Good morning everyone!

Its been a while since some of us have talked so I think its about time I check up with you all. I'm sending a huge mass e-mail this time around so that everyone can get a general update and after this we can start to make the e-mails a little more personal ;)

So what's been going on here in NYC? Well....the first month was fairly un-eventful....sort of. When I first got here I tried to cram a bunch of things in to the first week. I went to Ikea and bought what I needed for my room, the next day it arrived and it took me about 5 hours to put my bed together. It was not very fun by myself, but it was great to have a bed of my own within the first week.

I also went to a few open interviews in the first week. Nothing really came out of them except the initial interview. I did take a day where I just walked from 14th street up to 70th and then took a train up to 86th and walked up to 110th just dropping off my resume at any restaurants I thought looked like a fun place to work. Nothing came from that day either.

Finally, after about three weeks, I went to an open call for California Pizza Kitchen. They seemed to really like me, but after going through the entire interview process (3 different interviews) I waited about a week and then called to check if the position was still available. They were still doing interviews but told me that I scored "very low" on my personal appearance. Screw that. I'm cute and they missed out :)

But thank god that didn't come through because now I have a job that I think I will really like. My friend Mari (from college) moved out here in June and got a job working at Planet Hollywood in Times Square. I ran in to her at an audition last week and she told me to come apply. I dropped my application off on Friday morning and went back Friday afternoon for an interview and was hired on the spot. I start my training on Tuesday and I can't wait. I think I'll start to feel more like a real person who is actually living in the city now.

The down side, I was only offered a job if I would work all of the upcoming holiday's. So I won't be home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years. I will however, be taking a trip home at the end of January and in to February. Probably about a two/three week stay, but I'll keep you updated with more details.

So that's the work end of things, lets get to the dance end of things. I bought a 10-class card at a studio here called Peridance. Peridance has a very wide range of classes and has the only Gaga classes in the entire city. Not Gaga like the Lady, but Gaga like the dance technique created years ago in Israel. I have't taken a Gaga class yet, but I still have 7 of my 10 class cards left.

I've been taking class from this guy named Price Mousset. He's a frenchman who teaches a contemporary class (very So You Think You Can Dance). I went because I heard that he was choreographing an off-broadway show and needed men. He wasn't going to hold an audition, he was just going to "watch" the guys in class and see if he would want to work with any of them. At the first class he complimented me during the run of the phrase at the end of class, and then asked for my headshot and resume. I was very excited about the opportunity, but unfortunately nothing came from it. But, I keep going to his class so maybe something will come to me in the future.

I am however, dancing with The Bang Group. The Bang Group is the company that created Nut/Cracked (if any of you saw me do Nut/Cracked in Milwaukee). Before I even left, I e-mailed David (the choreographer) and told him I'd be in the city and free to rehearse if he needed any more dancers. He said yes and I've been having a blast. They are a very funny, witty, quick, smart group of people who are very welcoming. I even did a little gig for them the first week I was here. They needed someone to work the box office for a show so I signed up and got a quick $100. Rehearsals are twice a week (and paid), so it isn't that big of a commitment.

So I mentioned that I ran in to Mari at an audition so lemme tell ya about that. The audition was for Ella Rosewood Dance Company. Some of you may know her. She went to school in Madison and has recently danced a show of 6 solo's. One choreographed by Li Chao-Ping, Janet Lilly, Luc Vanier, Heidi Latsky, and a few other names. It was nice to be auditioning for someone who seemed so connected to Milwaukee.

Anyway, I got the job! I'm now a member of the Ella Rosewood Dance Company for the 2011-2012 season. These rehearsals are not paid, but I will be performing around NYC for the next year. Hopefully some people will see the shows and maybe I'll get some more work out of it. Rehearsals for this project haven't started yet. The first rehearsal is this coming Friday and I'm looking forward to seeing which other dancers she chose and what the work is going to be like.

I think that is about all the updating I can do right now. I think you all should update me on your life and lets get a conversation going! I hope you are doing great and I can't wait to hear from you all!

Love from NYC,

Andrew