NYC Social - July

July begins with plenty of Independence day celebrations. With summer in full swing, outdoor fetes dominate the rest of the month. Which is perfect, since all I want to do is bask in the sunshine. While I will add the following to my list of things to do, my social calendar is already packed from May and June events that continue to run through the rest of the month. Here's what's taking place in July:

1. Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks: July 4

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To celebrate the nation's independence, Macy's will put on a fireworks display that it boasts as being the largest in the country. At 9pm along the Hudson River, over 40,000 fireworks will light up the sky for about half an hour. Since all Hudson River Piers (apart from Pier 84) will be closed off, prime viewing spots are on 12th avenue between 23rd and 42nd streets and aim to be there many many hours before. Or better yet, get thee to an apartment rooftop with a view of the Hudson.  Whatever way you choose to watch the fireworks, make sure you pay attention to the Empire State Building during the last few minutes for a specially choreographed ESB light show.

2 . New York Musical Theatre Festival: July 8 - 28

Considered " the Sundance for Musical Theatre", the New York Musical Theatre Festival will showcase over 30 new musicals and concerts over the course of 3 weeks. Over the course of decade the festival has been in existence, it has become the launching pad of various shows that have gone on to Broadway and Off-Broadway success. This year, there will be more traditional musical comedies, hip hop concerts and dance dramas. Tickets are $20 and you can see the lineup here.

3. Broadway in Bryant Park: July 11 - August 15

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If you are lucky to be in the vicinity of Bryant Park over lunch, have your meal outdoors while being serenaded by the best on Broadway. Each concert lasts from 12.30 - 1.30pm and will include performances of award-winning productions like Pippin, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera and Avenue Q. See the entire programme here and plan your picnic!  

Winter Wonderland

This weekend, New York experienced its first decent snowfall of the season. 

I woke up on Saturday morning and knew Central Park was where I wanted to be.. and apparently all of New York had the same idea too!

While the Park is beautiful on a regular day, the snow turned it into a spectacular winter wonderland. 

The Park was crowded! But it felt like there was so much happiness in one spot - everywhere you turned there were shrieks of laughter and exclamations of joy over how pretty the snow made everything look.

   

J Crew cocoon coat and leopard gloves (sim), Plush fleece-lined tights, Kate Spade polka dot gumboots (sim), Rebecca Minkoff MAC clutch (sim), Ray Ban Wayfarers

Snow makes the winter so much more bearable, don't you think? 

Sunshine in the Park

Happy Sunday everyone! 

I had a shocker of a week leading up to the weekend - work was particularly busy and I had a wedding performance yesterday to gear up for. Unlike previous performances, this show was fraught with drama - missing choreography, injuries, rehearsal absences, costume issues. I thank all the powers that be that it went well - seeing the bride dancing in her seat while we were performing was all the validation I needed!

After a slow morning today, S and I set out to Central Park for further lazing -choosing a shady bit of Sheep Meadow for a Whole Foods buffet bar picnic.  

As my sweetheart snoozed quietly next to me, I put away my magazine and amused myself with people-watching on the Meadow: fathers and their kids throwing ball, sunbathers in bikinis (how anyone does this with no beach in sight to cool off astounds me), people practicing handstands and cartwheels, frisbees flying everywhere, tourists poring over their maps, even a acrobatic dance troupe rehearsing..

J Crew Lucille Dress - still on sale here (also in cotton-silk and eyelet)  , Kenneth Cole wedges, Anthropologie Astrological Maps Bracelet and Skinny Sloop Belt (sim nautical belt), Aldo boater hat (sim here, here and here)

After what seemed like hours (I didn't wear a watch), we took the long way home, stopping first to pay homage to Hans Cristian Anderson and Alice and Company. 

Have a great rest of the weekend - I am wrapping it up by sitting in front of the telly for the Olympics Closing Ceremony! 

Summer bucket list

Inspired by the blogosphere and the fact that I have more time on my hands now that dance season is over, I decided to list down all the things I would like to experience/accomplish by the end of this summer i.e. in the next 6 weeks eeek!

1. Visit the recreation of Claude Monet's Giverny gardens at the New York Botanical Gardens
2. See a couple of movies on the big screen: Magic Mike (done - with smuggled cans of Sofia) and Batman Rises
3. Swim in the ocean (we are off to Fire Island this weekend!)
4. Make some headway into the The Song of Fire and Ice books
5. Finish off French For Dummies now that my European vacation is but a month away!
6. Practice yoga in the park
7. Cull the humongous pile of outdated magazines I have lying around in the apartment
8. Have a picnic/eat lunch in Central Park or Battery Park (it's so silly I have hardly spent time at the latter even though I work very close by)
9. Put for sale items in my wardrobe I can't keep - (I've started here)
10. Go bike-riding in the city - ideally somewhere car-free like Central Park or Governors Island
11. (BONUS) Bake. Something. ANYTHING.

What do you have on your summer list?


Image via Hitha (from Pinterest)

Navatman Dance

Riding on the adrenaline of this performance, I decided I could do with more dance in my life - which led to me successfully auditioning for the performing arm of the school I take dance classes at. 

These days, our group of 11 is gearing up for a big showcase at the end of June. In anticipation of that, rehearsals are in full swing with sessions multiple times a week - which to be honest is fairly intense considering all of us are otherwise in school or work full-time!


Naturally we welcomed the short respite from practice for a pre-show photo shoot:

  

 

  

From the comforts of the dance studio, we moved on to sunny Central Park. It was a GLORIOUS day and it felt like all of New York was out there - I can only assume we must have been such a sight decked in our colourful dance saris posing here and there.


Our biggest challenge was to take VERY careful steps to avoid nasty surprises in the grass..

...or balancing precariously on trees, which if we slipped would have meant landing right into the bog-filled lake! 

...or maneuvering other enthusiastic tourists attempting to take a shot of that NYC skyline.

Lengthy practices aside, it truly is a wonderful experience and I could not be more honoured to be a part of an ensemble that loves dance as much as I. The girls are also immensely talented and dedicated, not to mention a HOOT to be around with. 


If you are in New York at the end of June, it would mean the world to me if you saw us perform! 

See all details here! 




All photos by Gauri Saxena