Life Continues

[debka_notion]

There is a chunk of my brain working on schemes for finding living situations for next year. Sorry to bore you with that.

Other than that, I am rather annoyed with the rehearsal ethic of the Swing Troupe. We were supposed to have a rehearsal tonight at 10:30. Of 5 couples (I think), 3 people showed. One person had a performance, and another had dress rehearsal. But still- other people pulled the classic "I don't feel like it" excuses: lots of work, etc. Honestly, I didn't volunteer at first because I wasn't sure I had time, and when I did volunteer, I knew that meant rehearsal time, and made room for it in my schedule. That's part of agreeing to be in a performance. People wouldn't bug out on play rehearsals, or for any other dance troupe. So why Swing troupe? I never thought HaMakor rehearsals would be models of productivity, but in comparison, they are. That's frightening.

It just reminds me of all the lectures on dedication that I got in my years upon years of youth orchestra rehearsals, and before that, at summer band camp with Mr. Cross, and more recently of Jorge's dancing on a rather nasty injury, because we were performing. Turns out he severed his achiles tendon, and is having surgery on Friday. But he got through the performance. Similarly, Mr. Cross and Mr. Ventre filled me with stories about people who played concerts sick, with poison ivy on their eyeballs, etc. And the ones about where you can only skip rehearsals at assorted musical precollege programs if you get a sub who's as good as you are or better. Now, this for a low-key college performance group is a bit much to ask, but well- people should at least Try to come to rehearsals. It's a bit disheartening to show up and have it be that sort of waste of time for those of us who do show.

Comments

[pallasrosalind.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely guilty of it but the general rehearsal laziness bothers me too. I didn't sign up to perform because I don't have time this time around. If people genuinely don't have time they shouldn't sign up but if they do it would be so nice if they came and danced (and not talked).

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

It isn't just the talking- a little talking is deal-with-able. (Also, I'm plentifully guilty of that one myself, at times.) It's the failure to even show that bothers me. Talking can at least be limitted. But if you don't show, there's no chance to do a thing.

Try Having Fun?

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

That is why we used to do it unchoreographed. We had no illusions of grandeur, but we had one hell of a great time with only a modicum of stress. I have no idea why the troupe went so formal after I resigned my commission as coordinator, but I would recommend returning to that status. (And, incidentally, pallasrosalind's comment was the reason that we lot of swinging scientists did it that way.)

Huzzah!

The Vortex

Re: Try Having Fun?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Having fun doesn't communicate to an audience. This isn't being pretentious or having illusions of grandeur, it's just being responsible performers.

Re: Try Having Fun?

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

I would agree that the crux of the matter is responsibility.

Given your opinion on how the fun of the performed does not communicate to an audeince, I would guess that we have never performed for the same people.

The Vortex

Re: Try Having Fun?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

It communicates "they're having fun", it doesn't communicate "this is a good performance". Try listening to elementary school bands. I promise you they have fun- but it doesn't sound good.

Re: Try Having Fun?

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

About the elementary school band, that is true. But, it is rather interesting to note that the audeience there tends to love the music anyway -- statistical bias... ;)

The Vortex

[sovevuni.livejournal.com]

I hear you! I hated this too when I was in an IDF performing group. But I hated this even more when our dance teacher would sign up for the performance a girl who did not appear at all and every rehearsal started with "well, K. is absent again, how could she?!" while K. has never stated, in the first place, that she DID want to perform... Honestly, that was one of the reasons why I left the group - it was going too far. :(

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

That's more than a little ridiculous. That I've never seen happen, thank G-d. But I've seen people volunteer, knowing that there were weekly rehearsals, and still somehow expect that they'd only need to come to one or two rehearsals just before the show and that they'd miraculously be able to learn everything and make it clean in that time. Sure, you can Learn all the material, but not how to work with the group cleanly: you get a messy performance. But- to volunteer someone else (not really volunteering at all) in this context is just begging for trouble.