Less Than 24 Hours till were back in the US!

WOW!!Time has flown but we are so unbelievably grateful for every opportunity we have been given out here in London. Before we start packing we want to list the last important notes that we've had here.

Willesden Green (where we live) You have been good to us, thanks for keeping us safe. 

TUBE Stations here in London we don't look forward to going back to NY you have put a high standard on what trains could look like if people actually cared and cleaned them. 

Thanksgiving- We were able to share it with an amazing US family here in London and that was a great experience in itself.

Next Stop: BOSTON for a few days to visit family...

Then: New York till January 30th.( Cant wait to have OUR dancing back)

Stay tuned for ATL, Miami, LA, and of course AFRICA!!!

We thank you all for your love and continuous support. This experience has already changed us as people just imagine how inspired were going to be in 6 months. Who knows maybe well dye our hair blue and green! :) Change is good!

We would like to put everyone on BLAST who we have truly appreciated while being here and hope someday those of you reading this blog may consider coming down and trying out the London Dance Programme!
(Find our testimonial on Youtube or on our Facebook pages)


Megan Preston- Thank you for being a wonderful leader, for being there for each of us, for guiding us through our journey, and most importantly for being on top of things. Because of you this program was extremely affective. We look forward to watching it grow all the way in the US.

Cindy Claes- You have made an impact on our dancehall lives. We are going to continue to strive and move forward in helping spread dancehall the way it should be. Thank you for giving us opportunity and your energy! Until Jamaica. :)

Tarek Khwiss- We feel like you are part of the family. Thank you for you're knowledge, words of encouragement, and for just being there. We look forward to hearing ALL about your success and seeing you sooner than later.

Marta Gomez- Theres Samantha, Lucia and well you fill the 3rd person missing slot. It has been a pleasure meeting you and we look forward to having your crazy self in our lives forever. We cant wait to grow with you in this dance industry and you ALWAYS have our love and support no matter how far away.

Petra, Leyla, Sophie, Gosia- Without you girls this program would've never felt like a family. Thank you for inspiring both of us in different ways and for being open and honest. This isn't good bye this is just the beginning for each of us.

Farouk- Thank You for having DANCECAST an amazing online website dancers can use for auditions and booking work that pays, and of course for our fun Saturday nights. Meeting new people and dancing the night away with those who share the love for dance just like us was an awesome experience. 

To all of the teachers we took class with, Thank You, you have impacted us greatly and inspired us to grow and be better.


Until next time London!

XOOX
Samantha & Lucia!

18 Days Left Here in London!

We have spent the last  65 days, 1,140 hours, 93,600 minutes, 5,616,000 seconds stuck together at the hip and its crazy to say we only have 18 days left to rack up those numbers!!

New Friends/ Family!
We came here not knowing any one and within the last few weeks we have made some life long program friends Marta, Leyla, Tarek, Megan, Petra, and Gosia. These people have become a new addition to our family and we are so thankful to be a part of the London Dance Programme.

Training!
We have been training our A**es off and look forward to bringing back the new dancers we have become!

First London Performance
We rocked the stage with a Dancehall routine choreographed by the lovely Cindy Claes & Andrea Queens and had the pleasure of dancing along side some amazing divas at the PHD event here in London!

Jessie J at the O2 Arena
All we can say about this concert is AMAZING! We've never seen a concert where the main performer doesn't have any back up dancers. Not only was she motivational, inspirational, and beautiful to listen to but she rocked the stage all by herself! We would definitely recommend seeing her concert if she comes to the states!

Samanthas Bday!
Samantha's birthday was a blast we attended her favorite happy hour spot, The Roadhouse, and lets just say she had a good time. We also went to a beautiful club right in Central London called Cafe De Paris and attended the Dancersdodrinks event and danced the night away. Definitely a birthday that will be remembered for ever.

Thanksgiving
We wont be home for Thanksgiving, however, we are going to spend the holiday with a bunch of Americans that live in London :) Looking forward to a good time and we are both thankful for our families, friends, opportunities, healthy living, and YOU!

Christmas
We thought we put up Xmas lights early in the States.... NO way!!! London has already had 3 lighting ceremonies and there "Macys"= Selfridges  is all decked out and ready to go for the holiday season! We aren't complaining; they're so pretty to look at.

Whats Next?
As dancers and humans we are slowly starting to find our niche and our main focus on where we want to go from here in the dance industry. We have learned so much and can only continue to take in more knowledge. Its fun to learn about yourself and what you may have thought you wanted in life but once you sit down and plan it all out you realize it may actually be something else in the same field that you're attracted to but have never noticed it. With that said we thank everyone for reading the blog and continuously supporting us!

We look forward to being back home  in 18 days and in NY before we take off for our state tour to Miami, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Then of course AFRICA in May!


XOXOX
Samantha & Lucia

Life in the UK Updates!

Hope everyone is doing well. Its been a while since we posted, WE'RE BACK, we have been so busy with taking classes, roaming the country, and meeting new and inspiring people. Its getting a bit nippy here in London, time to pull out the winter jackets and bundle up before we leave the house.

Life Update:
HAIRRRR: We both changed our hair color, Lucia went darker and purple, Samantha went Brown and Copper. Huge change but we are slowly getting used to it. Thinking about changing it again in a few weeks! When its free why not play! :)

Class Update:
We have had the honor to take multiple different styles of classes, Jamaican Dance Hall, Commercial, Diva, Hip Hop, Singing, Contemporary, Ballet, etc, with some of the most amazing teachers in London, build relationships with some of the teachers, and have had the privilege to attend "sofa session" with The London Dance Programme which gives us the knowledge we need to know for the dance industry. We will say it is crazy how different things are done here compared to back at home.

