Hullabaloo

Performance for Dance for a Reason with little D at the Hult Center, and it was quite the big hullabaloo. More than 1500 people and three levels of seating, oh boyo.

We practiced three times, and I worried and fretted about her ability and whether or not she’d do okay, but should not have worried because she was awesome and stole the show-- not just our two minute-twelve-second performance, I mean the entire show. She was adorable. The costume I made for her (we had to have matching green, you see) was perfect. She is a huge flirt and will no doubt break hearts. Already is breaking hearts, most likely.

Problems were overcome, including the question of how to get on the stage in front of the curtain. We had planned to enter from either side. But the curtain rises & falls, rather than sweeps side-to-side, and there were all sorts of wires & sound equipment along the sides, backstage, which rendered this plan impossible. Had we been allowed a dress rehearsal, this would have come to light prior to five minutes before our performance. Live and learn, I discovered.

We entered from inside the house, went up stairs onto the stage, and little D took off running across the stage to start as we had initially planned… immediately captivating the audience. She was the youngest performer that night, certainly the cutest, and the few times I glanced over at her she was imitating me so well, and was right on cue with the music, that it looked as though we had spent much much more time in rehearsal.

My only real concern during the performance was from my own costume malfunction; the wrap-around skirt has a modesty panel covering my upper thigh, which affixes with snaps. Going up the stairs onto the stage, one snap released, thus displaying my entire leg to the entire audience, and all I could think was thank God I had worn the black bike shorts beneath the costume. Preparation, that is truly the key.

We opened the second half of the show, and rocked the house, if I do say so.