Remind me again why I said I'd do this?!

(c) 2009 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

It's late. It's late & I'm trying to wind down. I just spent the last 4 hours in a dance studio, between belly dance class, our normal post-class troupe time, and practicing with my instructor for (argh!) our first paid belly dance gig. (GAK!!!!)

Yeah, I'm totally freaking out. As I might have mentioned before (once or twice...), I'm not big on dancing in public. Granted, this is "performing," so it's better, but I'm still feeling so very much not ready.

You see, in order to get more practice dancing with an audience, our troupe (as of the middle of June) is dancing during the first and third Wednesdays at the Green Bay farmers' market. Ok, fine, we did the drum circle with strangers, I can do a farmers' market, where people are mostly just walking by anyway. Ok. Fine.

(It's actually kind of fun. Plus, tip basket! Yay!)

We've done it twice now, and after the second time, my instructor was contacted by somebody from a festival in GB this upcoming weekend. Seems one of their performers at the second stage had a death in the family and they had a opening to fill. Would our troupe be interested in filling that 45 minute spot? For money?

So she said sure and asked me if I wanted to dance it with her, 'cuz 45 minutes is WAY long to dance by yourself. And, honestly, the rest of the troupe is not ready to be performing at paid gigs. (Not that I'm sure I am! At all!) And $ for dancing definitely = fun money I can spend on costumes or whatever, so I said sure.

And now I'm having a very small freak out. Ok, maybe not too very small, but not that huge.

Basically, she's doing 15 minutes, I'm doing 15 minutes & we're splitting the last 15 minutes. Tonight we decided she'd do 2 of her songs (1 veil, 1 not), I'd do two (1 no prop, 1 veil*), she'd do 2 (no props) & I'd do my last two (1 I haven't even picked yet!!!**, 1 sword***). Then she's doing a 4 minute song with Wings of Isis, I'll do a 2 minute veil song that's basically our spring recital number, we'll do a 4 minute routine together (from back in my GV days, those who know me!), then we'll end with her dancing to a song while I do zills.


That means I'm involved in 7 songs. SEVEN! Now, 3 I know pretty well & just need to keep fresh/review. One is improvisational, but I should practice a few times to have some ideas what I'm going to do with that sword, one I really need to review because I haven't done it since March, and one I should listen to a bunch of times so I can play the zills along with it.

AND ONE I STILL NEED TO CHOOSE, CHOREOGRAPH, AND PRACTICE! By SATURDAY!

THIS SATURDAY!!!

ARGH!!!!


So, now that I've shared that stress with the internets, and hopefully relieved it somewhat (I hope), I'd better get to bed. 'Cuz it's late, and goodness knows I've got a lot of dancing/practicing/choreographing to do tomorrow!!!




Now if people point and laugh, and the stage is covered with centipedes, and I'm naked, and I fall down and/or look stupid, and Brad Pitt, a younger Harrison Ford, and Johnny Depp are all in the audience to see my awkwardness and humiliation, then yes, that WILL be my own personal version of hell, thank you very much!


*Which I've been busting my @$ to choreograph the last 3 days and it rocks and I love it.
**Yes, that is a freaking out on my part.
***Mostly improv, but hey, what does the audience care, I've got a freakin' sword! And I'll be balancing it on my head!!!