MY FIRST INTERNATIONAL TRIP
“Along with other young dancers, I went to Switzerland at age 16 for the annual Prix de Laussane competition. It was our first big trip so we really thought we’d arrived in Wonderland. The Asian and European kids were obviously used to travelling around so nothing fazed them. We were these skinny kids who’d spent their December holidays rehearsing for this competition. All hell broke loose when we discovered a McDonald’s around the corner from our hotel. We’d see the other competitor groups making their way to the hotel’s restaurant to eat something light and healthy, but we weren’t bothered at all. We, instead, would tell our ballet master that we were not hungry and that we’d rather practice in our rooms. Meanwhile, we were stuffing our faces with McDonald’s burgers. I think our elimination from the top 50 came as a huge relief because we immediately went: ‘Thanks, let’s go to McDonald’s!’ Back in our rooms — in between sobs — we took big bites of our burgers and washed them down with milkshakes. Yeses, re e nyesitse McDonald’s [chuckles]!”