Sprezzatura
Many of you are aware that I’ve performed in a charity show for the last 16 years or so. My main role since about 2011 has been as one of the dancers.
We were a core group of six. Over the years some have had to leave due to having babies and whatnot, and others have joined to replace them, but we honestly consider ourselves to be the original six. We are a very tight knit group, and we often hang out and do things that are not at all related to dance. Unless you’re very unlucky, that’s going to happen when you spend hours every week, for months on end, sweating into each other’s personal space.
If you’ve ever seen any type of Vegas or Broadway style dance show, you know that it looks effortless and beautiful. Everyone looks cool and collected, poised and sexy.
If you’ve ever performed or worked backstage during a production like this, you know that it’s just an illusion. Backstage is generally chaos - people rushing around to change, fix their makeup, find a missing prop. As a group, we’ve had to finish a number, wait for the lights to black out so that we can dash offstage, run the 500 feet or more (and sometimes there were stairs) to the changing area, strip off hair accessories, jewelry, a top, a bottom, tights, and shoes, put on different hair accessories, jewelry, tops, bottoms, tights, and shoes and run the 500 feet back to be ready for the next number in less time than it takes for the band to play a song. We’re talking an average of four minutes or less. Calm, cool and collected? Most definitely not.
You’d never know it looking up at us from the audience, though. From a distance, the sheen of sweat looks like we added some sparkles to our faces. The hole we ripped in our tights trying to pull them on so quickly becomes invisible when the bright theatre lights blaze down. The safety pins holding our straps onto our shoes look like a pretty buckle. Our smiles betray nothing.
Given that we are a charity group and not a Broadway show, we don’t have an unlimited costume budget. Sometimes we reuse old costumes, costumes that were worn long before we became part of the group. And the former dancers were not as varied in size as we are, which means that sometimes, someone of my size - five foot eight, size 9-ish - has to squeeze into a costume originally made for a dancer who stood five four and wore size 6. Thank goodness for spandex.
Polyester is also our friend due to its durability, but it doesn’t breathe. When you’re sweaty and trying to do a quick change, polyester sticks. It’s a good thing the six of us are close, because we often had to help each other finish getting dressed - pulling a shirt over our heads without ruining our makeup or hair, getting pants up our legs without taking off our shoes. Doing these things quickly and efficiently often involved getting up close and personal with some really intimate body parts… intimate and sweaty body parts.
During this holiday season, there are a lot of shows going on - the local ballet company’s production of The Nutcracker, a school play, or a concert at church. If you’re lucky enough to see any of the productions, you will probably be wowed by the beauty of it all. You’ll notice how cute everyone looks up front, and how easy it seems. Don’t be fooled. I guarantee you it’s a madhouse backstage.
We were a core group of six. Over the years some have had to leave due to having babies and whatnot, and others have joined to replace them, but we honestly consider ourselves to be the original six. We are a very tight knit group, and we often hang out and do things that are not at all related to dance. Unless you’re very unlucky, that’s going to happen when you spend hours every week, for months on end, sweating into each other’s personal space.
If you’ve ever seen any type of Vegas or Broadway style dance show, you know that it looks effortless and beautiful. Everyone looks cool and collected, poised and sexy.
If you’ve ever performed or worked backstage during a production like this, you know that it’s just an illusion. Backstage is generally chaos - people rushing around to change, fix their makeup, find a missing prop. As a group, we’ve had to finish a number, wait for the lights to black out so that we can dash offstage, run the 500 feet or more (and sometimes there were stairs) to the changing area, strip off hair accessories, jewelry, a top, a bottom, tights, and shoes, put on different hair accessories, jewelry, tops, bottoms, tights, and shoes and run the 500 feet back to be ready for the next number in less time than it takes for the band to play a song. We’re talking an average of four minutes or less. Calm, cool and collected? Most definitely not.
You’d never know it looking up at us from the audience, though. From a distance, the sheen of sweat looks like we added some sparkles to our faces. The hole we ripped in our tights trying to pull them on so quickly becomes invisible when the bright theatre lights blaze down. The safety pins holding our straps onto our shoes look like a pretty buckle. Our smiles betray nothing.
Given that we are a charity group and not a Broadway show, we don’t have an unlimited costume budget. Sometimes we reuse old costumes, costumes that were worn long before we became part of the group. And the former dancers were not as varied in size as we are, which means that sometimes, someone of my size - five foot eight, size 9-ish - has to squeeze into a costume originally made for a dancer who stood five four and wore size 6. Thank goodness for spandex.
Polyester is also our friend due to its durability, but it doesn’t breathe. When you’re sweaty and trying to do a quick change, polyester sticks. It’s a good thing the six of us are close, because we often had to help each other finish getting dressed - pulling a shirt over our heads without ruining our makeup or hair, getting pants up our legs without taking off our shoes. Doing these things quickly and efficiently often involved getting up close and personal with some really intimate body parts… intimate and sweaty body parts.
During this holiday season, there are a lot of shows going on - the local ballet company’s production of The Nutcracker, a school play, or a concert at church. If you’re lucky enough to see any of the productions, you will probably be wowed by the beauty of it all. You’ll notice how cute everyone looks up front, and how easy it seems. Don’t be fooled. I guarantee you it’s a madhouse backstage.