Thank goodness, our shows here were in English. And in fact, we had fabulous audiences. Most consisted of royalty and very wealthy families. White leather sofa-chairs lined the front rows, and cost audience members over $500 USD per seat! A red carpet lined the front doors of our venue (the Dubai Convention Center), for royalty and special guests attending our show. Our costumes each had an extra layer of some type of long-sleeved, long-legged colored spandex, bloomer, lengthened skirt, or cardigan. And consistently, we looked out into an audience of women dressed in black, men dressed in white, and daughters dressed in very spectacular real-looking princess dresses. There were times I wasn't sure how our audience was receiving our show, especially the feisty girl-empowering characters of Merida and Belle, but it general, we had a wonderful audience response. A moment I will never forget came during the number "Be Our Guest," where we come right to the edge of the ice. I made eye contact with a woman dressed in a full burka. I could only see her eyes, but I could tell she was smiling. We smiled at each other with a sense of mutual respect and appreciation - hers for our performance, and mine for her enjoyment. 

Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel, yet its original purpose in design and construction was to be an iconic symbol of Dubai - such as the Opera House is of Sydney, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, or Big Ben of London. It is built on its own private man-made island that is connected to the mainland by a private bridge. Its design is meant to represent the shape of a Dhow sail. Dhows are traditional wooden sail boats unique to the culture of the Persian Gulf. There were many different types of dhows used for different purposes, such as pearl diving, fishing, or transporting goods for trade. However all dhows have a triangular shaped sail in common - similar to the shape of the Burj Al Arab. 

The cost of any restaurant inside the Burj Al Arab is far beyond my budget, but there are several great spots along public beaches to get the iconic view of the "sail building." We hopped in a taxi with a general idea of where to go to get onto the beach with the infamous view. Luckily, our driver knew exactly what we were looking for, and dropped us off just a few steps away from the perfect photo spot. 

Just on the other side of the Burj Al Arab lies an up-scale modern re-creation of the traditional souks. Souk Madinat Jumeirah is more like an indoor and outdoor mall combined. While the architecture is designed to look like a traditional market, the indoor hallways are wonderfully air conditioned; the stores are all high-end modern clothing, accessories, and housewares; and the outer walkway is lined with restaurants, upscale hotels, and a man-made canal. 

The whole area feels like a picturesque getaway into old Dubai, yet with the most posh and modern comforts of the 21st century provided. It was a lot of fun to walk, see the Burj Al Arab from a unique view, and dream of what it'd be like to stay in one of the cabanas across the canal. 

From the Madinat Jumeirah, we took a short taxi ride to the Mall of the Emirates (almost as large as the Dubai Mall), where the first indoor ski hill in the Middle East stands. Knowing that I'll have the opportunity to ski in the Swiss Alps later this year, I really did not feel the need to pay the price of a lift ticket and rentals to go down one indoor ski hill. But I definitely wanted to see it! The entrance reminds me of a movie theatre entrance in a mall, although it is made to look like a ski lodge. Old skiing portraits, photos, and magazines are framed on the stone and wooden walls; a fake fire is burning in the pseudo-fireplace; a coffee shop sells hot cocoa and lodge food; and just beyond the lodge area are boot and ski rentals. 

The ski hill is 278 feet high with five runs, a quad chair lift, a t-bar lift, and a "freestyle zone" with ramps to try tricks. There is also a sledding hill, where young kids can try bobsled or skeleton rides. And if that's not enough, there is a a snow play area and REAL penguins, with which you can pay to play with in a "penguin encounter." The entire enclosed area comes close to 75,000 square feet, and is insulated to stay at a temperature of 30 degrees F during the day, and 21 degrees F at night - quite a feat when it is commonly over 100 degrees F outside!! 

Ski Dubai is quite an entity to see, and an incredible way for people who live in areas that will never see snow to experience skiing and other snow activities. For someone who grew up skiing every winter and in an ice rink every day, it is amazing to me how special and unique a ski experience is for the Middle Eastern people. But then again, I have a field day the moment I see a camel!

