At A Moment's Notice

Hello again, 

It’s your trusty understudy here. If you read my blog post from last week, you may remember me talking about being ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. Well, that situation happened big time just a few days ago. 

It was Thursday, and the big run of the piece for the day was just barely underway when I heard Serge yell my name. I was preoccupied with my dancing, so I didn’t immediately notice when one of the dancers had to suddenly step out because of an injury. I ran from my back corner to take her place within the group, and settled in for the next 35-40 minutes. 

Thoughts going through my head included but are not limited to: 

-Is this where I am supposed to be? Where should I stand? And other such thoughts related to blocking. 

-You know the choreography, trust

-Ahh crap, I never had a chance to practice (insert part here) with the group. Here goes nothing…

-Move

-More

-Bigger

-Longer

-Release

-I GOT THIS

As I was in the piece I just kept telling myself to give it everything I had, this was my opportunity, my performance, even if was only in the studio with a couple of people watching, this was it. 40 minutes later we arrived at the end of the piece, and I was overwhelmed with the support and love from my dance partners. The whole room applauded, with hugs from my fellow dancers, and even a thumbs up from Serge. Everyone was quite impressed with how well I knew the material, and one of the dancers commented that she didn’t even notice a difference with me in the mix instead of the regular casting (pretty stellar compliment if I do say so myself!). All of my work for the past number of weeks, dancing in the crammed corners and with the ballet barres had paid off. 

The next day I was on video duty for the run, with all of the dancers happy and healthy. It’s quite a flip to go from jumping into the piece one day, to watching and being in charge of the video camera the next. Such is the life of an understudy, never glamorous, and always changing. 

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to get thrown into the piece, and watching the next day gave me a feeling of pride and excitement. As I watched my colleagues dance I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, to know the amount of work they have put into this work, and the strength they give to the community. Rhonda, Jacinte, Susanne, Sara & Gillian, I am proud to call these 5 women my co-workers, mentors, and friends. Nova Scotia, you will be sorry to miss this show. Do yourself a favour and get your tickets right now, so that you can witness the talent of these women that I get to share in every day. 

xx Kathleen