Day 5-6 Dress Rehearsals, Sightseeing, Premiere Show

Hey Everyone - the last two days have been busy ones!  Thankfully we all get to sleep in tomorrow!

Day 5 started with a brush up rehearsal for the grand finale.  Afterwards, we hopped on the tram (use of which is free for Tattoo participants) and rode over to the Marketplatz, or the traditional town centre.  From there we traveled in chaperone groups to some of the various sites including the town hall, the cathedral, and theater district.  Then it started to rain...

It kept raining all afternoon heading towards the show.  The Tattoo has a "show must go on" policy, so we prepared as best we could.  Our first "dress" rehearsal (it was sold out, 5000 people or so) was in pretty heavy rain, but we managed a pretty good run of the show.  The pageantry of this is amazing, the number of bag pipers is astounding and the production is unbelievable - check out the pics.  What an awesome event to be a part of.

As the evening progressed, it got darker and rained harder, and the second show that night was a little rough as a result.  Oh well, that's why they call them dress rehearsals.  There are some pics of the band in the slideshow, and yes those are hounds you see in the one pic!  More on that later.   

We arrived back at the hotel after around midnight and went to sleep immediately.  The big parade through the city was the next big event.  The members were excited and ready to get back on track, and they were the hit of the parade, the audience cheered loudly and we paraded through the old town down and across the Rhine river!

After the parade, we called for mandatory down time for the students as we again had two performances of the show tonight (one more dress and the premiere)!  Thankfully the rain let up, and we were able to have our warm ups outside, at the river's edge.  Crowds gathered and clapped appreciatively as our students performed their exercises in preparation for the show.  Both shows went very well! Congrats to the students - we headed back, took a deep breath, and are looking forward to some well deserved rest! (well only a little, we rehearse at 11am!)

Now for the explanation of the hounds - there is a hunting hound exhibition that precedes our show... the dogs have been a little unruly to say the least and are definitely getting the better of their handlers (Much to the delight of the crowd!).  During tonight's show however, one dear pup decided to "mark" on Tony's rifle that he was to pick up for the big solos in the Chase.  Tony was a real trooper (I asked if minded if I shared this story), the crowd gave a huge cheer for his discipline, and we all had a big laugh afterwards!!!   Anything can happen in showbiz!

One more quick note - thanks to Fred and Ken for providing lots of the photos and video we have posted here.  Also huge thanks to all the chaperones who have been busting their tails, helping out, getting extra snacks, and taking the initiative to help take care of the kids!