A Star is Born
A couple of months ago I blogged about that teaching gig at a HS in the city. Well, Thursday was the show. The teacher called me on Tuesday to get some info from me for the program. Thank god, because I was well on the way to completely forgetting about the show. She told me the number I taught was opening the show. Nice. Actually, perfect! I could come in, see the kids and the number then sneak out. Did i really need a night of HS dance during the week from hell at work? no. i did not.
So Thursday rolls around and I escape from work, feeling guilty for leaving at 5:30 (?!?). I stop by a flower shop and pick up 21 individually wrapped roses. (The guy gave me a deal because he was "officially retiring" the roses the next day.
Buck-a-pop. Not bad at all). Guess I was feeling pre-guilt about my planned post number escape... Yeah, i know it's a shitty thing to do, but there were 20 numbers. All but two of them were "student choreographed"!!!!!
Well, I stayed through the whole freakin' thing. I'm not sure why i did, but I did. The guilt? Maybe. But that wasn't the big part. I actually enjoyed myself. Don't get me wrong, the dancing (except for two girls) was pretty scary. Even the number that I taught was a train wreck by my standards. I think i just got sucked in.
After my number, the girl who couldn't stop making sexy faces in the mirror did her solo. She was in a vaguely Spanish outfit... all red and black. the music she chose was THE SPICE GIRLS. Now think about it. Could you imagine stealing away while the spice girls were being blasted and a Future Pole Dancer of America was "workin' it" on stage? Didn't think so. Apparently, she was very proud of the fact that she could do a back bend. She did it three times during her performance. She also unconsciously mouthed the words to the song. Oh, and she perfected the sexy pout that she was working on. I felt a little dirty after she did her number.
Then there was the tall, mildly pretty girl with mousy brown hair. I didn't mention her in my original blog because she didn't make any sort of impression on me at all. Anyhow, she was probably the LAST person I would have thought would choose to do a solo (apparently, they all had the option to choreograph a piece for as many or as few of the girls as they wanted and that included doing solos). The lights came up and she was standing center stage all in white. Close fitting cropped top with elaborate embroidery and sparkles, long full skirt. The music was taking a bit to cue up. "Wonder what this is all about..." Then her music started. Finger cymbals? k'chink-chink. k'chink-chink... drums, nasally wailing... then the full on band kicks in. Her movement is spot-on right out of one of those Bollywood musicals. She probably stole the choreography channel surfing and catching a late night showing of Namash Loves Buttrha, but I could've cared less. This little rich girl from Noe Valley transformed herself into a full on Bollywood chorus girl right down to the perfect head isolations and the eye movements. Fantastic.
I'm having a little trouble starting this next one... the image of this girls solo has stayed with me since Thursday. Really haunting... she was an african american girl. For some reason her somewhat straight, relaxed hair made an impression on me. Not because it looked good. I think it was because it looked like she had done it herself at home and kinda' damaged it. I got the impression that she wasn't one of the kids whose parents were ponying up major bucks for her to attend this school. I saw the class before the show and the girls were all putting on make-up. Most of them had big kits and were revelling in the chance to get all dolled up without their dad yelling at them. She had a mascarra and a red Maybelline eye liner pencil. She wandered around and borrowed whatever else she needed.
Anyhow, her music started and I was really surprised. How did she come up with "Flash Dance"??? She was wearing white tights, a white wife-beater tank top, white ballet slippers and a WHITE TUTU. Her movements did not warrant the tutu. At all. She skipped, she hopped on one foot, she jumped as high as she could, she flailed her arms, she flung her straightened hair - all with her eyes shut so tight i thought her head would burst.
As she danced, i could feel my shoulders slowing moving closer and closer to my ears. I was fighting the urge to bring my hand to my face to cover either my eyes or my mouth... I started to sink into my seat. She bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows. She shimmied backwards across the stage. Then it hit me. She meant it. She meant all of it. She loved what she was doing on that stage and she KNEW every single person in that audience was loving it as much as she was.
As far as I'm concerned, she was the star of that show.
