Prancing around stage in a lil’ gold dress, fish net stockings and armed with a shot gun is pretty liberating.
Last night I had my tap dance debut. The dance studio that I was training with is closing their doors forever, and I took part of their last ever grand finale show after one year of study. The theme was Amusement Park, and my act was in the shooting arcade – me, my teacher Suzie and Coralee tippity tapped around stage with toy shotgun to a remix of the Los Lobos “Shot Gun” song. Cock, bang. Those suckers we’re pretty loud, I have to say.
I really wanted to perform my dance ‘perfectly’ but opted for having fun when the mistakes started surfacing. I’ve come to recognize that most people don’t recognize the fuck ups when they happen, and so it’s better to just keep tapping than admit defeat – in whatever form that comes. A big smile is a great diversion to error, in my mind.
I was a good little Buddha and practiced non-attachment to the outcome of this dance. I worked to shift my anxiety to perform into excitement to be seen and my need to be perfect into artistic expression…I have to admit that it was work to do this – but certainly worth the effort.
I like being on stage…in the spot light. Hmmmm, what next?