Secondly - who saw us at the turning on of the Christmas Lights in Bicester on Thursday? It may only have been the first of December but Advent calendars are already being opened, so the Christmas Lights are now ON!
Now, on to this week. Bob is recording the dances so that everyone can have a DVD to rehearse with and first up is Song One. There is some walking through of the steps, some hazier than others, and Celia reminds people what we're doing. Liz suggests that she had thought the sequence of steps was in a different order but apparently that was last year... While everyone practises the steps in this year's order, Bob assembles bits of camera and occasionally leaps up to the high-level tripod to check on the view. Time to record Take One. Bob is a little surprised at this but as Martin says, you never know which take will work. We may have time for a second
Now it's time to do Song Fourteen. If you can't remember the steps for this, Celia reassures us: you haven't done it yet. That is definitely some consolation, though it also means another set of steps to learn. On the plus side, Lauren is back this week, so she'll make sure that we're doing the right thing. Steve and the band start to play, Lauren steps through her notes and everyone copies her and tries to join in the singing at the same time. There is a short section when Lauren doesn't appear to have scheduled any steps but Miles dances enthusiastically through it anyway. We get to the end of the song and Martin thinks we probably know most of it now but Lauren wants to step through it slowly anyway. Holding up two fingers in a family-friendly way encourages some mild naughtiness but that's half the fun of rehearsals! While we all practise holding up the right number of fingers, Sarah tries out some muted saxophone phrases in the latest key-shift. There is some debate about how the song should end and Miles suggests everyone doing the splits - with demonstration - but Andy has already had trouble pirouetting in the right direction and tells Miles he's on his own. By the time we reach the end of the rehearsal to the music, Miles is on his own, but Martin says that since Miles is a named character, it doesn't matter if he does it differently. This is apparently just as well.
Lauren moves on to verse two - I thought we'd got to the end of the song, but apparently not - and some stepping is demonstrated that has to begin on the right. It is decided that always starting on the right is best, mostly because it's easier to remember. She has us all stepping into a low lunge and then there is a pause as she consults her notes. Some of us are a little concerned that we won't be able to get out of the low lunge, at which point Lauren says not to worry, we need to bounce in that position briefly anyway. We run through the song from the beginning now and then carry on into the key-change which feels as though it's changed tempo too, judging by some of the pirouettes. There are quite a lot of pirouettes and some people feel a little unbalanced by the end of the song, leading to some staggering. This has nothing to do with coming to the rehearsal via the pub but is a genuine dizziness issue as none of us can quite manage the fancy head-move that top ballerinas do to help keep their balance. Different options are suggest to avoid the problem but the conversation has to be terminated so that the song can be filmed, mistakes and all. Martin reminds us all that even if we don't know the tune, the words or the steps, we all know how to smile! And in fact for the recording, no one appears to lurch in an ungainly fashion when they should be pirouetting.
Now to try Song Two. Some of the temporary audience have to get up and do some work now. The Prince is unable to be here at the moment so obviously Shirley stands in. Could this be wishful thinking? By the time I've finished typing the sentence, Shirley has sat down and Andrew is standing in instead. Well, he's the right height for a start, if not a little taller, quite apart from being a chap. Martin reminds us of a few of the finer points of this dance and suggests that this will also be done in one take. He's such an optimist! Steve says it was a bit slow and quite a few people forgot to make the ending a little shorter, so we will be doing it again, at a slightly faster pace! Also, Martin would like everyone to look to the front a little more rather than studiously watching the back of the person in front of them. (A demanding optimist, then.) That's better, Martin says, so that's a wrap.
Back to Lauren for a revisit of Song Seven, the instrumental, so at least we don't need to remember any lyrics for this one. There are a few partners missing so some potential kind souls stand in, which will doubtless make the routine much more interesting! Lauren does the first section; you all know that now, says Martin. Jan is shaking her head but once the music starts, she might surprise herself. Recording is about to start and we get another reminder from Martin to SMILE! Four bars in and Martin is already saying how miserable we look and Smile! which leads Jan to scowl at him but actually she smiles at herself scowling, so mission achieved. We get to the end but Martin needs it to be done again for filming purposes, with More Smiling. There is a theme developing here. What it really needs is for Lauren to have a piece of paper pinned to her back with a large Smiley on it, since everyone is watching her so closely. The audience all have fixed grins in an attempt to make them smile, but no one's watching! Even so, we get to the end more or less satisfactorily.
And on to Song Eight. Lyrics again, folks, but Lauren reminds us of the steps first. Martin helpfully puts a chair markers to demonstrate where the side of the stage is, and if anyone wants to be on the stage, they need to be on the right side of the chair. Bob offers to record the first run through, but Martin seems to think this one will be a rehearsal. His optimism is clearly beginning to wear thin. Possibly with reason, as Christine and Lesley take the view partway through that provided they smile, it won't matter if they don't remember the steps. Some of the turns elsewhere are looking very confident, however, particularly from Jackie, who fortunately can't see what's going wrong behind her. Take two is to be recorded for posterity, so make sure we smile for posterity too - this is Martin's appeal so with any luck it'll work. Martin is happy with the outcome of this, so take two is a wrap.
