There were the usual performance rituals that morning. Some students were going over the choreography one last time. Some were reminiscing with newly made friends over the memories from the previous two weeks. And some were embracing the new and alternate personalities the variety of costumes were giving them.
By noon that day, the studio at Shoonya had transformed from a practice space to a stage. A rainbow of wrapped candy running from one side of the stage to calm their nerves. A ring of dancers surrounding Pippi Longstocking, absolutely astounded at the gravity-defying nature of her hair. One side of the room became the makeup and hair department – where dancers were turned into monkeys or delicious treats and everything in between.
Pippi Longstocking before the show!
You could feel the nerves in the room before the doors were opened for friends and family to watch the show. Everything that our dancers had done over the two weeks was amounting to this. And every dancer wanted to do their teachers, and the audience proud.
The actual performance was better than any rehearsal! There was more energy, more acting and more technique then when they first started rehearsing. You could see the faces of proud parents beaming upon their children as they performed their hearts out!
By the end of the performance, there was an expression of satisfaction from every dancer on stage. They were not the same dancers as before. They were stronger and better, and through all of the hard work through DanceFit, jazz and acting classes, they had become true performers.
Nice summary. Happy I could witness this special performance. Wish to see some more photos and video of the whole act.