Industry Update:
We have been working with some professional photographers out here to get new and updated dance shots for our profiles. Check out the different photos we have attached, taken by Colin Wilson 2013, to the blogg and if anyone in NY wants to shoot TFP please do let us know!

Fun Update:
We recently attended "Dancers Delight UK" which is similar to "Carnival" in the states and all we have to say is WOW! There was some serious talent and we had an amazing time dancing the night away

Food Update:
Samantha is the chef in the house. She cooks almost every meal and they turn out surprisingly delicious. Food here is much different then in the states but it has been fun experimenting with the new flavors and brands.

Audition Update:
We attended our first "UK" audition last week, the ad stated "dance hall" well we arrived and lets just say we "twerked" the audition away. We had a blast but not exactly what we expected. Needless to say we didn't book the job.

Coming Up:
We're attending the Jessie J concert on the 29th and then we get to celebrate Samantha's Birthday on November 4th. A little fun fact: Shell be celebrating her birthday 5 hours before she would in the US. :) Our program ends in 5 weeks and its crazy to think we've been here for 2 months already.

We continuously thank you all for the love and support and well see you on the next blog update!

XOX
Samantha and Lucia

London our new home!

London oh London! We thank you for taking us in and allowing us to call this our home for the next 2 months. 

When we first arrived we did our tourist things, changing of the guards, looking at old architecture, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, and the St Paul s Cathedral where we saw where Princess Kate walked down the isle. Then my Mom left which was a sad goodbye but we were looking forward to getting into what we do best.

DANCE,  Day 1, Welcome to the London Dance Programme, A program that offers international students from all over an opportunity to dance and train with some of the top choreographers and teachers in London. ( Ahhh, Can you say opportunity of a life time!!!???) We are required to take 12 classes a week and try as many new things as possible.

Throughout the rest of the week we took so many new classes including Barre and Stretch, Ballet, Dance Hall, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Commercial Dance, Jazz Funk, and an intensive workshop lead by the amazing Ira Siobhan where we learned dance is much more than just choreography.

Now let us not fool you, our thighs, calfs, arms, buttocks, back, and every muscle in our bodies have been screaming at us, but we love what we do and we can take the pain in order to grow and benefit as dancers.

As we continue the program we hope to build and gain more knowledge. We continuously thank you all for your love and support. Until next posting!

XOOX
Samantha & Lucia!

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered!

Bonjour Paris,

Day 1: Arrive in Paris, Rain
Day 2: Rain 
Day 3: Rain
Day4: Rain
Day 5: Rain
Day 6: Depart for London : BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE!!! ( Go figure)

We arrive in a room the size of a postage stamp with 12 suitcases and no where to move (its like we never left New York)... but who cares because we made it to Paris! Aside from the small room, shitty weather, and our soggy clothes we were able to see some of the most beautiful and historic landmarks in the world over the course of the week. First stop, The Eiffel Tower: it was dazzling. Especially when it sparkled at night. Not to mention the crepes were mouth watering, much like the men that served them, oolala! Next, throughout the week, we took the "Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour" where we were able to see the rest of Paris's attractions: The Louvre (where we met the nastiest women in Paris, She told Samantha she could not enter because she was American...don't worry we made our way through), Chocolate Museum, Wax Museum, Versailles, Perfume Museum, Opera, Notre Dame Cathedral, ARC, Musee d' Orsay, Cruised down the Seine River on the Bateaux Parisiens, and The Montraparnasse Tower 56th Floor Panoramic Visit. Woo were we wiped out! In between we enjoyed Pastries, Paninis, French Breads, Croissants, Pastas, Wines, Beers, Tea, Cafe, Omelets, and even mixed in some Mexican, Pizza and Pina Colada Cocktails (but not the frozen kind, unfortunately). Oh ya and you cant forget the one time dollar menu stop at McDonalds! We ended our trip with a good laugh as we watched the "How To be a Parisian in one Hour" Comedy Show in Central Paris. Overall, it was a great experience and we are thankful for the opportunity. Au Revoir!

Today we Arrive in London: Down pouring rain
Meal: Dominos ( We did get crazy and try some new garlic and herb cream dipping sauce though! Yummm)
Apartment: Cozy, bigger than Paris and not quite a 5 star but perfect for our adventure!

Looking forward to what tomorrow and the rest of the week will hold. London we're ready for ya. Bring it on! Until next time!

XOXO
Samantha and Lucia!!!

Bitter Sweet!

Wow has time flied and reality is setting in. 2 days before we take off to Paris & London and live the most exciting and nerve racking part of our lives. NY has been so good to us. We have made so many new friends ( if you're reading this you're one of them), mentors who have guided us more than we would've ever imagined and showed us the true love and passion behind dance  (Neil Schwartz, Jared Jenkins, and Luam Keflezgy) and those who we have added to the category of "family members" ( APTD, NYPAC, SAMPUL, + More).

We leave September 9th and can not be more thankful for all the love and guidance we have received from all of you ESPECAILLY our family members. The trust and belief you all have in us is remarkable and again we thank you.

We look forward to making each of your proud, to grow as dancers and young ladies, and to finally make a name for ourselves and be known in this industry for who we are. We are excited to give back to others and receive new knowledge and information about the world/ industry we live in.

Please say a little love to the man above and wish us the best on our travels.

Next update will be in Paris!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

<3 Samantha and Lucia

Apartment Hunting = Hectic!

This whole looking for apartments situation can be so hectic! We still have yet to find a good place to live in London but Hey we're keeping positive and waiting for the right one to come around, kinda like our future husbands(lol) 14 days and counting until our amazing journey begins and once again we want to thank each and everyone of you for your support and we look forward to entertaining you while we travel to and from all these amazing places.

XO
Samantha & Lucia