Tomorrow night, I am performing onstage with my hoop in a talent show at Exit Bar in Shinjuku Nichome in front of a paying audience of (I assume) drag queens and gay men who are voting for the best act. I am only a brief 90 second entre’act in a larger Hooplovers performance, but I am very excited. And more than a little nervous.
This is the first time I’ve performed a solo. It’s the first time I’ve had to do my own choreography. Thank goodness it’s only a 1’30” circus march. I guess I could just get up and wing it but I won’t let myself do that. Instead, I am learning how to prepare a performance piece:
- Edit music to length. This is pretty easy since I do it for videos often enough.
- Listen to the music. Over and over.
- Break it into sections. Write them down. Count.
- Visualise some moves. Freak out that you can’t think of enough moves or tricks to fill the sections. Scour YouTube for ideas.
- Chocolate.
- Play with the moves and the music. Find some that work. Write them down.
- Video the result.
- Freak out during the playback. Revise and refine.
- Repeat 4-8 until you have something that works.
I’ve been at it since 9 am. I am still on step 9 and it seems to be getting farther and farther away from finished. I think step 10 is drill the dance until it is smooth and looks easy. Step 11 involves costuming. Or possibly chocolate.
OK, back to step 9. I wish I had a collaborator to work with; it is easier for me to bounce ideas around with someone until ideas gel. In any case, I aim to get to step 10 before bedtime.
