Moving in Strange Ways

Graduating from high school meant Anabelle also graduated from Danceworks. 

(And now I'm weeping again.)

Even though the Moving Company was cancelled last year (because last year sucked), Anabelle's final recital did occur, due to another burst of Awesome from Miss Chris and Mr. Carl. 

Carl and a large team built an outdoor stage, with a dance floor matching the studio, in a day to allow five shows to go on. This spaced out the performances enough to have people adequately distanced, and gave the Seniors a final time on stage together. (Actually five final times, one for each show, plus their other numbers in the last show. They were quite exhausted, with toasted tootsies due to the June sun on the floor, but happy (if bittersweet) at the end.)

Mr. Carl's crew then completed the epic task of tearing down the stage in an equally quick manner. My brother-in-law Dave was on the crew, leading to Morgan being asked to help in the tear down process. Kim pointed out that the reputation of my handiwork skills preceded me, since a nine year old was asked to assist and I wasn't.

With Anabelle out of the program, there was no need for me to endure the Moving Company music playing stress of: 

driving to unknown locations through snowstorms, 

worrying over messing up cues for artists who had trained tirelessly for these performances, hanging out in the cold for outdoor dances and 

sitting on top of an eardrum shatteringly loud speaker...

What?  And give up show business!?!?!

Considering my nieces are still in the company, and my sister is a backstage dance mom (and Danceworks employee and adult tapper), there was very little arm twisting required for me to continue my music services.

In the strange times we live in, this was both the longest and shortest Moving Company season on record. 

Based on everything going on, all dancers had to be of vaccinated age, (which was younger when the process started than it is now) and there was no singing. This shrank the size of the company. Add to that the general reluctance of letting outsiders into the places they usually perform and the show locations were limited as well.

There was the possibility of Anabelle and Kate getting to do a return engagement for winter break. 

Watching them perform together (especially in tap) was always a highlight for me as the years have passed. 

First their breaks didn't line up, and then Omicron hit, pushing the performances out weeks and eventually months later than usual. Therefore they didn't get a return, and the shows reached to the end of March. 

The times led to some new (for this group) locations. The dancers, as always, adapted to the small and strange spaces.

Mom always said it's seeing other people's kids grow up that really shows the passage of time. It's been an amazing journey to see Lindsey start as the "dreaming kid" who was too young to dance in the show but was along for the ride Anabelle's first year in Moving Company transform into the performer who had an en pointe solo for her senior year, and also be the one giving subtle cues to the rest of the tap dancers for that routine.

It wouldn't be Moving Company without me having a disaster story, and this year was no different. 

And that's not counting the one show on an actual stage for the Girl Scout food pantry benefit where I had to start the music and then leap off the steps to get out of the way of the walkaround senior and adult tap dancers. It was magnificent to see the dancers back on their natural habitat of an indoor stage again, though. 

There's one venue (the closest to my house) that normally has two shows, one for assisted and one for unassisted living. Every year, Kim cannot find the entrance to the assisted living space and calls me on the way as she is rushing there to barely make it on time.

As with everything else changing this year, so did this. The performance was only for assisted living this year, but in a different space. Therefore entry was at the unassisted living door. 

Guess who missed that part of the email? 

(Here's a hint, Kim made it on time this year.)

Guess who also misread the time and got there a half hour early and went for a walk first, killing more time than he should have?

I got to what was the right door in past years on time, and the receptionist had no idea what I was talking about. Sadly, it took far longer than it should have for me to ascertain she had no idea what I was talking about.

I ran over to the other door, and this receptionist did know what I was talking about.

She also knew to give me directions to go up the stairs and down the hall to the right to find the dancers.

She did not know to mention there was the need to take an elevator in that hall to the right.

This year was my turn to call Kim to find out where the place was and get there barely in time.

That meant I didn't do a quick sound test before the show started.

If I did I would have learned the sound level was "ZERO" because the speaker was plugged into a power strip I didn't turn on.

The show went well, but space was tight, as usual. When my niece kicked my chair and the microphone speaker in one number, I decided to help out. I jumped up to slide the chairs and speaker further out of the way between dances. My fear that the tiny pink iPod could easily vanish insured I held it tightly during this maneuver.

Did you know old iPods have a button that makes Siri announce- AT MAXIMUM VOLUME- the track listing and artist.

I do not know where that button is, but I do know it exists...and so does everyone else at that show.

Once again, congratulations to Miss Chris and her squad for bringing the joy of dance to those who'd have no opportunity to experience it, especially in this insane world we're in now.

The delight and thrill on all the faces of the audiences was the proof of the value of Moving Company.

Final note - for the recital (outside in ninety degree heat), this year's Moving Company, and Anabelle's college dance shows, for ALL the rehearsals and ALL the performances ALL of the dancers wore masks. They were able to breathe just fine to perform extremely athletic and graceful maneuvers over and over again.

I guess all those sports teams who couldn't play in masks because they couldn't breathe right aren't nearly as tough as the dancers are.