ADT Cardiff

By Constance Stamatiou

Hello Consortium,

It is my last night in Cardiff before heading to Bradford and I have to say, Cardiff was lovely. We had great weather, great audiences and did I mention the shopping? 🙂

Plymouth’s weather was also amazing. I’m not a fan of the cold so we’d really lucked out. During the two days we were there, I had to take off my jacket and sweater because it was so warm! It was nice to walk around in a dress with bare arms and the sun shining bright, which always puts me in a good mood. During my last night in Plymouth, I also received some wonderful news. My sister in-law called me to ask if I would be her daughter’s godmother? I said, “Of course!”

I was so honored that she asked me. My husband’s younger brother suggested that they keep it in the family and thought I would be a good choice. What an honor. Jayleen also just turned two years old. I’m sad I missed out on her birthday but I’ll come back with gifts from the UK.

For the past two days we performed in Cardiff at the Wales Millennium Centre, which is absolutely beautiful. It is a six year-old theater that has a modern edge, embellished with brass looking trumpets as door handles and an awesome waterfall cascading down a silver column that was exquisite to see at night. The theater is located by the serene Cardiff Bay, where you can enjoy boat rides or watch the swans. We all took advantage of our day off in Cardiff and did some shopping. I got myself a fabulous winter coat, which is a plus since we are heading further up north and, by the time we get back to NYC, I doubt my thin leather jacket will do.

I even found a dress for our gala at the start of the City Center season. The past three years that I’ve been in the Company, the ladies have worn Badgley Mischka and the men Sean John, which I’m very grateful for because it saved us money, but I’m excited to wear something different this time. I think this year’s theme for a lot of us is going to be edgy, rock and rollish. It’s going to be fun. I also bought my goddaughter the cutest dress and sweater from All Saints. I had no idea they had a kids’ line, but it’s definitely hip. (I wish they had the same style in my size. Lol.)

I almost forgot to mention I did my first umbrella scene in the “Wade in the Water” section of Revelations for the first performance in Cardiff. It went well and I had a lot of fun but I know l probably have a lot of corrections. It was the first time I performed it in front of Judith Jamison. I tried to stay calm, but it’s a little scary opening and closing the umbrella. It’s not your typical umbrella; it’s heavy duty. One rehearsal I pushed the umbrella too far up and it looked like a champagne glass. Luckily our prop guy Sam was able to fix it. (Good thing we carry two on the road with us.)

Also, check out the just released November issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Clifton Brown and I did a photo shoot with First Lady Michelle Obama and other performers at the White House for the first dance series.

Well, it’s time to dream. We have an early call for a four hour bus ride to Bradford. Until next time. Stay blessed and dance!