This time, we made our way back to the Textile Souk to actually explore and shop. Our time here reminded me of the days I would go with my mom (and all of my other skating moms) to pick fabric for competition or practice skating dresses. It is like the Aladdin version of Spandex Warehouse in New York City (with a lot more options than just spandex!) :-). I have never seen so many beautiful fabric swatches in one place. The old Bedouin style souk, or market, is in open air with canopy covered alley-ways all lined with individual shops. Heckling is common, so it is important to be aware here, but today we did not run into any problems. We took our time looking at a few shops in detail, and made our way to the waterfront. Here, you can take a Dhow-style water taxi across the canal to the Gold and Spice Souks. 

We did not spend much time at the Gold Souk; heckling is known to be the worst there, and none of us were actually interested to shop for gold. But we wandered the alleyways of the Spice Souk for a long time. 

The aromas of spices fill the streets and overtake your senses entirely. Bags of cardamon, saffron, curry, sage, rosemary, black pepper, and every other spice you could think of surround each shop's door. We ventured into one shop, where the owner allowed us to try almost everything - including figs, dates, and spiced nuts. Lemon pistachios were my favorite. We thought we might run into an awkward situation when the spice man asked us where our boyfriends were. But in response to our telling him we were on our own for the day, he said, "this is good." This example of progressive thought, or at least respect of the matter in Arabic culture caught us by pleasant surprise. We each bought a snack from his shop, as we wanted to give him some business in response to his kindness. 

As you keep walking, the shops transition from old-fashioned spices to all sorts of cookware - both hand made and modern imports. And as you get out of the alleyways and onto the streets, the actual storefronts are still spice distributors - here, we saw giant bags of spices being prepared to supply either smaller distributors or restaurants. We finally found our way to the metro station to take us all the way to the north side of Dubai - next stop: the Dubai Marina! 

The Dubai Marina is on the opposite side of the city as the souks, and a much more modern experience. The marina is attached to the Dubai Marina Mall (of course another mall). The waterfront is lined on either side with sky rise office buildings and hotels, and the marina is filled with the nicest yachts and boats I have ever seen. There are beautiful sidewalks and restaurants all along the water, although it is quite a journey to walk the whole way. We ended up taking a golf cart taxi to make it to the ferry in time for its departure! The Dubai Ferry has a specific tourist sunset ride. It follows the coast of the manmade Island of the Palm to its furthest point, on which stands the worlds first VII star resort hotel - Atlantis at the Palm. The ferry then turns around and takes you back to the marina, with a beautiful sunset view of the "new Dubai" skyline. 

There are several ways to see the infamous "Palm Island," in all of its insanely wealthy private residential man-made glory. Yet, being a main attraction and sales pitch for Dubai, one would think there might be simple ways to just to get onto the island and wander along the beaches. It's not so easy. There is a rather expensive monorail that will take you from the gateway entrance of the island out to the entrance of Atlantis. However, the monorail is not connected to the city's metro, and these are the only two stops. The beaches are all private, and mostly residential with mansion homes lining each "branch" (literally) of land.  It is also not possible to enter Atlantis without being a guest of the hotel, or paying the $75 USD to go to the water park and beach for the day. 

Some of our friends did the water park, and some even did the pricier Dolphin swim at Atlantis. I know they all had amazing experiences; but I chose the less expensive route to see the Palm, and I'm happy I did. The ferry was very relaxing and proved to have beautiful views of the Palm, Atlantis, and the city. 

Once we were back to the marina, our plan was to go to the Observatory restaurant on the 52nd floor of the Marriott Marina Dubai. The hotel is on the water front, and the observatory has an excellent sky view of the Palm Island. But it seems that everything in Dubai is built so large and grand that it takes forever to get from one place to the next, even if both are technically in the same place! Finding the actual entrance of a grand Dubai building or mall is another entity of its own! 

After a half hour's sweaty walk around the marina, cut through construction, up a hill, and around the base of the building, we finally got to the entrance of the Marriott - just as the sunset ended. If I were to do this again, I would be sure to take a taxi to the Marriott, and I wouldn't come straight from a full day of hot and sweaty sight-seeing. Nonetheless, we did get to go up to the observatory, but we were certainly underdressed and not given a table or notice for service at the bar. But at the end of the day, it was all okay. We got the view and a few pictures, headed back down, and found a different restaurant for dinner. Finally full and satisfied, we took a taxi home. We were rightfully spent after a day well-spent!

