West Coast Swing & Hustle Showcase in Norwalk, CT

I'm a little late in posting this. We had the most amazing time choreographing for the Choreographer/Student Showcase at the Crystal Theatre in Norwalk, CT last Friday, July 29, 2011.  Here's some of the story.

Choreography for the student portion of the show began in June during our weekly Hustle and West Coast Swing classes. Rehearsals continued in July for cast members (in addition to the weekly classes to clean up nuances). "Hell Week" was the week just before the show. It started with a full cast rehearsal on Monday, a Tuesday rehearsal with the focus on Hustle, a Wednesday tech rehearsal in the theater, and a Thursday final rehearsal.

The call (time to arrive) at the theater was a strict 7pm, even though the show started at 8pm. Such an early call was to insure that all cast members were at the theater with plenty of time to deal with choreographic, blocking, emotional, and costume problems.

At 8pm, the show started. Anna and I had to perform our Hustle number fifth in the line up. The West Coast Swing and Hustle Medley was ninth.

Everyone had been in the theater for about 90 minutes, warming up and practicing their movements to guarantee that they wouldn't inadvertently make a careless mistake. One could tell that the nerves were high, even though no one wanted to admit it.

During the seventh number of the show, our dancers started to line up to go from the "green room" to the wings. As the eighth number went on stage, our dancers loaded in the wings. Our dancers who were going to be entering from stage-left had to walk behind the the cyc (a cyclorama or cyc is a large white curtain at the back of the stage that can be lit to represent the sky or other backgrounds). This walk behind the cyc during a live performance can be nerve-wracking, especially while trying to avoid other backstage obstacles.

After the seventh number finished and the other dancers cleared the stage, the announcer introduced our piece. We waited in total black until the music came up. It's always amazing, that no matter how much one rehearses, one gets a special feeling when the music starts and the lights start to come up while walking on stage.

Our West Coast Swing and Hustle Medley had been rehearsed countless times. That's why it always feels crazy when it's over in 4 minutes and 30 seconds. It feels like fraction of a second of time.

The result - one of the most fantastic feelings of accomplishment. Congratulations to all that learned, rehearsed and performed.

Right now, there isn't any other student West Coast Swing and Hustle group that is performing on a professional stage (even though this is our third year). That's why I'm looking forward to do it again on a bigger stage in a bigger location - the Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City on August 27 & 28, 2011.