Camp-o-phobia

OK, so I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks - too busy rehearsing (yeah, that's it - rehearsing). Two weeks from now, I'll be at dance camp. Certainly looking forward to the "dance" part of it (as well as being with friends) - it's the "camp" part that gives me the jitters. Why? Let's see: deer ticks, poison ivy, rabid animals, bears (they seems to be turning up in northern NJ lately), violent storms - at least it's too soon for mosquitos (although I guess I need to add "bedbugs" to the phobia list).

So why am I even going? Well, my friends don't worry much about these things (one is concerned about allergies and possibly having to leave the cabin in the middle of the night to use a separate bathroom facility, but that's about it). My dance teacher doesn't worry, the musicians don't worry - so I grit my teeth and resolve to push these phobias aside as much as I can so that I can enjoy an event like this and not be confined to the sidelines while everyone else is having fun. And when I actually do arrive at the camp and see that it's not the festering hell-hole I imagine it to be, I relax - a little.

Meanwhile, I am rehearsing for the student performance night - but not with the intensity I've had in the past. Since I will be somewhat stressed-out and sleep-deprived by the time I get to perform, I'm going to take more of a "winging it" approach rather than having to remember a full choreography. So I'm practicing a set of simple traveling steps and combinations that will fit any 4/4 music, plus slower moves for any improv section that the band might opt for, and I'll just try to let the music carry me along.

It will be interesting to see how this approach works for me. I'll comment on it when I get back from camp - if I haven't been eaten by a bear, that is.

A performance on the horizon?

I did a lot of performing in the first half of 2010 - I was in front of an audience, with varying rates of success, in February, March, June, July and August - and then nothing. A planned show in December never occurred, and another hoped-for opportunity fell through - and suddenly it's been nine months since my last performance. (Not terribly unusual if you're a bellydance hobbyist who doesn't belong to a student troupe and/or doesn't have access to a regular "student night" venue.) Now, I'm not a performance addict or anything, but having at least a few opportunities every year helps keep a dancer like myself acclimated to facing an audience (not to mention providing an incentive to practice - and of course, an excuse to assemble a costume and buy some fresh makeup).

But my performance-less streak should be coming to an end soon - I signed up for the Folktours dance camp that takes place Memorial Day weekend, and this year they're giving students an opportunity to perform in "pre-shows" (that is, the "real" show with the professional dancers starts right after). Not sure how many campers are going to turn out for the "pre-shows," but a performance is a performance - and now I have a month to prepare, from picking out the song (something simple - there'll be too much going on for me to worry about a complex choreography) to choosing a costume (something washable and easy to pack and unpack). Feels good to be shifting into "rehearsal mode" ...