Murder on the Dance Floor
Created | Updated Apr 7, 2004
I speak 2 languages - English and Body...
Ain't what you do it's the way that you do it
Character building
Honestly, that choreographer!!! He's quite incorrigible, you know. There we were, slaving over
our steps, getting all our arms, legs and other movable parts into the positions he'd taught us, and he
comes back from his week off and changes it all! AND....he's really lost the family audience in his
attempts to re-create a sleazy 30's Berlin cheap cabaret show.
'Right!' he yells in his German accent, 'I want you to show me your
characters - bored, cheeky, flirty, whatever, but I've got to see it in your faces! And do some sort
of movement that's appropriate - wink at the audience, scratch your backside, adjust your
boobs1, you choose!'
The only thing we're not allowed to do is chew gum2,
as that wasn't widely used in Europe until after the Second World War. So we close our eyes, and
try to forget that we are respectable business women in a draughty church hall, and instead try to
give the impression that we are a crowd of tarts on a noisy, smoky stage. At least he's not a
devotee of method acting!
Bit of a handful
On to 'Don't Tell Mama', the only slightly less risqué number from Cabaret, where we've got as
far as the final few bars, and we've arrived near the front of the stage in 2 rows.
'Are we still in these staggered lines?' I ask, and he looks at me.
'Staggered? Oh that's a new word for me!' and he claps his hands with glee.
Deciding to really camp up this number, he includes 3 of the key gay positions - teapot, necklace
and tiara3. It's a fun song, this one, and we get to do some singing too, in lovely
'Betty Boop' style falsettos.
C'mere, there's more!
We actually got a little break from dancing last night, and had the rare treat of watching some
of the solo singers go through their songs. And try not to laugh as they attempted to walk in a
circle while keeping their shoulders facing forwards (not as easy as it looks! And you try doing it
while singing at the same time!)
Now, if I'm going to be appearing on stage in October in little more than a pair of silky
drawers, I really should start dieting....
Murder on the Dance Floor
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forehead.
