inside. The studios were gorgeous!

This was inside the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. This is were round one of the competition took place.

Eric performed Don Q for his classical solo. He did great....everything was technically right on, he was solid, no mistakes....way to go Eric!!!

NYC: GALA PERFORMANCE

This was us, the last evening, at the Awards Ceremony and the Final Gala Performance. I am so proud of Eric and how he handle himself throughout the whole competition. His performances were great, he pushed himself in classes, and most importantly he was a gracious competitor....constantly interacting with the other dancers, trying to speak to them through their broken English, and he even broke out his high school Spanish and used it to speak to those from Spanish-speaking countries!!!! It was a great, great, experience!

The judges were artistic directors and teachers from companies and schools all over the world.

THERE IS ONE MORE POST....CLICK ON OLDER POST IN THE RIGHT HAND CORNER TO VIEW THE LAST DAY OF NYC!!!!

NYC: STATUE OF LIBERTY

The last morning we hurried (i think we hurried everywhere throughout the trip!) to see the Statue of Liberty. The statue itself is ENORMOUS!!! It was breathtaking, not only because it was freezing, haha, but what an amazing site and what she represents......

This is Ellis Island...we didn't have time to stop, but what this place must mean to people!