Hello from Moscow!
By: Holly
On this our one free night in Moscow, most of the VIPs are at the ballet. Those of us who opted to skip it are enjoying a quiet night at the hotel -- which meets a chance to catch up on email and this blog!
The highlight of today was singing at a children's rehabilitation hospital. We arrived just after 2pm to prepare for a 3pm concert but (as we have discovered throughout this trip), our start time had been changed and we needed to go on immediately. I'n about to adopt the motto: warm ups are for wimps.
Usually when we sing in a hospital, we sing in a lobby or multi-purpose room. We expected the same today but instead, we were ushered through a small door that opened up into a HUGE auditorium -- complete with a full stage, velvet curtains, and a grand piano. This auditorium was a notch above most school auditoriums, and our audience was already in their seats.
But a bunch of the VIPs HAD to go to the bathroom, so while they zoomed off to find the facilties, I wondered, "Eesh. What you do with an audience full of kids who are just sitting there, looking expectantly at you?" Mary Flora (who is a genius) taught us a clapping/dancing game with a Russian flair earlier this year. We played it again yesterday when the choir needed an energy boost so I decided we should break the ice and try teaching it to the audience. It was such a hit! The kids loved it. The VIPs headed down from the stage and partnered up with them. We modified a few moves for kids with limited mobility and within minutes, everyone was having a blast.
We started singing and were joined by a lion and a transfomer. Seriously. I guess the concert organizers wanted to make it a festive afternoon -- and nothing says "festive" like a man dressed as a lion (like a character at an amusement park) and another dressed as a transfomer. Never a dull performance when you're a VIP...
The audience, to their credit, stayed engaged with the music. And the characters sort of danced around and motioned to us. It was a hoot.
We did most of our program and the VIPs did an awesome job of rolling with my added directions. I added basic choreography to songs that have never had any, and with zero advance rehearsal - VIP executed the moves perfectly. They sang well, too! We did most of our program, focusing particularly on pieces with audience participation. They played instruments on one piece and clapped along to several others.
At the end, we gave every child a stuffed animal and left other gifts (soccer balls, crayons, coloring books) with the staff. The kids and staff were over the moon - and so were we!!! I've never seen the VIPs as smile-y as they were today. They were at the top of their game to an audience who just loved every second.
We had tons of people come up to us after the concert to thank us for coming and tell us how meaningful the performance was. We love these concerts!
By: Holly
On this our one free night in Moscow, most of the VIPs are at the ballet. Those of us who opted to skip it are enjoying a quiet night at the hotel -- which meets a chance to catch up on email and this blog!
The highlight of today was singing at a children's rehabilitation hospital. We arrived just after 2pm to prepare for a 3pm concert but (as we have discovered throughout this trip), our start time had been changed and we needed to go on immediately. I'n about to adopt the motto: warm ups are for wimps.
Usually when we sing in a hospital, we sing in a lobby or multi-purpose room. We expected the same today but instead, we were ushered through a small door that opened up into a HUGE auditorium -- complete with a full stage, velvet curtains, and a grand piano. This auditorium was a notch above most school auditoriums, and our audience was already in their seats.
But a bunch of the VIPs HAD to go to the bathroom, so while they zoomed off to find the facilties, I wondered, "Eesh. What you do with an audience full of kids who are just sitting there, looking expectantly at you?" Mary Flora (who is a genius) taught us a clapping/dancing game with a Russian flair earlier this year. We played it again yesterday when the choir needed an energy boost so I decided we should break the ice and try teaching it to the audience. It was such a hit! The kids loved it. The VIPs headed down from the stage and partnered up with them. We modified a few moves for kids with limited mobility and within minutes, everyone was having a blast.
We started singing and were joined by a lion and a transfomer. Seriously. I guess the concert organizers wanted to make it a festive afternoon -- and nothing says "festive" like a man dressed as a lion (like a character at an amusement park) and another dressed as a transfomer. Never a dull performance when you're a VIP...
The audience, to their credit, stayed engaged with the music. And the characters sort of danced around and motioned to us. It was a hoot.
We did most of our program and the VIPs did an awesome job of rolling with my added directions. I added basic choreography to songs that have never had any, and with zero advance rehearsal - VIP executed the moves perfectly. They sang well, too! We did most of our program, focusing particularly on pieces with audience participation. They played instruments on one piece and clapped along to several others.
At the end, we gave every child a stuffed animal and left other gifts (soccer balls, crayons, coloring books) with the staff. The kids and staff were over the moon - and so were we!!! I've never seen the VIPs as smile-y as they were today. They were at the top of their game to an audience who just loved every second.
We had tons of people come up to us after the concert to thank us for coming and tell us how meaningful the performance was. We love these concerts!