Had a very long day yesterday with two performances and a very early morning and very late night! This morning I am being a complete slob- well you have to keep the world in balance don't you?!
Had to get up horribly early (well for me at any rate!) to be ready, fully made up to meet the Shuvani girls at 8.30am to get into Moreton Show. It's a huge one day agricultural show that been going for years (like a mini Royal Show), and is a big date on the calender of all those huntin',shootin' n' fishin' types and all the farmers, toffs and horseowners for miles around. Got changed in the relatively private organisers tent along with all the shiny trophies, and then went to perform at the 'bandstand'. This was basically a small platform with a big gazebo over it in the middle of a grassed area with tents and stalls on all sides. Our first set was performed to a few coffee swilling tired individuals in an adjacent cafe and a trickle of bemused passers by. Under those circumstances it's like performing into a black hole- quite disconcerting, and not easy- but the girls coped admirably. But by our second set the sun had come out and so had the punters so this time we danced to an appreciative crowd which included a number of Zumbaholics (waiting for their turn on the stage), children, cafe customers, and a few dogs! Compared to the last set this was much better and we came away feeling the great buzz you get from a good performance.We didn't get paid for these performances, but we did get into the show free whereas it would have cost us £16.50 each! Anyway, back home after a short wander around. Lunch and then a brief lie down before a shower to prepare for the Glitterball Hafla in the evening. I only mention the shower because while washing my hair I got water in my contact lenses, which made my mascara run into my eyes, and smeared the lenses so I was looking through a smoky haze. Had to re-do my makeup like this, and also drive over to pick Vicky up before heading to Rubery for the hafla. Began to realise it was quite dangerous as it was like driving through fog, and I began thinking desperately of a solution. What about tears- could they clear the fog away? So I tried to think of the saddest and most upsetting things I could and made myself cry....and it worked!! LOL! Result! The hafla was a really enjoyable evening as it was the first one we'd been to in ages, and our pals Lynne and Julie from Kookie Kaftan were there, as well as my lovely friend Lucy. The most memorable part of the evening was after I got changed ready to do my feather boa number to Etta James 'I just want to make Love to You'. Apparently they didn't have my music and could they have my CD? I'd thought I sent it by email several weeks ago (but the organisers hadn't received it!), and had forgotten to bring the CD as backup (which I usually do)...AAARGH!! Of course no one had a copy of that particular music so then various people suggested dancing to something else, dancing with a veil (Lucy) or dancing with finger cymbals (Vicky). Some one found a set of zils and after some frenzied hunting I found a track of a CD I hadn't used for about 5 years in my stall stock, and after listening for about 20 secs to the music, I was on!! Now I love improvising, but this did test my skills to the limit! I vaguely knew the music, but wasn't prepared for the drum solo section (!!), and the finger cymbals kept sliding around, but strangely enough I really enjoyed myself! I think that because I was thrown into the situation, I didn't have time to get nervous and the adrenaline was surging around my veins! Not an experience I'd want to revisit again soon, but a steep learning curve, and good fun in the end! The downside of the evening was that I only sold two items and barely covered the cost of the petrol. Ah, well, it was good to get back to it all, and I did have my naughty treat of the week (small bowl of chips and large coke) so all was not lost! Didn't get to bed until 1.00am so very tired and in Miss Slobby mode today...might need a little lie down later!
After so many weeks of feeling stuck and immobile it was great to get out and start doing something again. *Happy sigh*
It was a fantastic piece of improv- so impressed that you pulled it out of the bag at seconds notice!
ReplyDeleteTwo of the other stall owners were saying they didn't do so welll on the night either. Is there anything that the organisers could change for next time, or are people just not inclined to spend at the moment?
Thankyou kindly for your lovely comment!
ReplyDeleteAs regards the stalls I think it's mostly to do with everyone being quite careful with their money at the moment, although it might also be because many classes have only just resumed after the summer break so not everyone is back to speed with their dancing. As an organiser myself I also think it's worth considering the ratio of attendees to stalls, and also the type of stalls- a small hafla couldn't take more than one or two big traders, for example. Also, I find that small, less expensive items go better at haflas, whereas bigger more expensive items (like complete cabaret costumes) tend to sell better at larger events and weekends. My Petit Souk can have between 70-150 attendees and I usually have around 10 traders, but many people do come specifically to spend some money. In the end it's a little unpredictable!
Hope that helps!