So Thursday rolls around and I escape from work, feeling guilty for leaving at 5:30 (?!?). I stop by a flower shop and pick up 21 individually wrapped roses. (The guy gave me a deal because he was "officially retiring" the roses the next day.
Buck-a-pop. Not bad at all). Guess I was feeling pre-guilt about my planned post number escape... Yeah, i know it's a shitty thing to do, but there were 20 numbers. All but two of them were "student choreographed"!!!!!
Well, I stayed through the whole freakin' thing. I'm not sure why i did, but I did. The guilt? Maybe. But that wasn't the big part. I actually enjoyed myself. Don't get me wrong, the dancing (except for two girls) was pretty scary. Even the number that I taught was a train wreck by my standards. I think i just got sucked in.
After my number, the girl who couldn't stop making sexy faces in the mirror did her solo. She was in a vaguely Spanish outfit... all red and black. the music she chose was THE SPICE GIRLS. Now think about it. Could you imagine stealing away while the spice girls were being blasted and a Future Pole Dancer of America was "workin' it" on stage? Didn't think so. Apparently, she was very proud of the fact that she could do a back bend. She did it three times during her performance. She also unconsciously mouthed the words to the song. Oh, and she perfected the sexy pout that she was working on. I felt a little dirty after she did her number.
Then there was the tall, mildly pretty girl with mousy brown hair. I didn't mention her in my original blog because she didn't make any sort of impression on me at all. Anyhow, she was probably the LAST person I would have thought would choose to do a solo (apparently, they all had the option to choreograph a piece for as many or as few of the girls as they wanted and that included doing solos). The lights came up and she was standing center stage all in white. Close fitting cropped top with elaborate embroidery and sparkles, long full skirt. The music was taking a bit to cue up. "Wonder what this is all about..." Then her music started. Finger cymbals? k'chink-chink. k'chink-chink... drums, nasally wailing... then the full on band kicks in. Her movement is spot-on right out of one of those Bollywood musicals. She probably stole the choreography channel surfing and catching a late night showing of Namash Loves Buttrha, but I could've cared less. This little rich girl from Noe Valley transformed herself into a full on Bollywood chorus girl right down to the perfect head isolations and the eye movements. Fantastic.
I'm having a little trouble starting this next one... the image of this girls solo has stayed with me since Thursday. Really haunting... she was an african american girl. For some reason her somewhat straight, relaxed hair made an impression on me. Not because it looked good. I think it was because it looked like she had done it herself at home and kinda' damaged it. I got the impression that she wasn't one of the kids whose parents were ponying up major bucks for her to attend this school. I saw the class before the show and the girls were all putting on make-up. Most of them had big kits and were revelling in the chance to get all dolled up without their dad yelling at them. She had a mascarra and a red Maybelline eye liner pencil. She wandered around and borrowed whatever else she needed.
Anyhow, her music started and I was really surprised. How did she come up with "Flash Dance"??? She was wearing white tights, a white wife-beater tank top, white ballet slippers and a WHITE TUTU. Her movements did not warrant the tutu. At all. She skipped, she hopped on one foot, she jumped as high as she could, she flailed her arms, she flung her straightened hair - all with her eyes shut so tight i thought her head would burst.
As she danced, i could feel my shoulders slowing moving closer and closer to my ears. I was fighting the urge to bring my hand to my face to cover either my eyes or my mouth... I started to sink into my seat. She bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows. She shimmied backwards across the stage. Then it hit me. She meant it. She meant all of it. She loved what she was doing on that stage and she KNEW every single person in that audience was loving it as much as she was.
As far as I'm concerned, she was the star of that show.
posted by Shuboy at 6:49 AM
1 Comments:
You stayed because it was at least 500 times better than "Chaotic."
This reminded me of the American Idol "bad auditions" show because you wonder 'how could s/he possibly think they have talent?' but then you realize 'Oh my God. S/he is really feeling it.' Which makes it all the more horrible when Simon does his usual, "You are the worst singer in the whole world" schtick.
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