TAKE 2!

Well sometime life doesn't go along the way we plan! 2 weeks into rehearsals after learning all of the shows, I was brought into the office by a very somber group of production staff and our choreographer who put her arm around me and whispered in my ear "We love you, and you are a beautiful dancer"(never a good sign)! They informed me that Norweign Cruiselines considers me a liability and will not let me go on with the contract, due to my previous back and foot surgeries(all taking place over 3-7 years ago)! What?!?! How can this be, the doctor cleared me and they have had my paperwork for over 2 months? Negligence, pure negligence on the part of Norweign's administration!

My stomach hit the floor and a flood of emotions from way more than just this incident rose up in me! Most of you reading this know all that I've been through with my health over the past 7 years and also know how hard I've worked to get back to dancing and clung to God's promises and His power to heal. I bust my tail and have been doing much harder gigs over the past 2 years and then some dude in an office who's never met me decides that I'm not well enough to perform on a cruiseship...jigawhat! Even so, if they weren't so negligent with processing their paperwork, I would have known before subletting my apt., giving up my jobs and agencies and uprooting my life!!!

SO, I cried for about 10 minutes(the ugly cry) and then felt this huge sense of peace come over my heart.....this is way too ridiculous for God not to have something way better to come out of it! So I said just that, pulled myself up by my boot straps(or maybe it was my jazz pants) and walked out of the office! They gave me 2 weeks severance and offered for me to stay on for the next week to give me some time to figure out what to do and help the cast with blocking until the replacement came(doesn't sound like much of a bargain). But I took it, and we made lemonade out of lemons!!!

My cast and our choreographer were amazing, they were so supportive and called multiple contacts to help me get another job. The cast even stayed in the studio for 3 hours after 6 long days of rehearsals to help me put together an audition video, then Hayden, one of the other dancers, built me a website and edited a reel for me to send out! Amazing!!! Yes folks, there are Angels among us and namely the cast of the Majesty!!!

So I packed up my bags and went on a mini audition tour of the southeast hitting up Pigeon Forge, Myrtle Beach, and got to visit my dear friends Blaire and Travis in Charleston. It was an adventure-I found myself without my audition songbook, singing songs I've never sung before on a microphone acapella on a stage in Pigeon Forge(Um...I can probably count on 1 hand how many times I've sung by myself on a microphone)...Random...but by the grace of God it went well.. and then I find myself sitting on a balcony overlooking the beach in a hotel that was payed for by the theatre in Myrtle Beach, (what a blessing but what..where am I?) It was all very surreal! I was given 1 offer but most theatres were finished with their hiring for the season and didn't have anything available until the fall. The opportunity I was given just didn't feel right so I packed my bags and flew home.

To add insult to injury, I had given up performing jobs to do this and they were no longer available. Then a week later Norweign did the same thing to 2 of our other cast members for more minor medical issues, if all actors were honest about their medical history Norweign would have no performers on their stages!!! This was actually my second incident with Norweign. In February a week before I was suppose to start rehearsals for a Hawaiian Cruise contract they canceled the contract because they sold the ship we were suppose to go on.

Bottom line, people should know about the business mishandlings of Norweign and I would recommend that all performers who value integrity and a secure work environment avoid working for Norweign Cruiselines at all cost.