New York, New York a city of lights, fashion, character and, most importantly for certain Saltus students, the performing arts.This awesome city is one of the best experiences a student could imagine, and Saltus band director and woodwind teacher, Lisa Maule, was able to offer this to the middle and high school students of Saltus over the spring break.Twenty-three students with three chaperones set off on March 24th for the Big Apple to attend five musicals, one play, two workshops, various tours and sightseeing around New York City.The group had the advantage of being able to stay in a hotel right on Times Square.Over the course of the six-day adventure, students saw ‘War Horse’ (a fantastically staged production), ‘Wonderland’ (a spin-off of the classic children’s story “Alice in Wonderland”), ‘Billy Elliot’ (the story of a young boy aspiring to be a dancer), ‘Rock of Ages’ (starring Bermuda’s Rebecca Faulkenberry), Stomp (a rhythmical performance) and, last but not least, ‘Sister Act’ (an inspiring musical).The group also was able to visit Madame Tussauds, a wax museum full of the famous.New on the trip this year was a tourist attraction called “The Ride” a new entertainment experience bus ride around New York City incorporating audio-visual technology and live performances while showing off important buildings and providing weird but wonderful information about the Big Apple.On the Sunday before going to see ‘Stomp’ and ‘Rock of Ages’, our ICT (Information and Communications Technology) teacher, Eric Totten, gave us a personalised tour of Central Park he was extremely keen to show us around as he had previously lived in New York.After a long walk which warmed us up we finally found the studio where we would be participating in a Stage Combat Workshop and returning the next day for a Dance Workshop.The combat workshop was probably one of the most fun experiences as students ‘fought’ their peers and even teachers and students also had a go at a staged fight scene.The Dance Workshop created a buzz throughout the group as we waited to see what “moves” the boys would perform for us. Jeff Whiting, the dance coordinator, was an awesome instructor and the workshop was a blast.Overall, the trip was a hit with every single student and it was tons of fun.Personally, I would tell any student who has the opportunity to go. It was a great first experience in New York and even those who had visited the city before said it was a different take and the best experience!