Spring Concert

Our university is performing the spring dance concert this week. Two shows down and two to go. I have a very small part in a ballet called Tango Cafe  set in 1930s Argentina. I actually saw this ballet premiered about three or four years ago by the ballet company it was created for. It was a privilege dancing in such a great work by one of my favorite teachers/choreographers whom I have known since I was 5. :) And thank goodness it was on pointe, unlike my part in Giselle. The only bad thing about university productions is that unlike the real dance world, the casting is based on senority, and when you're 4-8 yrs younger than the college dance majors you dance with - you are cast accordingly.

 I like to call this "Made-lion."  :D Yes, that is a tail, and yes, I am a lion in a cirque de soleil piece.Thank you to my favorite photographer Jim Williams for this fun shot. (He had some great photos, but unfortunately, this might be the only good one of me.)

From classical ballet to ... NSYNC. One of the guys in the piece told me I was born to be a 90s boy band back up dancer (ummmm...sad lol) if only I hadn't been two yrs old back then.That was fun because Andrew put me right up front. Thanks Andrew! Thanks also for making the costume size adult-large cargo pants and also for the thousand safety pins needed to keep them up. :) This piece was probably my least familiar style, but lots of fun. How many times do you dance on stage where knees pads are required under your costume? Not many, right?  Gotta break out the old school dance moves at homecoming next fall, I think. lol.

I was also in three more pieces, including a cirque de soleil style piece, a lyrical piece set to a violin version of Mr. Brightsides - so beautiful! -  and Audition from A Chorus Line. That last piece was all jazz and one tap piece. I have to say this: in my life, I have taken exactly one tap class before this year. I am most proud of that fact that I was able to keep up with a challenging piece staged by a master tap teacher and a class full of students who've tapped longer than I have been alive. I guess being able to count to 8 means something here!

It will be nice to have a break from rehearsals for a while. A MidSummer Night's Dream auditions (with the company, not the university) are next weekend, but luckily rehearsals for the 2nd company/trainees won't begin until April. This means I get to make up what I missed for rehearsals with extra classes during the month of March. I miss getting in all my tech and pointe classes. Hello more Wednesday and Saturday technique and pointe on the schedule. But luckily I am also back to Sundays off. My body needs it - and a nap.