Thursday 21 November 2013

Good Practice....Crap gig

Last Saturday was the night... We have been rehearsing a new choreography at my bellydance class for the last few weeks and this was the night we unleashed it on an unsuspecting public.
The dance involved some traditional Ghawazee stuff to middle eastern versions of 'Deck The Halls' (go on, you can imagine it!) which then led into the Cancan complete with bloomers and frilly costumes.
I had to make some bloomers from scratch. Don't think DH has noticed the missing white sheet yet. But he will. These turned out ok in the end after some swearing and scissor throwing action.

The gig was in Swindon. Yes, that well known cultural capital. Finding the venue had its own complications but we got there. We were 4th on the programme, just enough time for people to be lulled into a false sense of security before we came on and 'thrilled' them.

Those costumes don't adjust themselves you know.

The performance, in fairness, wasn't terrible but two sections of choreography involved swerve steps to the left which meant that some of us ended up in the wings. Actually in the wings. Unseen by the audience. The 45 seconds allowed for a quick costume change just wasn't enough. My hat fell off and I didn't have time to put the choker on. To my horror I also forgot to remove the long black underskirt meaning my beloved bloomers were hidden. Realising this I managed an elegant (read 'bizarre') move where I cancanned off stage to remove it then cancanned back on again :P


The bloomers...in full view.

But do you know, it didn't matter. I was dancing with friends and we had a laugh and a great time. The atmosphere was supportive and warm and we received as much applause as the most polished performance of the evening (in my head anyway). My slightly perfectionist dancing streak could point out all the bits I could have done better but my heart pointed out that I'd enjoyed it nonetheless!

Roll on the next performance - I don't even dare imagine what my teacher will come up with next.

4 comments:

  1. Ah, the joys(!) of live performance!! LOVE your costume - esp. the bloomers :)
    And thank you for your lovely comment on my blog and for becoming a follower - I so appreciate it x

    ReplyDelete
  2. The photos are beautifully olde-worlde... They illustrate your subject matter - which is fascinating - ever so well. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you Croila - it still amazes me what can be done with an ancient iPhone and some photo apps.... x

    ReplyDelete