Choreography too?

Many of you know me as a jewelry designer and gallery owner.  Well, in the immortal words of MVS artist Pat Brier, "Sometimes one form of creativity leads to another."  So yes.  You can now add choreographer to the list as well!

In Jeff's latest play, Teacup Tipsy (opening April 17 at Driftwood Players in Edmonds), there is a dance sequence in which our heroine, Lyla, dances her sorrow.  (Yes, this IS a comedy I assure you.)  Never one to shy from something new, I leapt at the chance to try my hand at it.  After all, I had studied dance for many years as a youngster, and for a few years in college as well.  And you all know that was just a few years ago, right?

But how to capture a mood, her emotions, in movement?  That was my challenge.  I spent quite a few hours boning up on my familiarity with dance steps, listening to the music to which Lyla dances, and dreaming about which movements would work best.  I tried series after series, and didn't like any of them.

So I let it sit for a day or two and tried not to think about it (which was sort of hard, given the number of times I had listened to the tune, and it was now refusing to leave my brain).  Finally, after picking it up again, I worked on it for several more hours when it all came together!  Lovely, graceful movements that reflect Lyla's mood and her chosen song.

But now comes the hard part.  I actually have to SHOW it to the director and the actor playing the role of Lyla.  Yikes!  What if they don't like it?  What if they think it's silly?  I've had many years to get used to the idea of putting my jewelry out for others to see.  Doesn't faze me at all anymore.  I know some people are going to like and others not, and I don't really care.  But this?  This is an entirely different animal.  An entirely new art form.  So, breathing through my anxiety, and forgetting the next move only once, I showed them.

You can imagine my great relief when I saw smiles of appreciation on their faces as they watched.  Wow, they actually liked it!  Whew!  I just passed my first test as a choreographer!  And Catherine, our Lyla, captures it beautifully.  How fun to watch someone else work with what I imagined!  An amazing feeling to be sure.

Manya