Disneyland Performance Reflections by Bailey

The excitement yet disbelief remained consistent from the lift off to landing, from stepping foot into California Adventure park to my favorite day of all, workshop day.

The day of the workshop made me more nervous than the actual performance. Just the thought of having to learn something new with someone who hasn't really gotten to know how slow of a learner I am, made me very scared. However, once meeting Shelly every nervous thought was left out the door. Shelly's motivational vibes and spunky energy rubbed off on us all. Her welcoming spirit allowed us to open up right away. The way she taught was quick but understandable. I was able to keep up, surprisingly.

Within just an hour and a half she taught us the story of Walt Disney, A Suitcase and a Dream, using song and dance. Disney's Performing Arts recorded our voices and dance and showed us our final product of what we learned at the end of the workshop. Shelly managed to teach us way more than just a song and dance. Shelly also taught us the importance of confidence and how it should be shown from inside and out. Not only what we say should be with confidence but things as little as the way you stand. It sounds weird but she taught us to put on our wings, suck in our butts, and "Sole". Shelly was a major warm up and encouragement for our performance which followed.

Every performance makes me happy beyond belief, but the fact that I was with my NPAC family center stage at the happiest place on earth made it 100x better! The cast was only expecting to have about 10 people at the performance not knowing just how much supporters actually made there way to California. The crowd was actually triple our expectations not including all the people who decided to stop by throughout the performance. That's when it finally hit me, we couldn't have done it without our loyal supporters.

All the people who continue to be there for us, our families for their love, our big donors like PVT Land Company, and all the alumni staff who helped us qualify and help bring the program to what it is today. Last but never least, the Kitsu family, for making everything possible for us kids, from costumes to trip planning, down to the thing that we count on the most, continuous support. Every little thing from everyone has been greatly appreciated. Thank you all for making dreams come true.