To toast the end of an incredible formation season, the Woman’s Dance Team comes together to enjoy a celebratory brunch. This took place on November 19 at Yew restaurant. Over giggles and mimosas, we reminisced about the recent Flamenco formation, relived our routines of the past, and discussed the challenges and successes we’ve faced thus far.
During our brunch, I asked the Ladies if I could interview and record them to hear in their own words what being on the team is like. So, today you’re getting a rare glimpse into what goes into being a part of the Woman’s Dance Team, who these fabulous women are, and whether joining the team would be a good fit for you!
Here is what they had to share:
1. Sarah: To get started – How many routines have you been in?
(This question took a few minutes, and multiple hands to count. These have been going on for years, so we first had to calculate how many formations have been created– We agreed on 15)
G: 11
S: 7 or 8
V: 15
H: 15
K: 13
2. Sarah: What appealed to you about the Flamenco Woman’s character? What drew you to her, or drew you to Flamenco?
H: The strength and confidence
K: It shared the same fierceness as Be Italian (Past routine from the musical Nine). The same type of quality.
V: It’s a very strong woman who only gets better with age!
All the Ladies – Oh I like that!
V: You’ve all seen the flamenco dancers, and as they get older it’s appreciated. It’s appreciated!
G: The flirtatiousness in it.
3. Sarah: What were your favorite characters of all the woman you’ve played in the formation routines?
V: I loved Be Italian. It was so out there I tell you!
K: You know what was so much fun? The mop one (A 1950’s routine)! I was watching it the other day because I had a friend over and was showing her all the formations. It was fun you know – something about that one…
H: Oh, I like them all Sarah! It’s hard, it’s hard! Every time you captivate a certain part of you that you already are, or who you want to be. The flamenco is a dance I’m always attracted to, and the character I’m able to connect to the most, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best character for me or the best dance for me. Be Italian was different, and even the Shakira one brought something out of me that I didn’t know was there – and I wanted to work on more. I think even the Pink Panther; the mischievous part of it.
Sarah: You knew that mischievous part was already there, right? (Women laughed)
H: I knew that that was there. So, I think it’s hard for me to pick one, and say that’s my favorite. And then the Marilyn Monroe was the last character I thought I’d be able to connect to, but I really enjoyed playing that character. A blond bimbo – I thought, “yes I can do that!” Well, that’s what she was labeled as anyways.
G: All different. But my favorite is Be Italian. I think it involves being synchronized with the tambourine. And then as a group, I think it was a very, very hard routine, but at the end, we pulled it off! (Followed by group giggles) I liked it!
S: I think flamenco. I felt strong and proud.
4. Sarah: What is the most challenging thing about Women’s Dance Teams? About being part of the team, or the routines?
V: The challenging part for me – I mean a lot of it is challenging – but the lines. I have to watch my spacing, watch where I am.
G: For me, it’s getting into the character of the dance. Especially when it’s something out of the comfort zone– like being sexy. That’s really challenging.
H: There is a lot of things – precision, consistency… The reason I started dancing was for social dancing, and I’d just do whatever I want, and even dancing with my teacher there is a lot of inconsistency in me that he tolerates, but it’s not tolerable in a formation.
K: Yeah, not tolerable in a formation.
H: So that’s something that is quite unique for me in dancing with a group versus any other dancing. And precision, it’s not up to me to choose what I think feels good for my body. It’s very obvious when I watch the video if my arm is a little off. It doesn’t matter how good I feel, it ruins the entire formation. So, those are my challenges. And it provides discipline which I personally want to work on more in all areas of my life.
K: It’s adjusting to the team. So, I naturally take bigger steps and I just can’t. Then I think I get it, then I’m like, “darn I missed it again.” And for the team piece, trying to be the same as much as possible. And that character stuff – the sexy character stuff…
V: Yah, the sexy character is tough.
K: I hate it when you say “get into your sexy“, I’m like ohhhh… (Giggles)
Sarah: The next one is going to be all about that!
G: It helps when you get into the character of the dance. Your body may tell you differently, even if you feel stiff or something, somehow, if you get into the emotion of it, they kind of influence each other.
K: It’s like learning to act!
5. Sarah: What is the best part?
K: It’s the teamwork. It’s the most difficult and the best.
(All Ladies agreed)
G: Well the best part of this whole formation team for me, is I get my exercise. The best exercise ever. Exercise for the brain, exercise for the body. It really trains you well. Plus you get a good group of people that you get to socialize with as well.
6. Sarah: What advice would you give someone who is thinking about joining?
All: Join!
K: Just do it! Don’t think about it – go for it! (Echoed by all the Ladies)
H: Now we have done this so much together, not only do we know how we feel about ourselves, but we know how we feel about each other. I think that’s a big part of it – we know how you work with us now, and you have certain expectations from all of us, in every way. So that makes us a much stronger team. For anyone who joins us, they will right away just take on the culture we already built. Not that we’re going to force it on anyone, but whoever comes in, they will just become a part of it.
K: Yeah, we created that culture. We also have a trust in you, like; we totally trust what you do with your choreography and how you train us, very much so.
Sarah: Thank you!
V: I think one thing if someone felt intimidated about joining, would be that they understand the process of learning. For me, it’s been stretching my emotional and physical capability, these things are very important. Even if we were to never perform this at the end, I would find it a beautiful exercise in the broadest sense because that makes the difference. The performance is the terrifying and wonderful thing if well executed, but the process is so totally enjoyable, and even though at the time it’s challenging, and some days I really feel like “ARR” but other days I say “Okay, got it!”
G: And that is it right? If somebody was thinking to join, I remember the first time, I had been dancing already for so long. But the first time I joined the formation I was sore the night that I came home. I was so sore, I was like “darn it, Sarah, darn it, Sarah!”. Then I was like “wow this is really good exercise”. But it’s really not to be intimidated – don’t give up. I mean you will obviously feel the pain – but you’ll train your body.
V: It’s like a muscle right.
G: Yeah, muscle memory!
I hope you enjoyed this peek into the world of our Woman’s Dance Team. We are always looking for new wonderful woman to join our team. If you are interested or have some questions, please feel free to contact us for more details.
Till next time,
