In Their Own Words....

We finished our last meal together, had our last bowl of suppe and plate of flieshe (amazing soup that you add your own noodles,veggies, pasta balls, etc to......and meat), laughed and reminisced about today's adventures (Carli falling when she landed after paragliding, and her instructor falling over the top of her/ Todd doing his runway walk/ Taylor splitting her pants doing splits/ Naomi getting shocked by the electric cattle wire on the mountain, etc) for the last time in Austria. What a ride this was. I love all these girls, their families and parents. Thank you for trusting me that this would be an experience worth every penny pinched and every concern felt. This couldn't have been a reality for them if it hadn't been supported by you: their parents, friends and families! I am sure that the trip has exceeded everyone's expectations ten-fold, and I am so thankful to have been able to bring the girls here to experience this all for themselves...it was all priceless, every minute.

I asked the girls to try to sum up in just a few words what this trip has meant to them, and or what memory they will keep forever...and here's what they said ( note: exclamation points and word emphasis is all theirs)

Taylor

This trip has been a wonderful experience that will NEVER be forgotten! I had so many great things happen! The dance experience was amazing and I loved every minute of it. I love to perform and after performing so much I love it even more. I became much closer to the girls this trip, which was much needed because I live so far away. This trip pretty much had me realize that you really do need to take every opportunity in life that you can! And I did! I thank Karen and Sabina and all of the Tanzsommer Staff! Oh, and I'll never forget jumping, paragliding off of the ALPS! Xoxo

Mariana

I just love all the things that we did at this trip! It's just wonderful to have a chance to hang out with these girls again! I love you all! And I will never forget this trip and my " All That Jazz" memories. Much love/ Muito Amor

Brie

This has been such an amazing experience and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity. This country is even more beautiful than I had imagined! I will never forget the reaction from our audiences after every performance...it was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever had.

Naomi

There are so many ways to make dance look good...it could be a facial expression, flexibility, anything. Each tour dance group had something completely different and unique that made their dances great...everything looked incredible! I will never forget the food...four plates per meal, baby!

Emily

I don't think I ever imagined I would be dancing and dining in a castle, but now that I have, I would do anything to relive the moments. I learned that the more I experience the more I grow as a dancer and as a person. This trip was a dream come true that lasted TWO weeks! And I will never forget how hard it was to find a trash can, normal water ( not carbonated) WC's ( bathrooms), and WiFi !!

Carli

You never know when you're going to visit such a beautiful place again, so I've learned how important it is to take everything in that I can. I've also learned that different dancers have different strengths and it's important to feel comfortable in what YOU do and not compare yourself to others! I will never forget paragliding off the Alps...or my pooping problem (probably from eating too much gelato!). Disclaimer: Carli's " problem became everyone's running joke....here is the picture of the box that solved it all! She wanted to make sure I included that in this blog saying, " everyone on the tour knows, might as well tell the whole world! **She always makes me laugh...

Gabi

Something that I can take away from this AMAZING trip is that in order to dance you must let the music flow through your ears, go down to your heart and be released from there. All the teachers here have given me so many amazing tips on dancing. Petra told us about letting dance come from your heart. Something that I will never forget is riding in a gondola in Venice and all the BEAUTIFUL scenary!

Sarah

This trip has been so wonderful! It ended on such a great note! Thom's class was so much fun and it taught me so much! The teachers were great and so were the audiences! I will always remember jumping off the Alps and the yodeling waiter in Kuffstein! What a fun trip!

Sabina

I have learned that I am stronger than I thought! All of this time performing, taking class, being with Karen, the girls, parents and Tanzsommer staff has been such a blessing. It's been amazing every step of the way and I am thankful for every moment...it has been an experience that has helped me grow as a dancer, teacher and friend :). Xoxo love you all.

Madison

I will never forget the old, yodeling, polka-dancing waiter! What I've learned: car trumps person, every time.

Liesl

I learned the word " servus", which means hello and goodbye culturally distinct to Austria. I'll never forget sitting on the rooftop in old town Innsbruck, having coffee (it felt just like Dutch Bros.!) with the cultural exchange students we met, and realizing that no matter where we are, everyone is more alike than different.

Karen

The more we experience and learn, the more we realize we have a lot MORE to experience and learn. Thank you for teaching me so much, dancers....I truly love you girls! And, thank you for your love, sweet notes and flowers! Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

*Gross Gott. ( a common goodbye salutation here in Austria which translates as: God is great)