One interesting experience this weekend was when Kathy and I attended the dance recital of our goddaughter, Anneka Barrow, Saturday afternoon. Actually, I was detained at home teaching a couple of voice lessons after I got home from solo and ensemble, so I ended up missing the first half of the recital- which was the half that featured Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” and the like. I was there for the second half, when there was nary a dying swan nor nutcracker to be seen. I’m not sure what you even call this kind of music- “techno metal r&b crap” is the label I would give it – but it all had the kind of heavy beat that shakes loose the fillings in your teeth. The music may not have been my cup of tea, to put it rather mildly, but at least the dancing was incredibly varied and to a large extent creatively choreographed.
As for the dancing itself, it seemed in many cases like the skill and talent level was ranging from slim to none – but Kate Barrow helped put that in perspective by explaining that this dance studio is really the only one in town where anyone of any ability level is welcome to participate. And indeed, there were dancers of all shapes and sizes and skill on that stage and what at first seemed like a rather chaotic mess suddenly looked instead like something quite beautiful.
What was a bit odd, however, was that nearly every single dancer had a terribly grim expression on their face as though they were dancing with a scorpion crawling in their shorts. . . not a glimmer of a smile to indicate that they were having fun. In some cases I’m sure they were enjoying themselves more than it appeared- and in other cases, they perhaps enjoyed the idea of dancing and the costumes and the applause more than the actual act of dancing itself.
But there was one notable – indeed glorious exception to that – and I’m happy and proud to say that it was our goddaughter, Anneka. She looked like she was having a ball and threw herself into the task at hand with such energy and assurance. She just lit up that stage and Kathy and I were so pleased and proud. And unlike most of the others who seemed to be half a step behind and so hesitant, Anneka clearly knew every one of those dances and every single move. It brought back memories of “Crazy for You” at Park High School many years ago, when our young friend Erica Smith – the flower girl at our wedding – lit up that stage. Everyone else on that stage seemed like they were dancing with ski boots on – but Erika just danced on air and looked so joyous doing it, and she was only a freshman at the time. There is nothing more exciting than watching a naturally gifted dancer doing their thing. One of the bright spots of the Racine Theater Guild’s “Guys and Dolls” production is going to be the dancing of a former voice student of mine named Ryan Clark. When he is on that stage dancing, it is all but impossible to take your eyes off of him- and he makes it look so easy. . . I suppose because for him it IS easy!
I say all this as someone with not one iota of dancing talent- and I am the last person on earth who should be passing judgment on people who have the guts to get up and do this in front of an audience. But it is neat to see a great dancer in action- or even a fair-to-partly-cloudy dancer who at least looks like they love what they’re doing. And the best thing of all is to watch a great dancer who loves to dance. . . and that’s Anneka Barrow.
pictured: Anneka and some of her fellow dancers in mid- performance. She’s the one in blue.