I\u2019m no beauty but I am cute.\u00a0 Or at least I was cute when I was younger.\u00a0 The illusions that we create on stage with movement, lighting, acting and stage makeup have always amazed me.\u00a0 I have seen truly ugly women transform themselves into doe eyed beauties with stage makeup.\u00a0 I was touring through France and within the evening\u2019s program, I had an in-your-face sexy solo in a blue dress.\u00a0 Now if you knew what I looked like then (which is a less wrinkled version of today\u2019s model), you\u2019d know that the phrase \u201csex symbol\u201d has never been applied to me.\u00a0 My first director had always said that I looked like a football player who had wandered into a ballet studio.\u00a0 After my blue solo, the evening\u2019s performance would wrap up and I would head backstage to remove the makeup and get dressed for the return to the hotel.\u00a0 At the stage door would inevitably be a group of audience members who wanted either autographs or to talk to a specific performer.\u00a0 Someone would usually grab my arm and ask me \u201cWhere is the girl who did the sexy blue solo?\u201d\u00a0 There I was, with my thin mousy brown hair, which was now plastered to my head from my recent shower, big thick glasses and a colorless complexion from having not reapplied any makeup.\u00a0 \u201cShe\u2019s still inside,\u201d I would tell them.\u00a0 They would thank me and turn back expectantly to the stage door.\u00a0 I would saunter off to the hotel.\u00a0 Did I mention that I was an introvert and that meeting new people was not big on my list?<\/p>\n
I was working in Vancouver and one of the dancers got injured.\u00a0 The director called me to her and announced that I was going to take over her role in one work, which involved a beautiful duet with Adam.\u00a0 Now, Adam and I really didn\u2019t get along too well.\u00a0 He was forever correcting me and I found that avoiding him was the easiest way for me to go.\u00a0 I begged the director to leave me in my present position and let someone else dance with Adam.\u00a0 She told me that I was the only one in the company who had the technical ability to handle the role.\u00a0 It was going to be a long and painful rehearsal period.\u00a0 Nobody likes to be in a situation where they are nagged at all day long.\u00a0 That night I came up with a solution.\u00a0 The next day I went to Adam and said \u201cYou know Adam, I am so afraid of doing this role.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a very good dancer and I don\u2019t think that I can handle this technically.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes widened.\u00a0 He put a hand on my shoulder and said \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll help you get through this.\u201d\u00a0 With that we began a nice working relationship.\u00a0 I danced the way I wanted to and Adam, thinking that I was doing the best that I possibly could, followed my lead.\u00a0 This is a beautiful duet.\u00a0 Soft, lyrical and loving, full of off-balanced turns and lifts.\u00a0 Really quite nice to dance.\u00a0 With Adam under control, I threw myself into the role heart and soul.\u00a0 After our first public performance, I noticed a change in Adam.\u00a0 I would catch him watching me with this expression on his face that I could only describe as wishful longing and kind of freaky.\u00a0 We were passing each other in the theatre hall and Adam reached out to catch my arm.\u00a0 \u201cI never knew that we had such a strong connection.\u00a0 I could really feel your love for me out there.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYeah,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 As I walked away, again I was struck by the power of illusion for both the viewer and the participants.\u00a0 And for the record \u2013 I didn\u2019t fall in love with Adam.\u00a0 That\u2019s called acting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m no beauty but I am cute. Or at least I was cute when I was younger. The illusions that we create on stage with movement, lighting, acting and stage makeup have always amazed me. I have seen truly ugly … Continue reading