A Minor Kink

For five weeks now, Charles, Christina and I have been getting up at the crack of dawn, spending about an hour and a half before work to practice choreography to get Charles and I ready to perform on June 6th.

Christina was told there would be three “sides” … basically three sides of the square where the audience will be seated. THAT is what I have been learning and finally starting to feel confident about.

But now we learn that there will be audience on all four sides (true ballroom style), and the lengths of the staging area will be different from what we have been rehearsing.

SO … it means some changes. It may not sound like a big deal … but it can be. When dancing, you develop muscle memory … your body has done a certain step, a certain way so many times that it’s ingrained in you.

The biggest issue is that while the other dancers will have 12 weeks to rehearse … I will have 8 weeks.

I’m hitting the road on April 13th to cover the provincial election campaign. I’ll be based in Vancouver and travelling on both the Liberal and NDP busses for four very intense weeks, so that means no salsa rehearsals. I’m hoping to take a few classes in Vancouver to keep in shape … and hopefully I can ferry over to practice if I get a random Saturday or Sunday off. But the pressure is on.

I have one more week to practice with “the breakfast club” (the 6:30am risers) … a month away … and then I come back for about 3 weeks until the performance.

Christina and Charles both say we will be able to do it. They have years of experience and an international reputation. And so … I will believe them and trust that we will rock the show on the 6th. But I am planning to have a blast, smile a lot, and hoochie-mama things up if need be … so that you won’t catch if I miss a step or two. ;)