Next we're going to do Song Eighteen. Song words are re-engaged for this and Lauren has a new set of steps to demonstrate. Mark kicks the chair out of his way and is reminded that he has now extended the stage in an impossible manner, but he's asserting himself and kicks it further, promptly followed by putting his hands on his hips. Clearly getting into character. There's so much discussion (chatting) about some of the steps that Lauren has to yell 'Shut up!' at one point, which shocks us all so much that we shut up. It's complicated stuff, Song Eighteen, with handholding and all sorts, so really we do need to shut up.... We run through the first section with the band playing, and it needs to go on record that even though it's not being recorded yet, Jan Is Smiling. Charlotte takes the opportunity to 'accidentally' step on Andy's feet but he just laughs so she's got away with it. He might want to watch out for her elbows in the next step, though. The rest of the steps are demonstrated and it's time to run through the whole thing. Martin says it didn't look bad in a tone that suggests he certainly wasn't expecting it to go well, probably partly because Kim was doing such a good job of smiling front and centre,and Bob presses the record button again. Reach the end and everyone charges for one of Lesley's famous lemon crumbles before Martin can ask us to do it again.
Announcements as the last few of us cram the last few crumblies in. Rehearsal on Monday 2nd January - please could someone volunteer to do the coffees. Christmas lights went brilliantly - thanks to everyone who was there, lots of people in Bicester and Sandra made us a wonderful game to play. Advance notice of the village fete - do we want to do it, June 30th, with the summer show less than a month later? Something to consider. Find your own props for January 2nd if possible. Sunday 18th December there will be photos in the morning for as many nursery rhyme characters as possible. And next week we're running Act Two so have a read-through of it before then.
Back to the rehearsing - Song Twelve! This is our Song with Attitude but not everyone needs to join in the dance. Not quite sure why Mark is up there for the rehearsal but perhaps he likes the song... It's a while since we've done this, it seems and Chris at least has completely forgotten his steps, but I'm sure he'll remember them soon. Especially when Lauren notices him standing still - he does rather stand out! He may get away with it for a bit as Lauren needs to consult her notes and remind herself what's going on. The dancers are told they need to practise the Coffee Grinder move in the kitchen, but Chris is still trying to untangle his very long legs, which for this dance are most definitely not an advantage. Time to record it - but Mark is possibly more of a distraction than a help. Anyone trying to learn this dance from the DVD, don't watch Mark! Charlotte, on the other hand, reckons she deserves a round of applause. Which she does. Lauren runs through the steps in more detail for everyone's benefit and Kim continues to take photos for the website, as well as the programme (in case anyone wants to check it out). This takes a little while before they are ready to record, but eventually they get there while the audience boosts the singing volume by about 98%.
Now Song Nine, which Martin reminds us is the opening song to Act Two. I think he's trying to suggest that therefore it will need Energy, but obviously we will need to Smile too. "From the top, doing any of the moves you remember, and then we'll sort it out." Lauren stands at the front doing the moves in case anyone looks in that direction, which does seem to help. There are a few steps to be rehearsed though Liz seems to have perfected the 'knock-kneed' step that I am still convinced lost Cliff Richard the Eurovision Song Contest back in 197something. Could it be she's a Cliff Richard fan? Whatever, it's time to try recording the song and see whether we can all smile for the DVD. Apparently not... But before we do it again, Martin has been informed by an anonymous source who might know how to make lemon crumblies that it's Ellie's birthday soon, so we have an impromptu birthday wish for her, accompanied by the band, which is probably just as well. While she recovers from the embarrassment, exacerbated by Liz helping her wave her arms in time to the music, we do another take of Song Nine. Christine has a tip to help us all remember to smile for this song: it's like line dancing on a Wednesday afternoon at the nursing home. If that doesn't bring a smile to your face, then nothing will.
Final song to record is the Finale Song, appropriately enough. Everyone is reminded which line they are supposed to be in first, and surprisingly few have to move as a result of this information. Lauren reluctantly stands in for the missing prince but then enters into the part with muscles and chivalry (The Choreographer Latterly Known As Prince). The dancing goes okay but different people reach the end at different times... Celia puts in a request to do the last verse again, generally regarded as a good idea. Martin asks if we can do it again at not quite such a breakneck speed, which even he acknowledges is unusual for him. Quick bowing practice, a reminder to Bob to make sure he's recording, and then we do it for a final time before heading home.
By the way, I misquoted Chris Cook recently, trying to rely on my memory rather than actually checking my facts. There are now 74 days until we do this to an audience. So no pressure, folks!
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