Passport
Mirault continues...

The word for today is passport. Can you say passport?

I knew you could. If you are making dance a career, you need a passport. Now! A passport will cost you about $40 and take a couple of days to process. They are valid for 10 years and when you're hired for a foreign show leaving in five days, you'll be glad you have it.

There is one more thing you need to know about your passport. TREAT IT LIKE GOLD! Keep it with you. You may need to give it to your producer so he can apply for your work visa, but do not let a producer hold the passports of the cast. Demand it back! It's your identification in a foreign country and your right to keep it with you at all times. You see, if I had had a passport when I went to Mexico, that experience in the last article would have never happened to me. I never want to see it happen to anyone else.

Precautions
This is a difficult section, but one that needs to be mentioned. Mexico City is as large or larger than Los Angeles, and like most cities has the same crime problems. You should always be conscious of this. A great characteristic of a dance show is the cast usually gets very close and enjoys sightseeing and partying together. If this happens to your cast, great, but for some reason if you do venture out alone, make sure someone knows where you went and approximately what time you will return. The female dancers in my cast would either ask one of the male dancers to go with them or the girls would go out together and take their umbrellas with them. This was a great idea, since it rains frequently and unexpectedly they didn't look out of place and their umbrellas could double as protection in case of an emergency.

Another major precaution is against fire. Whenever you are staying in a new unfamiliar place such as a hotel, KNOW YOUR FIRE EXITS WELL. It may seem silly, but you should be able to find the nearest exit with your eyes closed, even on your hands and knees. You see, even if the fire is not serious, the smoke may be too thick to see. Count the number of doors down the hall to the exit and know more than one exit. Another hint is to try to request a room on the lowest floor as possible. I'll tell you why.

I was staying at the beautiful Fiesta Palace Hotel. I had been there about three weeks when early one morning a maid came barging into my room screaming something in Spanish. Now although I speak Spanish, I do not wake up in Spanish.

Confusion in these situations can be a killer. I finally realized that she was yelling ‘fire', and since my room was full of smoke, I believed her. I had to find the stairway with my eyes almost closed and run down twenty four flights of stairs in a bathrobe. Not a good way to start the day.

I found out later that the air conditioner had caught fire and although the fire was immediately contained, it filled the rooms with smoke. I was glad to know where the fire exits were. When traveling, take your fire precautions seriously.

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