Last Friday morning I had a frantic Facebook instant message (Does anyone use a phone for communication anymore?) from a lovely friend who owns a theatre arts school. She was desperate for a dance teacher, that afternoon. She had phoned everyone she knows and I was her last resort....NICE! Anyway, I have no dance stuff here with me, no docking station for my iPod, nothing, but I am not one to turn down a friend in need....or a job! I whizzed back to Prestwood, borrowed a dock from my friends son, threw on my sneaks at my Mum's and buzzed back out the door.
I haven't taught dance in 10 months and had no idea what I was going to do with these kids, but I was really excited and also, a little nervous! I have been living exclusively in yoga teacher mode, where I am composed and calm, encouraging and quietly passionate which I absolutely LOVE, but let me tell you, it was so great to be back to shouting "5 6 7 8..." over the top of blaring hip hop and jumping about like a mad thing. I didn't know how much I had missed that! The kids were so excited to have a new teacher for the day and they were all massively enthusiastic which always makes it so much more fun. I finished the evening sweaty and knackered and with a huge smile on my face.
And now I am obsessed with choreography again. I have no more dance teaching work coming up but I want to create and be prepared and amazing (obviously) when the next opportunity arises. The problem is that I have spent the summer being glued to "So You Think You Can Dance". This show has the most incredibly talented dancers and choreographers that I have ever seen. It is one of those programmes that is massively inspiring because they are so unbelievable and at the same time hugely depressing...because they are so unbelievable! I dream of choreographing Emmy Award winning routines for world class performers, alas that is not my destiny I fear but I can take inspiration from the talent on this show. They are all so dedicated, work so hard and enjoy every second of what they do. Pretty good philosophy for life I reckon.
I went to see the tour of the show at the end of September and I was blown away. It was remarkable on TV but so much more amazing live.
And these dance numbers aren't just frivolous entertainment. Each choreographer has a story to tell and a point to put across and the dancers are the medium with which these artists communicate. Some are funny, some are full of hope, some are down right sad but pretty much all are works of art.
I really wanted to share a whole bunch of these videos with you but I am totally retarded when it comes to adding more than one video to this blog. I am sure it must be possible but I have googled it for about an hour now and I am high school educated, but for the life of me I cant bloody suss it out! Please let me know if you have the knowledge and are willing to share!
This one video I have managed to post here was my favourite number of the season.
"Fix You" is choreographed by Travis Wall, who came 2nd as a dancer on SYTYCD, season 2.
It is the story of his Mother's battle with cancer and how he supports her, and helps to keep her going when she loses her strength to keep on fighting.
Get the tissues ready.
This is pure brilliance!
So you think you can dance - Fix you - Robert & Allison from Laura U on Vimeo.
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