It's Spring in Fukuoka...

...and my heart's all a-flutter there.

They're not clowns - they're actors!

Junyoung/Sancho is on the right. That's Ilu, Kitri's father, on the left.

It's that day again

More Rehearsals - The Return of the Clowns

This week the actors came back: Kitri's father, the man he wants her to marry, and Sancho Panza. Complete clowns, all three. Not that I don't respect them, but they do bring out the clown in me. On Tuesday Won Mi even had to tell us to stop goofing around while she was rehearsing one of the dancers. I didn't realise how much I missed having them around. It would take too long to relate all of the shtick and pratfalls we bounced off each other, and you really had to be there to get the jokes. Suffice it to say we often had the gaggle of dancers in stitches. I just hope Won Mi doesn't get fed up with our shenanigans. We're starting to hit the doldrums where we've learned the better part of our roles and are just rehearsing and re-rehearsing. It's still three weeks until the performance. I'll try to behave, but dancing an addle-pated septuagenarian does take an awful lot of concentration.

Third Rehearsal - Presence

The third rehearsal was actually last Tuesday but I took Ella to Seoul to stay with her mom for a while on Wednesday and I've been sick. I'll try to remember a bit of what happened. I know I was joking with Won Mi about making a step chart or whatever those diagrams they use for teaching where to put your feet in the foxtrot are called. I've borrowed the video of the Bolshoi production because I'm convinced the waltz is where everything's going to fall apart and I don't want that to happen. I know I won't look as big on stage as I do in this picture but I'll certainly feel it, and I don't want to overshadow the wonderful dancing (after hours, weeks and years of hard work) of the students. They're all very patient with me, especially Won Mi the teacher and choreographer who asked me to dance the role. I just have to build up a bit of confidence in myself. Knowing where my feet are supposed to be while I'm waltzing will definitely help.