May I just start off by saying that Lisa and Holly have done a great job with their blogs. Each blog represents EXACTLY how each one of these girls are. Lisa is the random, funny one; while Holly is the sweet, easy-going one. I am the fiery, quiet one, who at times loves to chat... as you shall see. ;-)

As I sit here, thinking about the other 'bee-blogs' and how they have already touched on certain Singing Bee experiences, I felt it would be fun to give everyone an idea about The Singing Bee audition process...my experience in particular of course. With that said, I will title my blog: "How I became a blonde."

First off, I cannot even begin to express how humbled I am by this opportunity; I am so thankful to everyone who gave me a shot and made this dream possible! So, when I first heard from my agent about the "The Singing Bee" audition, I was contemplating whether or not to go. Most tall dancers in Los Angeles would agree with me that 80% of the time we get cut in auditions because of our height. However, when I was informed that only girls 5'8" and above were to attend this audition, so I set my alarm clock for 6 AM baby! It was now Monday, June 18th. "The Singing Bee" held a morning audition and an afternoon audition. I went to the morning one, where I met sweet Holly. After looking us over, they asked us to return the following day for the call-back, and that is where I met Lisa and Monique, whom I've worked with before.

They cut us down to 12 girls, and then separated us into three groups of 4. They placed me with Lisa, Holly and Monique and we all danced together. After buckling loose a bit, we calmed down, held our breath... and then we were asked the strangest question... "Would any of you mind going blonde?" So, being the quiet gal that I am, immediately I yelled out "Heck no! I am your clay! Mold me!" That broke the ice a little for me, for the producers and the choreographer started laughing. The call-back ended at about 12PM.

A few hours later, I got a call from my agent saying the producers liked me, yet they wanted to see me blonde. So my agent kindly tells me to please 'buy a wig.' So I frantically leave work and head for the mall on the quest for a Barbie wig. 'Can somebody please tell me why ALL wigs consist of Barbie doll hair?' Anyhow, I called Scott Grossman, the choreographer, and asked him "Can I just go ahead and dye my hair?" He paused for a second and then said, "Well yeah! But I feel bad because I don't know if the producers will like you blonde!" So I said, "Well they surely will hate me with a wig on, so I'll just take my chances!" He laughed and replied "Alright honey, go for it!" So there I was on this crazy day, in the scorching hot San Fernando Valley at about 7:30PM (Yes, still hot at that time), and I called all the hair salons in my neighborhood. They all told me that they could not help me because it was too late! So now panic kicks in, I look around and can see my dreams running from me! ;-) I finally decided to call a lady who used to cut my hair who is unfortunately located way down in Venice Beach! I asked her if she could take me - for it was an emergency! She said "Can you make it here by 8:15pm?" I said "Yes!" So before she could hang up, I was at a full sprint, about 100 miles per hour out to my car! Sorry to all those who I knocked over. I'm driving down the 101, still at 100 miles per hour (Just kidding)... it was 110 miles an hour, and here comes the 405. Now, if you live in L.A. you know the name "405" is synonymous with "parking lot!" Nevertheless, that goodness, despite all this craziness, I miraculously made it right on time!

At any rate, now as a blonde, I went back to CBS Radford studios on Wednesday to show them the hair, only to find out that they have called a whole new audition... for blonde's only! "Gee, thanks guys!" ;-) So here I am, after everything I went through, sitting at the audition watching my beautiful blonde competition audition... for my dream job! How lovely. Well, I must say, it was the longest 2 1/2 hrs of my life!!!

To sum up this long story, towards the end of the day I get a call from Scott, who leaves me a message... "Congratulations on getting the job!" Oh what a relief! My students (I teach dance by the way), were right there in front of me when I checked the message and we a happy bunch! Actually, I was so ecstatic I tackled one of my girls down to the floor! ...and that is how my audition experience took place; that is how I became a Honey Bee. I hope in the months to come I represent Brazil well and successfully show my eternal appreciation to America, which we call back home "The Land of Opportunities!"

