In the spotlight
You step on to the stage, getting into a position you’ve practiced so many times before. But this is different. Your eyes try to focus ahead but they perceive pitch-black nothingness. The spotlight switches on with no warning, bathing you in blue light. Suddenly, you are aware of everything. How itchy your jewelry feels, if your costume is on right, is that precariously tied safety pin coming off?
Then, the music starts, all those unwanted thoughts fly away like an empty bin bag during Storm Eunice. Your limbs know what to do, springing into action. You remember what it feels like, finally.
On the 21st of February, I did my first group performance after a long break. Pizzaz, an event held by Warwick Tap, gave dancers a chance to shine, for a good cause. I performed with the Indian Classical Dance Society, one I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs. It gave me a chance to reconnect with a dance form I trained in for almost a decade, and that I thought I would forever lose once I embarked to university.
However, the diversity at Warwick never fails to amaze me, we really cater to everyone’s niche, and in the process fuel passion. For us dancers the event was day long, involving a tech run and two performances. But even though I had spent a day mostly confined to a small dressing room, the day felt both long and too short, idle yet eventful, tiring but energising.
The tech run, was for all purposes was our first performance. This was a dress rehearsal that I am glad we were able to have before we went in front of our audiences, those paying to see us. This was for two reasons, the first, I was able to experience the stage again, after a long period of dancer’s hibernation. It allowed to me to rekindle my spatial awareness, manage my expressions to never show what I was thinking and to familiarize myself with all the small mistakes I made. Of course, one always makes mistakes on stage. I remember doing my first solo performance in Bharatnatyam, a two hour long recital for which I had practiced everyday for months. For which I had trained for since even before. For which I had done a separate rehearsal on stage. But that day was not mistake free. All my practice however, gave me every bit of confidence I needed to make it look as though every step I did was absolutely flawless.
Following the tech run, I would find myself on stage again a few hours later. This time, I could discern faces against the glaring light but I now knew how it all worked. I knew where I had to be, and what I had to do, and to keep a smile plastered on my face. I could see the same in every girl I danced with. When we took our final position and heard the rapturous applause and the cheering, there was no better feeling.
