Tag Archives: Broadway

Day 31: I take two steps forward and pas de bourre back..

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Hey there adoring fans (Tree Sarvay)!

As most of you know, I’ve been a dancing since I was 5, and then got paid to dance by age 21…

pole dancers

Just kidding!  This is actually a picture from one of my first paid gigs.  And yes, I am dressed as laundry detergent.  This is what happens in musical theatre…just go with it.

dance 1

I’m in this weird place where I do still love to dance, but am pretty sure that I want to pursue other things in life.  I’m ready to explore the other crap that I’m into.  I really like comedy, and writing, and improv, and possibly producing, and drinking wine, and throwing Christmas/Oktoberfest/Toga parties, but haven’t picked a direction to go in for my new career.   While I’m still working on that, I have missed dancing and the way my body looks and feels as a dancer (just look at that picture…no not the one of me…the one of those 2 Daddy-left-them-when-they-were-7-plus-30-year-old-metabolism-and-gravity-hasn’t-hit-them-yet-pole-dancers, they’re hot!).  As you all know, I’ve started taking ballet class on Saturday afternoons, which is making me totally happy (and given Duane Reade a rapid spike in Aleve, IcyHot, and Sierra Nevada sales), but I have been missing good old fashioned jazz class.  Which is why when my roommates suggested we all take Intermediate/Advanced theatre jazz class taught by none other than the Randy Skinner, I said OK.

skinner randy

All you need to know about Randy Skinner

1. He’s a badass old school “song and dance” choreographer (think Fred Astaire’s twin…or son…I’m not really sure how old Randy is…so maybe he’s more like if Gene Kelly* and Fred Astaire* got legally married and had a son…via surrogate Shirley Temple*…after she turned 18 because no one wants to be accused of “date-surrogate-rape”…that baby would be Randy Skinner).

2.  He choreographed a bunch of musicals including White Christmas, which I performed in the holiday seasons of 05′, 06′, and 07′.   Side note: he has not hired me since which I don’t hold against him. I’m sure it was just some mix-up with casting…or they finally found that box of props I drew penises on.

3.  Any time Randy teaches a class in New York City, 400 people show up and 399 of them are there in the hopes to get hired by him…

and this was the component that made me a little weary taking class.  I haven’t seen a lot of these people in the last 6 months and I was apprehensive about two things.  One being that I would have to explain that the reason I haven’t seen them was that I was basically quitting business, and the second being that I haven’t really danced  (besides my 2 old lady ballet classes) since June, and was worried that I was going to suck a big bag of balls in front of everyone….

dance 2

This is my apprehension face.

Luckily by time class started I got over myself.

No one took offense to me taking a break from the business.  Everyone was really supportive (plus, there’s one less 5’4” blonde alto tap dancer in the audition pool, so you’re welcome ladies).  And I finally remembered  this key element of life: people are always way more concerned about what they’re doing than what you’re doing.  I’m living proof!  Right now, I’m sitting here writing a blog all about me!  If I wanted, I could give the play-by-play about the pimple on my forehead right now (tried to pop it last night but only a little came out…hopefully tonight will be a mirror splattering adventure).  That’s not to say that we are self centered s*it-heads and don’t care about other people.  We do (otherwise why would the 4 of you be reading this post anyway…and why do I keep following other peoples blogs about the art of cat sweaters?  And duh, FACEBOOK!  The place where you can stalk anyone you want! Even though we only tag pictures of ourselves where we look good, regardless of if our friend has a muffin top or is passed out in a pool of their own vomit).  I just need to keep in mind for myself, that just because I do things like take a dance class, it doesn’t mean that all 399 people in the room are wondering weather or not I’ve still got it (I totally still got it).

So, to keep bettering my life (spellcheck didn’t correct bettering so I’m going to go with it as being a real word), I’m going to still take class, and see my theatre friends, and stop worrying about whether people are judging me and especially stop judging myself for whatever I plan on doing next.  Even if it is to become a transgendered hobo (it’s not to become a transgendered hobo).

Great class ladies!

dance 4

F me! This is gonna hurt tomorrow.

dance 5

*If you don’t know who any of these people are, please jump on a mini trampoline for 37 minutes, and immediately drink an entire bottle of tabasco sauce…the green one.  Good, now you’ve learned your lesson.

*If any of you would like to subscribe to my blog to get alerted when I write new posts so that you don’t have to rely on Facebook or that batman like shadow that I post in the sky, please do.  I think there’s a ‘subscribe’ button here somewhere.*

Day 19: Nants ingonyama bagithi baba (here comes a lion!)

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Hey there adoring fans (Jim Ferris and Erin Maguire)!

As you all know, I’ve failed twice at the lottery for Wicked.  It’s been very hard on me.  I mean, I know that there’s an election coming up, and some people have been devastated by a storm, but can’t a girl just get a little break with her bucket list for the end of the world?  All I want to do is to go see a fun Broadway show (for under $30) where the powers of good and evil are tested.  Where the protagonist wants something different than what her life has handed her.  A show where there are jovial sidekicks with with a charming song and dance number that doesn’t really further the plot in any way but just brings a smile to your face and for 6 and a half minutes and allows you to forget about the main character’s struggles.

Well, yesterday, my prayers were answered!  No, I didn’t get to see Wicked.  I got free tickets to see…

THE LION KING ON BROADWAY!

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, The Lion King gave it’s cast members 2 free tix for friends to come see the Sunday matinee performance.  And lucky for me, I have a wonderful friend who’s hubby is in the show (thanks Erin!).   Now, to be fair, if you look back to Day 4: The Apocalypse Takes Oraganizing, you’ll notice that seeing The Lion King was something I wanted to get done in the event that the world doesn’t end.  It is wedged right between “Pay off Credit Card”, and “Papsmear”.

To Do…after December 22, 2012

It’s not that I didn’t want to see Lion King, it just wasn’t something I thought I could get in amongst my other goals (Grey’s Anatomy is taking up an awful lot of time) before the EOW.

But, lucky me!  I’m so thankful I was blessed with these tickets because I absolutely loved this show!!  I mean, I’ve seen the opening number performed on the Tony’s (for you non musical theatre nerds, the Tony’s are like the Oscars for Broadway Musicals.   Or for you hipster teenagers, they’re like the MTV movie awards)…(I am pretty sure there aren’t any hipster teenagers reading this blog).  When little Rafiki jumped on stage and started wailing to us in African my eyes started welling up.  Halfway through Circle of Life when the giraffes entered the stage was when my first tear fell, and by the time the rhinoceros’, elephants, and zebras started to walk down the aisles through the audience I was in full on snot-running ugly cry (I should probably let you know that I’m in that lovely womanly time where I have to leave the room when the Sarah Mclachlan ASPCA commercials come on the TV or else I’ll end up like that depression medication commercial where the umbrella has eyballs…so it’s only natural that I be moved by dancing animal puppets).  The show was awesome and I’m so glad I got to see it before December 21st when Scar and his evil laughing hyenas rule us all (or nothing happens and we’re all still here chilling with Mufasa).

Here we are after the show.  Me, Jim Ferris (standby for all 3 white guys in the show), and my buddy Rebecca.

Plus we got to donate to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS which is an amazing organization that is donating a portion of it’s proceeds to the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

(Hint: I’m the one on the left)