Dance Auditions

The Harbor room is a kids area of the church which, through murals and a small dock like stage, makes it look like everyone is dancing on water. Molly and Alison were put in charge of the dance auditions. The director was also on hand to offer advice and keep things running smoothly.
First everyone in the room was taught all the steps. Everyone stood up and the instructor went through the moves one at a time. As people started to understand the dance moves they then had to be reminded to smile and look like they were having fun. I can relate since I tend to frown when I draw. If I smiled the whole time I drew however my face would hurt.
Once everyone was up to speed, the director called up 4 or 5 dancers at a time using their numbers. Then this group would go through the moves while Molly and Alison watched. The group would go through the dance moves twice which allowed Molly , Alison and the director to see everyone’s performances. This endless process allowed me to sketch the dancers in deep space. The dance began with a hip thrust from side to side and it was this movement that I tried to catch with each of the dancers. While a group was going through the moves everyone else sat in the back of the room quietly waiting for their turn.
This was a fun process to watch and sketch. When the core group of dancers was finally picked, everyone else knew that they would be working the non dancing actors rolls in the show. I am still shocked by the sheer size of this production.