Baayork Lee is in town again with A Chorus Line, except this time it's an international tour going to Tokyo. While I wasn't sold on the prudence of the first tour location, it's A Chorus Line!! No dancer can pass up on the opportunity to audition for that show, especially in front of the original Connie.
There's also nothing like the opening dance combination from A Chorus Line to perk up your case of monotonous Mondays. Baayork is fantastic and runs the audition as a cross between a peppy head cheerleader and an intimidatingly burly drill sergeant. (Keep in mind she's actually tiny, but it's her voice and effervescent personality that make up the difference). It's like the most inspiring, epic dance boot camp you can possibly imagine.
You feel like you're in the show the minute you enter the room. And you don't ever want to leave again.
Baayork has us form 10 columns of four, and she teaches the choreography one line at a time, two eight counts per line. Once you've been out in front, you split down the middle and run off to the sides for the next line of ten. It's all business, you MUST go in with your wits about you or you won't have a snowball's chance in H E double hockey sticks.
Once she's finished teaching, the clapping begins. At Baayork and the choreographer's insistence ("Contracts are ON the table, the producer is IN the ROOM!") we all clap for each other, on beat with the music, the entire time that dancers are doing the combination.
Baayork occasionally shouts "you gotta eat nails (grrr)" if we're not going hard enough.We yell out the counts (in SIXES, not eights), then we alternate to LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT for the eight count where the footwork gets tricky.
At the very end of the call, my head shot got misplaced. When they asked if that was everyone, I raised my hand to say they hadn't called me. The assistant choreographer shouted out "What's your name? Do you know your number?" I said my name and number, and then he laughed once he saw me saying, "Oh, there's your Judy Turner" (she's the quirky, bubbly talkative tall girl in the show; I'd most likely get cast on her character track). If only they actually needed a Judy. It was clear from who they kept to dance again that the tall-girl dance tracks had been filled. No matter, I danced my heart out and I'll be even better next time I go in.
The entire experience is like a dream. No, like the best of dreams; so poignant and beautifully real that you can't bear to wake up. And you don't wake up, not until the casting team is clapping for you, thanking you, and saying goodbye. I'll be back. I'll soak up the hyper-reality of this dance world, and keep going strong for however long it takes to get the chance to do what I love most.
We did what we had to do, can't regret, won't regret what I did for love!
Your Broadway Baby
No comments:
Post a Comment