June 23, 2009

What an incredible experience Shanghai has been! My final day and night centered around the taping of the final elimination round of "Dance Passion" -- a rehearsal in the afternoon and then a taping in front of a live audience (of about 500 people!) from 6-11 p.m. I sat on a "critic panel," giving feedback to the contestants and casting my vote at the end. We narrowed it down from 12 ladies to 6, and it definitely wasnt easy to watch the breaking hearts of those who were eliminated.

I also performed three solo routines. Let's just say that the Chinese fans were extremely enthusiastic -- by the time the night was over, I needed a bodyguard (really a staff member from NBA China, acting as a bodyguard) to get me out of the building! I'm told the episode will air on CCTV in 2 weeks, and I hope to get some footage from the show to share with all of you. :-)

After the craziness of the show, my hosts took me to a farewell dinner of crayfish ... and I must say, I was a total mess trying to eat! But I loved it! They made sure to get lots of pictures of me wrestling with the crayfish ... Oh, and I was thrilled that they said my chopstick technique was "perfect"! I'll be sure to thank my dad for forcing me to use chopsticks when I was 7.  It was so hard to say goodbye to my new friends from China and I sincerely hope I get to see them again. 

I landed in Newark at 6:30 p.m. Monday, and as I write this, it's 3:45 a.m. -- clearly I'm still on China time. I thought of my fellow Nets Dancers the whole plane ride home, knowing that when I landed they would be in their final round of Nets Dancer auditions. I'm sad I couldn't be there, and it feels strange to know that there's a whole new team that I'm not a part of -- but I'm honored and excited to take "Jac of all Nets" to the next level this season! 

<3 Jac

PS
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