The question I get asked most....is how I became a HONEY BEE???
The Audition... I got a call from my agent that there was a new variety game show called “The Singing Bee.” They wanted girls 5'8”-6' with strong dance technique. I thought wow this is perfect! I have always been told I am too tall! Until I got to the audition and realized so did several hundred other girls. Scott Grossman our choreographer taught us 4 combinations of different styles. We performed those 4 at time. Then about 30 girls were called back. This was the nerve racking part! All the producers and creative team from NBC were there. It is definitely a strange feeling. You feel so vulnerable; basically they are judging how you look and dance. Every girl there is gorgeous and the whole time I was thinking - how am I going to be picked!? I wouldn't be able to choose!! So after doing the combinations over and over they started putting us in different groups of girls to see how we matched up. There was so much tension in the room! I constantly wonder to my self - why do I put myself through this for a living? But when you do get the part, like I did this job, it is all worth it!

Other questions I get asked from family and friends...Do you like the other Honey Bees? And how about Joey?
Well I couldn't have gotten luckier on every level! When you put 4 beautiful tall girls who are at the top of their game in the dance world you might think there could be some egos involved! But everyone is so humble and so talented! All 4 of us have a major dance background. You can always read our bios to find out more of each girl. And I think we all compliment each other's personality and look! Then there is Joey! Wow all I can say is that he is so funny!!! And so normal! The first time I met him was for a photo shoot before we started filming. He came over to us girls and just started cracking jokes and asking us about us. He just makes everyone feel so comfortable!! You forget how big of a star he is!!

What is it like filming an episode...
Well when you watch a show it goes by so fast!!! We did 9 episodes in 3 days! Long days!!! But it is so much fun and so interesting watching how it all comes together! Each episode will take 2-5 hours to film so there is a lot of waiting time! I just remember how my feet hurt at the end of a 17 hour day of being in dance heels. Actually one of my toes is still a little numb. The days are long but I am not complaining! They are so much fun! There is an audience warmer making jokes with the audience, an awesome band that keeps everyone entertained and just people from the crew, wardrobe, hair and make-up etc that love what they do. So it is just a positive environment!!

Why do they need the Honey Bees...
Dance always adds to anything!! Since this is a variety game show with a live band and live singers it just makes sense to have dancers! I think it adds some excitement and movement! I am so excited that they are bringing dance back to TV. I think with “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” the viewers are developing and eye for dance. Dancers work so hard their whole life. I started when I was 3.
Basically you are an athlete. And you do it because you love it! There really isn't any fame or lots of money if you are a dancer; it is just part of who you are. So it is really exciting that they are including dance on TV and doing more movie musicals!

XO -
Holly

Here’s what you don’t know about the Honey Bees…

Just like the contestants, We don’t know the song that’s going to be played. So, after hours of rehearsals and learning 30+ dances. We have to fit one of the 30 dance routines to the chosen song. Here’s the twist…We may have to do an up-beat dance to a ballad, or a lyrical jazz dance to a hip-hop song. We huddle in our hive and call a play just like athletes.

One of my favorite episodes to shoot was “Girl Power”. As a little girl, I dreamed of being a super hero. When we were told that there was an episode called “Girl Power” I got so excited, thinking that my childhood dream would become some what real for a night. I thought I would look like a rock n’ roll Wonder Woman. That didn’t happen, because they stuck me in a red wig which made me look like Ariel from the Little Mermaid. "Hmmmm," I thought. "Well, she wasn’t really a super hero, but she was a powerful girl-maid!" so I committed and went with it. Along with my mermaid wig, I was so super lucky to be wearing silver stilts on my feet, which did not give me any power over the fear I had of being 4” taller then my normal height which is 5’10” making me the “Leaning Tower of Pisa”.

In case you didn’t know, we dance right above the band. I only hoped that this tower wasn’t going to tip over and land right in the drummer's seat. To top it off, the crown wasn’t plastic…so top heavy! I was on unstable but fabulous silver platforms and holding on to my bling-bling Honey Bee belt…living on a prayer through out every step for the entire episode.