June 2014:
Gaslight Anthem band member to me as I exhaustedly gulped down water during a brief break: Hey, great job!!
Gaslight Anthem band member to me as I exhaustedly gulped down water during a brief break: Hey, great job!!
Me: [continuing to gulp down water and looking behind me to see to whom he was talking]
GA band member: [chuckling] Yeah, you. I'm talking to you. You guys are great. You're fierce.
The
unglamorous reality of working as a music video dancer: Three hours of
sleep before a ridiculously early call time to sit in hair and makeup
for an hour and a half, most of which time is spent holding your breath
to avoid breathing in the zombie makeup being sprayed
on you, followed by being instructed not to sweat while dancing insanely
fast and athletic choreography on concrete in 90 degree heat, the
unsuccess of which (the not-sweating part, not the dancing part) results
in people running in between each take to dab sweat off you and retouch
you and aim air conditioning hoses at you, not to mention periodic
offers of double-sided tape to hold your very limited clothes in place....
Throw in ending the day 15.5 hrs after call-time with exhausted
group-freestyling with the nine other dancers in fake snow for multiple three-minute
takes, two minutes of which on every take you're blind and trying to hold your breath
because there's snow in your mouth and eyes (and yes, there was spitting
happening during takes -- better not pirouette on someone's loogie)....
....But then you're standing there under the bright lights as the track starts to count in and the lights start pulsing and there's an amazing band in front of you and cameras rolling and you and the other dancers collectively find an energy that physically shouldn't still be there, and the band tells you you're all amazing (complete with the above interaction, which put a big smile on my sweaty zombie face) and watches you when they're not in the takes and applauds, and then the lead singer starts doing zombie makeup retouches on all of you once he's wrapped and makes you all laugh.... And that's when, as you're standing there sweaty and dirty and every muscle in your body hurts and your brand new ballet shoes don't even have toes in them any more, you involuntarily grin and think you have the best job in the world for this one day.
....But then you're standing there under the bright lights as the track starts to count in and the lights start pulsing and there's an amazing band in front of you and cameras rolling and you and the other dancers collectively find an energy that physically shouldn't still be there, and the band tells you you're all amazing (complete with the above interaction, which put a big smile on my sweaty zombie face) and watches you when they're not in the takes and applauds, and then the lead singer starts doing zombie makeup retouches on all of you once he's wrapped and makes you all laugh.... And that's when, as you're standing there sweaty and dirty and every muscle in your body hurts and your brand new ballet shoes don't even have toes in them any more, you involuntarily grin and think you have the best job in the world for this one day.
----------------------
Feb. 27, 2015:
That day on The Gaslight Anthem's "Rollin' And Tumblin'" was one of the most grueling, difficult days of work I've ever done -- and also one of the most rewarding. Last night at their sold-out NYC concert, I had a reaction that surprised me: As I stood in the balcony looking down at the floor that was jam-packed with fans dancing and completely loving the music, and as I felt the balcony moving with the crowd's movements and listened to the teenage girl next to me (whose dad was taking her to this concert and both of whom loved their music so passionately) gush to me about how much she loved their new album, I actually got a little misty-eyed thinking of the fact that for that brief time, I was part of the machine of the band that created this reaction. When I stage manage, I don't really get to see how an audience is affected by the show. If there are tears or smiles, or soul-reaching moments and connections, I don't see them. Even as a dancer on stage, though I can feel the audience, I can't normally see them. So standing in the balcony watching that crowd completely give in to the music -- watching the magic, electric sparks that flew between the band and their fans -- was a unique experience for me. And thinking that I was a small part of their creation for a moment -- their creation that was causing all those fans below me to completely lose control of themselves -- that was one of the absolute coolest feelings I've had in my time here.
That day on The Gaslight Anthem's "Rollin' And Tumblin'" was one of the most grueling, difficult days of work I've ever done -- and also one of the most rewarding. Last night at their sold-out NYC concert, I had a reaction that surprised me: As I stood in the balcony looking down at the floor that was jam-packed with fans dancing and completely loving the music, and as I felt the balcony moving with the crowd's movements and listened to the teenage girl next to me (whose dad was taking her to this concert and both of whom loved their music so passionately) gush to me about how much she loved their new album, I actually got a little misty-eyed thinking of the fact that for that brief time, I was part of the machine of the band that created this reaction. When I stage manage, I don't really get to see how an audience is affected by the show. If there are tears or smiles, or soul-reaching moments and connections, I don't see them. Even as a dancer on stage, though I can feel the audience, I can't normally see them. So standing in the balcony watching that crowd completely give in to the music -- watching the magic, electric sparks that flew between the band and their fans -- was a unique experience for me. And thinking that I was a small part of their creation for a moment -- their creation that was causing all those fans below me to completely lose control of themselves -- that was one of the absolute coolest feelings I've had in my time here.
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