Rehearsals Week 1...

Week 1... I was so excited to start! To be doing something with my life! No longer was I an unemployed performer. No longer would I have to partake in that hideously awkward conversation we have all had,  that went something like:

"Oh so what do you do?"
"I'm a performer."
"Oh what kind? Like acting?"
"Well, music theatre mainly."
"Right, so what instrument do you play?"
(Insert frustrated face) "No, like singing and dancing and acting. Like, you know 'Wicked?' 'Mary Poppins?'"
"Cool. So are you in 'Mary Poppins?'
(Insert 'trying not to be disappointed' intake of breath) "No. I'm not."
"So are you in anything?"
(Insert 'my life has no purpose' sigh) "No. I'm not at the moment."

Now... I was employed. I had a purpose. So... I had been anticipating the first week to be Death Week, in terms of my body hating my guts for not keeping it in shape since I finished at drama school. And I was kind of right. My lower back and hamstrings certainly do hate me. But my soul was happy to be dancing again!

I'm not sure what I had expected, but I'm having and absolute blast! I guess, like a lot of performers who have never done a cruise, I kind of thought of it might be a bit tacky and not that creatively fulfilling.

I WAS WRONG!

The show we learnt in Week 1 is so much fun and full of amazing choreography. I'll admit, some of it is a little over the top, but isn't that half the fun? Anyone who knows me can be certain that any dance that involves smiling, cheezy facials and a few snappy heads to the front, is pretty much heaven for me... So there are those kind of numbers and then there are some really hot ones too, like our Can-Can and the Tango...

For my partner and I, the Tango is basically a Sweat-Fest. There couldn't be two sweatier dancers on the planet, and as the Tango is near the end of the show we are already covered from head to toe (obviously we work very hard haha). Normally this isn't too much of a problem (except for flicking sweat all over the audience... gross), but lifts certainly become more than a little difficult when both dancers are like a walking slip 'n' slide...  After knowing each other for less than 12 hours and already being covered in each other's bodily fluid, it's safe to say we bonded quickly lol!

38 numbers, 5 days and a lot of homework later... Friday Show Run!! I couldn't have had much more fun if I tried, and didn't fuck up quite as much as I thought I would. I don't think I've ever worked so hard and it is totally rewarding... It is a joy to wake up every morning and sing and dance all day with a truly lovely group of people! Honestly, what more could I ask for?

How about a Friday night out on the town? Sounds great! Beautiful dinner at "GRIND" on Darby St, then to "Isobar" for some drinks, then a little boogie on the d-floor at "The Brewery" on the way back to our apartments. I suspect the citizens of Newcastle have not seen men (well boys really, who am I kidding?) dancing up a storm to Beyonce for some time, because we literally had girls standing around us clapping... lol, good times.

Day 1 Happy Cruise Family