WB show in Pánd 07/2023

Well, where do I start?

2023.07.08. Our performance day at the Cherry Festival in Pánd went really good, but let’s go back to the beginning of the day. We had practice at 12pm in our little space, Redwood. Everyone was excited about our performance and a little nervous as well, but that’s just the usual. We practiced our dance a few times before we were finally on the road to this small village called Pánd. On the way there we went in 4 different cars, 4-5 people in each car. We talked pretty much the whole way there and shared a few laughs. When we got there, we were surprised to see all these big cherries made from cardboard (I mean it was a cherry festival so of course there would be big cardboard cherries all over the place).

The hospitality was wonderful there. The locals were polite and kind. The staff members that were working that day quickly rushed us into this dining area and pretty much fed us goulash soup. We had to be on stage at 17:00, so before that, we younglings went for a walk, a ride in the bumper cars and jumped in the jumping castle. (Yes, we enjoy the little things in life)

It was now 16:50 and everyone was ready. Got changed, put our hats and boots on. Performance time! Right before we got on stage, we were all a little nervous. Will we be in line? Will we do the steps right? Will we turn on time? So many questions were running through everyone’s heads, but as soon as we stepped on that stage, it was like all the nerves left our bodies, because we put on our big smiles and waited for the music to start. I’d like to say our performance was good and Gogo also thinks so.

There are some things we could improve of course, but overall it was good, we felt good and that’s all that matters.

After our performance the mayor of the village asked for a curtain call, so we gave them that. Buffalo Next danced Cowboy Up and we enjoyed it so much. After we were done with our second dance, we went off stage and the staff offered us bottles of water, so again, hospitality? Perfect!

Bea taught the audience an easy dance. They were really good for beginners and they were full of enthusiasm. Some of us got changed after the lesson, because it was so hot so as soon as we were done changing, the staff told us to go back to the dining area and once again they fed us.

At the end of the day, we started slowly getting ready to go home. Some of us had ice cream, some of us were nearly falling asleep sitting down. It was a really tiring but exciting and good day. Overall it was a really good day and we enjoyed it so much. The food, the performance, the people, the staff, the festival all together and what was better than that? Being with the team, my second family.

-Karola