Mountain View Solstice Dancers: Rehearsal 9

We pressed ahead last night with the rest of the choreography to accompany the second of the three musical compositions in the piece. We segue from the Matrix-esque slo-mo partnering we learned last week into some cool cheerleading moves before forming two parallel lines that, after some forward hip and arm action reminiscent of belly dancing finds us forming a circle. I believe it's in the centre of the circle that the singing--from those who are so inclined--will happen. Myself, I'm just sticking to dancing, thank you very much.

The circle eventually breaks apart into two new parallel lines, which become zig zags of alternating inward and outward horizontal moves. There's some hand and arm (and head!) coordination that I still need to work on in this part. Fortunately the very end of this section repeats phrases from the beginning that we've already learned.

In this second section, where--as with the earlier waltz steps--we're covering a lot of ground both individually and as a group, we've really felt the physical constraints of Celebration Hall as our de facto rehearsal venue. I admire Jessica for the on-the-fly geometry lessons she's having to conduct--both in adapting the choreography to the more confined interior space and reminding us of how things will look and feel when we're finally outside.

Here's hoping that happens soon. Already it's getting warmer and lighter week by week; biking home last night at 9:15 pm it felt like I was racing against dusk. No rehearsal next Monday because of the holiday, but when we return on the 25th, weather and equipment permitting, it would be great to really bust loose outdoors.

P.