A Routine Festival

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, Jason and I recently achieved unprecedented dancing fame and by “unprecedented dancing fame” I mean fame that is not satisfied until unprecedented amounts of dancing have occurred. Our most recent performance was at the Festival of Trees, an annual fundraising event for Primary Children’s Hospital. Here are all the twists and twirls of that affair.

Our group had a great time preparing and performing together.
Our group had a great time preparing and performing together.

In addition to the significant stints spent at our regular dance class, our group of twelve performers practiced almost ten extra hours to perfect our routine. Although these rehearsals sucked up so much time that it seemed like all Jason and I did everyday was go to work and prance about, preparing for FoT was tremendously fun. Laughter and banter erupted so frequently at our practices that they felt more like hangouts than workouts.

Many vintage dances are done in a round.
Many vintage dances are done in a round.
Soldier's Joy is one of my favorite vintage dances. It involves a lot of spinning.
Soldier’s Joy is one of my favorite vintage dances. It involves a lot of spinning.

Our show at FoT was half an hour long and included nine different songs. We had a few wardrobe malfunctions, namely flying shoes and falling pantaloons, but our on-stage romping proceeded relatively smoothly otherwise. The crowd of onlookers started pretty small but it grew throughout our segment.

The Oslo Waltz is a very elegant dance that is performed in a circle.
The Oslo Waltz is a very elegant dance that is performed in a circle.
When wearing a massive skirt that flips regularly, appropriate undergarments are necessary.
When wearing a massive skirt that flips regularly, appropriate undergarments are necessary.

For me, the greatest challenge of this recital was my costume. My proper 1860s attire included a corset and a hoop skirt that was nearly as wide as I am tall. I can’t convey how preposterous trying to dance is when you have a five-foot girth and are bound up tighter than a mummy. Leaping Jehoshaphat! After our performance, Jason and I walked around the exhibit hall where I was constantly bombarded by children (mostly girls) that wanted to talk to or have their picture taken with a princess. Yes, that “princess” was me with my excessive skirt. My royal ascension was unexpected but amusing.

Out of all the enormous skirts in our group, mine was the hugest.
Out of all the enormous skirts in our group, mine was the hugest.

I suspect that Jason and I will be prancing around town more frequently in the future. Our Festival of Trees premier was so enjoyable that I’d even willingly submit to hoop-skirt ungainliness again for a chance to repeat the experience.

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