Aside from the fact that Carry Bradshaw and her crew went here in the movie Sex & the City 2, I will admit I knew nothing about the city of Abu Dhabi before hopping on a bus and going. This little city lies about an hour and a half north of Dubai, and is rich in both historical and modern Islamic culture. It is not quite a tourist mecca as Dubai, but that makes it almost more enjoyable. Though it is certainly similar to Dubai (if not greater) in wealth and, well, "fanciness." I would now say it is a city worth knowing about :-). 

We got a deal on a twenty-passenger bus to take us for the day, and the seats filled up quickly with cast and crew. There are so many options of things to do in Abu Dhabi, and un-knowing challenges of actually being allowed in to certain places. Because of this, I would suggest going in a smaller group and having a better idea of what each person wants to do and see before getting there. However, these are the things you learn when planning day trips overseas for the first time, and despite a few challenges we had an absolutely WONDERFUL day. Here are the highlights of what we got to see and do: 

The Heritage Village is found at the very end of the Abu Dhabi Corniche (the coastline around the entire port and waterfront of the city). It is a re-creation of a historical Emirati village. The view on the waterfront alone is worth stopping here. We were able to stroll through traditional Bedouin (desert dweller) tents, a miniature souk featuring several long-time crafts made in Abu Dhabi, and examples of traditional farming and irrigation systems. 

Various signs throughout the village provide interesting information about the history of trade and life in Abu Dhabi, although the print on every sign here seems to be ridiculously tiny! My favorite part was walking through each souk - there was one for leather, blown glass, wooden model ships, loom work, and persian rugs. A historically dressed craftsman or woman was at work in each souk. The set-up felt very much like Colonial Williamsburg, only with COMPLETELY different history, work, architecture, and culture! 

Some will tell you that you cannot get into the Emirates Palace without a reservation to one of their restaurants. This is not true, yet its a good idea to have a reservation in case. It is true, however, that you cannot get in if not dressed properly. That means pants or long skirts for men and women. I was fortunate to make a reservation with a few of us who did have proper attire. 

Walking into the Emirates Palace, I thought about those rare occasions in the States where I was fortunate to go somewhere extremely nice. A few high-end restaurants, some very classic theatre houses, the ritziest casino in Las Vegas. Quite often in these situations, there are aspects of the venue that still seem a little bit… well, fake. That gold awning is surely not pure gold; and neither is the stair handle… nor the etching on the china. The frame around the elevator is molded and painted nicely, but the elevator door is still standard steel; and that chandelier is not made entirely of real crystals. 

The Emirates Palace is like any of these experiences, except on an entirely new level. Nothing feels or is fake in any way. Everything about your surroundings is entirely and truly the most real experience of sumptuous, lavish, and splendid you will ever get. 

Those gold awnings are most certainly solid gold. As are the embellishments in the restaurant china. And the gold flakes lying delicately atop the foam of your latte. The staircases are grand, the chandeliers are even more grand. A woman is sitting in front of a vast canvas painting of the city and playing an instrument I've never seen before (similar to the cello). I don't think my photos will do the place justice. 

A group of us came here for traditional high tea. It made for the most luxurious, relaxing, delicious, and fun afternoon sitting on delicately upholstered couches, eating off of gold-etched china.  Here, we felt like we were in the movie Sex and the City. 

I didn't think anything could get much more enchanting than the Emirates Palace… until we were finally let past the gates of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Because we were all in a large van, the guards thought we were with a guided tourist group, and thus told us that a reservation and entrance fee were required. Really, neither of those stipulations are required to enter the Mosque. So after circling the Mosque to each gate repeatedly, we were finally let in - on the true stipulation that all of the women must cover up. We were all covered to the ankle and elbow, and all had scarves to cover our heads, but it was not enough. First stop in is an underground room where we checked in by giving up our license, and in return received a black hooded cloak to wear. 

The Sheikh Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is known to be the second greatest Mosque in the world to see. I honestly do not have words to describe it, and my photos will not do it justice. 

