Look, entering a dance competition 9 months after giving birth is not the best idea I've ever had. Funnily enough, babies don't really like being ignored, left to play on their own on the floor in a dance studio. They also don't care for being pushed through the shops on a mission to Bras and Things for a costume, and certainly don't have the patience to wait while you try on 5 different things.
If you can push through the mummy guilt long enough to leave the baby with someone else, you get to the studio and realise that it's hard to be creative on 4 hours of broken sleep, and wonder if maybe you could just lie on the carpet gazing at the ceiling and visualise your choreography? That works right?
Or maybe watch some floor work videos on Instagram, that's always inspirational....until you remember you haven't danced full time for 18 months, and you still are trying to get your abs to make a comeback post caesarean-section. Now is not the time for new tricks Roxanne! Probably won't be able to master any new moves with a grand total of 2 hours rehearsal time per week.
So, here we are 3 days out, I've chosen a song I love and look forward to dancing to and I have enlisted my husband as my human prop...not as fun as it sounds folks, sorry to disappoint! Turns out after afore-mentioned broken sleep, 3 hours commute, leaving home at 5.30 am AND a full work day, he doesn't feel like rehearsing either! I have made up my mind to just do what I can already do and try and do it well enough to not fall over or off the tiny stage. I'll be happy with that to be honest. And yes, visualisation is approximately 50% of my rehearsal technique at the moment!
Jokes and self-deprecation aside, the one thing I can hold on to is that I am doing this because I love performing! As nervous as I get every time, even in the studio just in front of my class, I absolutely love performing and being on stage. I'm looking forward to seeing my show idea come to fruition, and to sharing the stage for the first time with my husband. I'm so looking forward to seeing students and colleagues past and present, and all the happy smiling faces of the pole community smiling back at me! Seriously, you guys better smile.
Wish me luck!
