Theme Song: "Show Me The Money" - Petey Pablo (from Step Up)
After two months of going through the regular Wednesday routine of Band practice, snack, African dance class, dinner, America's Next Top Model, shower, Street Fighting/Hip-Hop class, homework, pass out on bed, sleep, repeat as necessary, we've finally come to OPENING NIGHT!! And in all honesty, it has been HELL trying to be 100% performance-ready.
My ol' Tango partner, Sara and I have joined forces again in Meg's Street Fighting number, which is set to Prodigy's Fuel My Fire. Being a huge Prodigy fan myself, I LOVE this routine... even if I always skipped that song when listening to their Fat of the Land LP. I'm more of a Smack My Bitch Up fan myself. :-D Anywho, she and I have been doing a lot of outside practice in my room, running it over and over and over until she'd call me a "slave driver" and want to kill me. HAH, I'd like to see her try! :-P
African class has been a little less frustrating because I don't have to worry about a partner--at one practice, Sara didn't duck out of the way quickly enough and got whacked in the head... left her dazed for quite a bit. Tell me: how can something so wrong feel so right? LOL. But anyway, the African routine is loaded with awkward movements that I've never done in my life. Seriously, I feel like a monkey (and probably don't look much better) while doing a majority of the steps. Oh well, I have the choreography memorized and as always, I'm just gonna go all out for the performance... as Sara knows, I get even stronger when I'm on the verge of death, running on pure adrenaline.
Two days before the show I visit my usual hairdresser... y'know, the woman who actually said to me of her other job, "I work with retards." She's actually very sweet... and definitely a natural blonde. ~_- I ask her to shave it all off once again because I have a performance coming up and I don't want to be mistaken for any of the other dancers. My friends don't believe me when I say that people confuse me with Donnie or Kyle or Adrian just because we're all Black. But it happens all the time. Right before my trip to the barbershop, one of my Band peeps, Julia, compliments me on my kickass dancin' skills and on my omnipresence during the show. I'm only in 2 of the 17 numbers, so I'm guessing she's fused Donnie and me into one performer. Dammit, Kyle! This immediately triggers a disturbing flashback to high school when some random old guy mistook me for my evil archnemesis, Mike, or to use my old petname for him, Satan McHellFire. ICK!
Fast forward to earlier tonight. IT'S SHOWTIME!! In the wings, I watch Katie, Rebecca, and the girls dancing to an old favorite song of mine, Jason Mraz's "Geek In The Pink." The entire time I watch them, my stomach is churning, my mouth is drying up, and I feel like my quivering legs might collapse under me. But when the song ends and the RED stage lights come up, I realize what needs to be done... I run out and do my tumbling pass and go all out for Meg's Street Fighting number. Sara and I do a kickass job--as I'm sure most of our comrades did--I didn't have time to focus on them, just on my partner and the audience. And despite the fact that a lot of the time, we can hear the thuds and stomps of our own falling bodies and quick feet over the sound of that pulsating Prodigy track, a good portion of the choreography feels synchronized from my POV.
A last-minute change in the African number places me with a new partner, Terena, so this performance is the first time she and I have ever attempted that portion of the dance together. It all works out. I just wish I didn't have to wear that sliced-and-diced costume (dyed with orange Kool Aid) that I was forced to make... although I'm blessed with the ShowTune gene, I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about clothing construction. After the performance is over, Kyle tells us all that we don't have to return the costumes. Damn. I'm sure that someday I'll go to my English class in that angular, sleeveless, triple slit, plunging V-neck shirt. On the other hand, it would save me the trouble of stamping MANWHORE on my forehead. :-P
To reflect, the recital, Let Your Body Move To The Music, is a huge success and it showcases a lot of real talent. Of all the numbers (excluding mine), I most enjoy Cassie's Ballet to that song from The Skulls, Marilyn's Zombie Hip-Hop (a living dead variation) to Ramalama (Bang Bang) (from So You Think You Can Dance?), the tap-dancing solo (that girl was so cute I think she should've topped it off with a bumblebee costume) to The Longest Time, and the Advanced Ballet set to Petey Pablo's Show Me The Money (from Step Up). I like Swing but quite a few swingers choose to be douchebags and leave the recital early, blatantly showing no support whatsoever of the whole ensemble. In the words of my girl Stephanie from Full House (pre-Crystal Meth addiction), "How rude!" I also thoroughly enjoy both of Ambika's numbers--the musical choices from Goldfrapp & Cake totally kick ass! Robin, who I met at BSU's Halloween Dance last weekend (dressed as a Defender of Freedom) is in both of those numbers... so now we have a legitimate reason to be friends, LOL. Plus, I just LOVED Jordan's poses during the "Vogue" number... Classic! And as usual, the ever-versatile Meg's still the hardest working woman in show business--seriously, she is in quite a few back-to-back numbers this year, continuously nailing the choreography without fail. Gotta love her!
Lastly, Kyle has encouraged me to tryout for his newly-formed Dance Team next semester... and I seriously think I'm gonna do it! Since my life won't be ruled over by Symphony Band next semester, I should have plenty of free time--and since idle hands are the Devil's playground, I'd better make sure I still keep a lil' busy. Maybe then he'll get over his disappointment in me not attending the Step Show this year. LOL, I hate Step with a passion... ever since High School when those bitches were stalking Rice Lady, ManEater, and me. I mean, anyone can do it (even the "special" ones back home) and it's just way too "Knick Knack Paddy Whack" for me personally. And they expect me to pay to see that. Shoot... I love my steppin' friends but that's just not how I roll.
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