All I can say is that the entire time spent walking around in awe, I could not stop thinking about how it was a motivation of faith that brought this incredible structure into existence. Mosques, churches, and temples are among the most architecturally and decoratively intricate structures in the world. The Sheikh Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is no exception, and probably a forefront in grandeur of all houses of worship. I find something special in the fact that the motivation of faith, above any other motivation has brought about the greatest architectural work in the world. It makes me wonder what else has been accomplished by faithful motivation that we might not see so obviously, or what could be accomplished in any area of work with a motivation of faith.

Eight days of rehearsals later... one of the lace hooks on my friend's skate had popped off. With no luck in finding a cobbler who could make the repair, we headed to the old textile Souq in search of any possible solutions. We found one in a little Arabic shoe-maker, who had his own stand of beautiful hand-made leather shoes. He examined the hook and boot, and was confident in his ability to re-apply the hook. Nervous but desperate, my friend handed her skate over, and in a matter of ten minutes the hook was back in, looked as good, and felt as strong as new. Our new friend had never seen an ice skate before; once the repair was made, he asked to take the soaker off the blade just to look at it. He felt the sharpness out of curiosity, and looked utterly amaze by it. He asked if it was for "snow walking." At that point, we of course had to explain what we were doing in Dubai, and my friend gave him a lofty grateful tip, as he only asked for whatever she wished to pay him. That is an experience I will never forget! One will often hear of hecklers and rude sales men in the Souqs, but this was a wonderful representation of cross-cultural kindness. 

A casual afternoon of wandering followed our exciting encounter with the shoemaker. The Dubai Museum is not a far walk from the Textile Souq, and we decided to go upon finding that the entrance fee is less than 1 USD! I'll admit the presentation is a bit cheesy, but it provides a great base of knowledge of the history of Dubai, the foundations of the Islamic culture here, which trades lent to the development of the city, and how tourism became a booming industry. 

My favorite part of the museum was learning about the history of trades, imports, and exports in this region. Pearl diving has long been a huge trade in the Persian Gulf. Before scuba equipment became invented and accessible, pearl divers would dive as deep as scuba divers - with just a linen jumpsuit and a nose plug! The traditional Dhow boats were utilized by pearl divers, fisherman, and for carrying goods across the gulf to trade. This is why the symbol of a Dhow sail is often prominent in modern Dubai architecture. It is interesting how quickly I would previously jump to the conclusion of the Middle East being all desert, when the sea plays an integral part in the development and life of these coastal cities. 

We spent a good while wandering through the museum, and even longer in the underground air-conditioned sections. Despite the cheesiness, it is well-put together and definitely worth seeing to get a better understanding of the development and culture of Dubai. 

From the museum, we walked to a local restaurant for traditional afternoon tea. With a combined influence from the United Kingdom and India, afternoon tea is a prominent thing here in Dubai. Wicker tables in a beautiful courtyard made for a wonderfully relaxing setting. Delicious food and even more delectable teas helped to revive us from all of our walking in the day's heat. From here we made our way home to enjoy the evening in air conditioning. The heat really does take it out of you! 

It didn't take long to snap out of the jet lag from the eight-hour time difference here in Dubai. Once we got in on Saturday, we had Sunday to get settled explore, and Monday to start an eight-day run of rehearsals. Keeping the consistent schedule of rehearsals really helped in getting used to the time change after the first few days, and certainly made us tired each night after 9-hour days on the ice. 

As hard as it was to leave the show I was with this past summer, it is wonderful to see so many friends and familiar faces on my show here. It is also nice to come back to the show I know so well after being away from it for three months. This rehearsal process is particularly new and different for me, as it is my first with a Training Line Captain position. I now get to be involved in the teaching process of the show, and even leading certain parts of rehearsals. I work closely with our Line Captains and Performance Director to get the show performance-ready, and maintain its standard once we're on the road and performing. It is a great experience, and keeps me learning new things every day. It has brought a whole new insight into carrying a leadership role in the touring environment, as well as everything that goes into bringing a show to life. While it has certainly kept me busy during this rehearsal period, I am loving it, and feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to have this experience!