Final Rehearsals for Showcase 2012
Our final rehearsals were a lot of work. Time was up! We were no longer focused on actual choreography as much as we were focused on running the piece ad nauseum so that all blocking issues could be smoothed out.
Bows
We also focused on bows. Many dancers don't realize that bows are the final thing the audience sees. A bad or disorganized bow can ruin a clean performance. Bows can be tricky: the cast has to resolve the final pose into a functional standing position. Then the treacherous backwards walk to the upstage wall as the cast fans out. Then the actual bows. Which way do the arms go first? Do the arms go back up after the bow? How do we exit the stage? Do we walk off stage like robots or dance off? All these questions were answered in our Thursday rehearsal.
Our last rehearsal
Our final rehearsal was mostly about finalizing our run. But there was one little choreographic change that needed to occur: the Hustle-Waltz would have to be revised. Although the Hustle Waltz seems like an easy step, it is one of the most difficult to do on stage. If it's not perfect, it distracts from the overall fluidity. Based on a vote by Anna, Kim and myself (not unanimous), we decided to change the Hustle Waltz into the Hustle Stroll - which promenades around the stage in perfect unison. The perfect setup for a great ending.
Cast Pictures
Of course, no final rehearsal is complete without some cast pictures. At this point, everyone has been working on this choreography for nearly 7 week. For most, it was almost 20 hours of guided rehearsals plus dancer's own personal practise. Everyone should be totally exhausted, but the pictures show how excited and proud everyone was feeling. The only indication that people had survived "hell" week was the "jump" picture. 
Jumping is hard after a 2 hour rehearsal at the end of grueling rehearsal week. See the rest of the cast pictures from their last rehearsal.
Our last run in rehearsal
Remember how I told you all about the bows? Well, we did not let the cast bow for their final run. That would be left for their first run on the Ailey Citigroup stage.
