Black Grace have just arrived home after a big season in New York. They wrote this letter enroute and we thought it captured the spirit of their extraordinary journey so we decided to publish it anyway.

27th October 20005

Aloha from Hawaii, firstly our apologies for the delay in sending an update on Black Grace's tour but time just seems to disappear and there is always so much that needs to be done.

We are now in Hawaii, after 22 hours, 4 airports, 3 planes and countless queues we arrived in Maui from Mexico. But for all, it was a fairly problem-free travel day.

Image: The New Victory Theatre in New York. Black Grace have just arrived home after a big season in New York. They wrote this letter enroute and we thought it captured the spirit of their extraordinary journey so we decided to publish it anyway.

27th October 20005

Aloha from Hawaii, firstly our apologies for the delay in sending an update on Black Grace's tour but time just seems to disappear and there is always so much that needs to be done.

We are now in Hawaii, after 22 hours, 4 airports, 3 planes and countless queues we arrived in Maui from Mexico. But for all, it was a fairly problem-free travel day.

Image: The New Victory Theatre in New York.Black Grace's New York season was extremely well received by audiences and critics. The people at the New Victory Theatre were excellent hosts and the Company were well looked after. We had approximately seven shows a week which also included talkbacks - question and answer sessions with the audience. The audiences were very varied from young children right the way through to older people and everything in between, including quite a few ex-pat New Zealanders.

42nd Street/Times Square where the New Victory Theatre is situated is an extremely busy part of New York - all day and night, which near the end of our time there became a bit of sensory overload. We were staying at the Beacon Hotel, on the Upper West side which is far more residential and a nice contrast from the theatre area. Everyday we travelled the subway to the theatre, which are a crush with people and there is always entertainment of street musicians and performers.

During own time in New York the Company Members took the opportunity to go to various dance classes with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, Martha Graham school of Contemporary Dance, Alvin Ailey School of Dance and the Harlem School of Dance to name a few - professional development at it's best and a great experience for all the guys. Abby and Desiree took themselves off one day to a singing class to extend themselves a bit further. Everyone in the Company made the most of the wonderful museums, Art Galleries ie MOMA - which are just extraordinary with the most wonderful art works, collections and information. Then there were the shops - one shop Macy's is five floors high and takes up a whole block - it is huge and very overwhelming but we managed!!!

Kevin Roberts - Saatchi & Saatchi, kindly hosted the Company one evening at his Tribeca penthouse apartment. We had a great night where we enjoyed New Zealand wines and catering by Public - renowned NZ chef Peter Gordon's restaurant in New York. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity immensely and we were truly grateful for Kevin's generosity for opening his home and giving his time to the Company.

The last weekend in New York - Brett Shepherd our friend and sponsor from Deutsche Bank arrived in New York from London to join us on the Saturday night - which was great and really meant a lot to everyone. Brett got the opportunity to see the Company perform in New York, and then we all went out for drinks with John Tomlinson and Richard from Paul Taylor Dance Company. Since 2004, Paul Taylor Dance Company, especially John and Richard have gone out of their way to host Neil and the Company when we are in New York. After celebratory drinks Brett and members of Black Grace had our last meal in New York City - at a traditional Diner in Hells Kitchen. It was great to have Brett there with us and be reminded of our friends and family back home.

Although it was a long time in New York (4 weeks) looking back, it just went by so fast - time in New York seems to be on double time - one minute it is morning the next minute your heading home exhausted to bed after having packed a lot into the day.

Last Monday, we travelled to Mexico which is a total contrast from New York - in New York everything is about being on time, in Mexico everything happens when it happens. We had to adjust our thinking and go with the flow a bit more which was fine most of the time by us.

The Cervantino Festival and NZ Embassy people are truly wonderful and generous hosts. We were met at the airport by our Cervantino Festival translator - Melody Ann Starr Navarro and Jacqui Cairne from the New Zealand Embassy. We all really appreciated their hard work, warmth and friendship.

When we arrived we stayed in Mexico City for one night and then travelled by vans down to Leon - a six hour bumpy drive through the Mexican countryside. Mexico is a real eye opener and reminded us all how lucky we are - a large majority of people survive on 2 peso's a day (20c) but the people and their culture are extremely rich.

Once in Leon, our Cervantino Festival hosts took great care of us - from the ladies who ironed the costumes and helped Neil with his Spanish for the speech through to technical and coordination teams they couldn't have done enough for the Company.

On the Wednesday, Neil, Sean and I went to Guanajuato for a press conference - which turned out to be the most beautiful town unfortunately we only got about 10 minutes in the town square. To get to the centre of the city we travelled through a series of underground tunnels and on the entry to one tunnel there was a huge Black Grace image - which looked fantastic in this gorgeous setting.

Here's some background: The city was founded by the Spanish in the early 16th century, Guanajuato became the world's leading silver-extraction centre in the 18th century. This past can be seen in its 'subterranean streets' and the 'Boca Del Inferno', a mineshaft that plunges a breathtaking 600 m. The towns fine Baroque and neoclassical buildings, resulting from the prosperity of the mines, have influenced buildings throughout central Mexico. The churches of La Compañía and La Valenciana are considered to be among the most beautiful examples of Baroque architecture in Central and South America. It is the home of the Cervantino Festival. Guanajuato is also the birth place of the famous Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

All the performances were very well received by the Mexican audiences - unfortunately I do not have reviews as yet, they will be forwarding these to Black Grace and hopefully translating them to English for us. The shows were much harder for the dancers as the altitude of Leon is much higher and oxygen was required side of stage.

On the Opening Night of Black Grace's performance - the NZ Ambassador and his family, Jacqui Cairne, Mexico and Directors of Cervantino Festival hosted the Company with New Zealand wines and traditional NZ party foods - which was great. Neil was able to impress the guests with his ability to welcome and acknowledge everyone in Spanish.
On the final Saturday night - the NZ Embassy also took the Company out to a traditional Barbacoa (meat which is cooked in an Umu style oven) which was a lovely way to end our time in Mexico.

We then travelled back to Mexico City and then onto to Hawaii. Hawaii has been fantastic and a restorative experience. The first island we went to was Maui, followed by Honolulu, Kauai and then finally onto the Big Island - Hawaii. We have been incredibly warmly welcomed by all our hosts and audiences. The response to the shows has been fantastic - Hawaii really reminds us all of home, the people, the landscape and of course it is great to be surrounded by ocean again. Hawaii has certainly been a great way to end the tour.

After 2 and half months - we are now about to start travelling across the Pacific for home - it has been quite a journey and we are all looking forward to returning home. Thank you to everyone from APA to all the venues we have visited in the US and Mexico, you have ensured we had a memorable and rewarding time - we appreciate all your friendship, support and hard work.

And most importantly, a big Kia Ora, Fa'afetai lava and thank you to everyone back home for all your well wishes, support and love.

See you all soon.

Black Grace