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We are back from the Beau Rivage, and I imagine I speak for everyone when I say I’m looking forward to catching up on some rest this weekend after three very long (but very successful) days shooting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

I’ll have a couple more videos to post hopefully today, but in the meantime, here is a photo gallery from the 3rd day of shooting. Monday or so I’ll post a final gallery of behind-the-scenes shots I took over the course of the week, so stay tuned for that as well.

They took a few pics and asked that I post them – who am I to argue?

Thanks to Jon, Jimmy, and Melissa for all their help in showing us the ropes
this week.

Marcia does her best Darth Vader impression

Leslie cuts tiles

Marcia takes a crack at it as well

Nikki and Stephanie cut molding

Uh oh!

Stephanie

Tuesday saw several more photo shoots take place at locations all around the Beau Rivage resort, including a trip to the Beau’s luxurious nearby golf course. I was hoping they’d want to snap a few of me hitting a few irons, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Here are some photos from Day 2′s shoots, I think you’ll like ‘em.

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Video wasn’t enough for you? Here are some photos from Day 1 as well…

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We are into the first day of shooting the 2010 A-Town Dancers calendar here at the Beau Rivage, and so far things are going smoothly. Last night we held a talent show to decide which dance team members will get to head out on an overseas trip to entertain America’s troops. Most of the girls did what they did best (read: dance), but there were some twists – we saw some belly dancing, a tap routine, classical ballet, and some very impressive singing.

I tried to take some pictures but the lighting in the room didn’t agree with my camera. We’ll have video of it soon though, so you can still get a sense for how it went down.

Some of the girls got underway with their photo shoots (with some going into makeup starting at 4:30 am), but not everyone can be shot in the same day. And when not shooting over the three full days we are here, one thing the team is doing is pitching in to help the local residents still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Thanks to the good people at the East Biloxi Coordination, Relief, and Redevelopment Agency, 5 dance team members per day are going out into the Biloxi area to help rebuild houses damaged or destroyed by the storm.

This morning I tagged along with Jessica, Kaylin, Nikki C, Britt, and Emi to a home in nearby D’Iberville, where the girls impressed the volunteer coordinators with their cheerful attitude and willingness to get their hands dirty (which is saying something, because most of them ruined brand-new manicures in the process). Everyone showed they were quick studies, learning in short time how to lay tile and handle several different power tools in addition to painting and installing trim.

It was an eye-opening experience – most of the girls had never been to the Mississippi Gulf Coast and were stunned to see and hear just how much work is still left to be done in the area. But as big a task as it is, every little contribution helps, and at the end of the day everyone felt good about pitching in to the cause.

Check out a photo gallery from the event, and we’ll have video of it as well in the next few days (we’ll have video of a LOT of stuff the next few days).

UPDATE: Here is the video from the volunteer outing:

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I know how this is going to sound. I’m going to tell you what I’m up to next week, and your first reaction is going to be, “I hate you. I hate your job, I hate the things you get to do sometimes, and I hope you get a really bad sunburn while you’re down there.”

Why would you think that? Because I’m heading out of town on Sunday with the A-Town Dancers for their annual calendar photo shoot, to be shot this year on location at the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, MS. Yeah, yeah, it’s not fair and all that jazz.

But let me just tell you this – it’s not the day at the beach (if you’ll pardon the pun) one might think.

A lot of  effort goes into making the A-Town Dancers calendar every year, and we’ll be down at the Beau this Sunday-Thursday to give you a behind-the-scenes look at all the hard work that goes into putting together the finished product.

With days starting at 4:30 am and lasting well into the night, we’ll be packing a lot into the 5 days of the shoot. Be sure to check in with us daily for video features, photo galleries, and much much more!

The fun kicks off Sunday night, as we’ll be judging an A-Town Dancers talent show to see who wins the right to go overseas to entertain the troops.

See you Sunday!