Tunesday: Eleanor Rigby

The Beatles! It's a Beatles Tunesday today. It's pretty much impossible to pick a favorite Beatles tune. For me it changes with almost every single listen. I can hardly pick a favorite Beatles record. Right now it might be "Revolver." But I don't know, so I've decided that I'll try to pick a favorite from each record. At least the later records.

Ah ah ah...tut tut. Patience, fancied friends. One at a time! I will not disclose them all in one sitting!

I've heard it said that once you've caught the Beatles bug, there's no stopping the rave listening frenzy. It's true, very true indeed. I didn't grow up listening to them. I would hear avid Beatles-lovers go on and on, but I didn't get it. Seth kept saying, "Oh just wait, Fancy. Just wait till it hits you at the perfect time." I thought...eh, whatever.

But lo and behold, it hit me! And in the strangest of circumstances. A high school show choir production of all places. Now before you go getting all huffy puffy about how a show choir singing Beatles is lame (and OK, you might have a point), hear me out.

I choregraphed the show, which as you can imagine, is very difficult. You just shouldn't choregraph The Beatles, but if I wanted to get paid, which I assure you, I did, I had to persevere, attempting to creatively rework various Brit pop rock tunes into musical theater madness.

In the midst of it all, I sat down, exhausted, in one of the auditorium seats as the students worked on stage. They finished a choreographed, cheeky, rhubarb-filled "When I'm Sixty Four," (which actually ended up working, amazingly enough) and assembled into what the musical theater buffs call a "picture," which is just a nicer way of saying "a staged arrangement of bodies." They began to rehearse an acapella version of "Long and Winding Road," and as I sat and listened to these lyrics fitting perfectly into this beautiful melodic line, I was in awe. I HAD to hear more Beatles. REAL Beatles.

Then this kid got up with his guitar and played "Revolution" with the band. That was it. I was sold. I thought, this is INCREDIBLE. Why don't I know this music? And so into Beatles land I went, where you find me now.

This is Eleanor Rigby
Band: The Beatles
Album: Revolver

My week

One week of choreography down, one to go.

When I choreograph choirs, I try to stay away from this: (Either this camera dad is the worst camera dad EVER, or he's had a bit too much Chivas Regal before the choir concert.... But if you listen carefully toward the beginning of the show, you'll hear his opinion on this priceless work of song and dance.

This is a bit long, so no need to watch the whole thing.



I go for more of this idea: (Minus the cheesy solo shots at the beginning)



OK, maybe that's stretching it a little. Especially when the conversations while choreographing go like this:

High School Male: Mrs. FancyPants, when we do the kick ball change, do we kick with our right?

Mrs. FancyPants: Yes, but when you do do the kick ball change, make sure you step back with the same foot you kick with.

High School Male: (to his friend) Huh-huh. She just said doo doo.


But you know, it could be worse. How bout, just stand there and sing while a girl struts her stuff in front of the choir! (You have to keep watching on this one.)

Preoccupied

Preoccupy: v., dominate or engross the mind of (someone) to the exclusion of other thoughts. For example:

Fancy drives to the high school, hereafter referred to as...Whatever High School (??) to choreograph her teacher friend's choir. While Fancy drives she imagines dance moves and how they will fit into 8 consecutive bars of music. She hears the music in her head.

Hit me with a hot note and watch me bounce! Hit me with a hot note and watch me bounce!

Fancy arrives at Whatever High School and parks in the visitor parking lot.

When trumpEHHHHHTS heat up, gimme a rug to beat up.

Fancy walks through the parking lot to the front doors of Whatever High School. Different song now.

I like to be in Ame-ri-ca. OK by me in Ame-ri-ca. (With a Puerto Rican accent, of course)

Fancy walks to the office where the secretary asks if she can be of any help. Fancy replies, "Yes. I'm here to choreograph for Whatever High School."

And all that jazz! Da dee dee daaaah dah dum, da dee dee daaaah dah dum....(Gunk, gunk) And all that jazz!

Secretary: OK, if I could just see some photo ID please. Fancy: Sure, no problem.

Step, kick, step, kick, step, kick, POSE! Da dee dee step, kick, step, kick, step, kick, POSE!

Secretary: Where did you say you were going again?

Fancy: Whatever High School

Shoulder....knee, and 1 and 2 and

Secretary: (eyebrows scrunched in perplexing form with head to one side)

To do...LUNGE....that....HAND....jaaaaazzz

Fancy: (realizing she is being weirdly stared at and wondering why. She raises her eyebrows in questioning form)

Secretary: RIght. Whatever High School...what. Where in Whatever High School?

Fancy: (Then realizing that she is already IN Whatever High School, speaking to the secreatry OF Whatever High School who, quite naturally, KNOWS Fancy is in Whatever High School) Oh, sorry, um, the choir room. The choir room is where I will be going. Thanks.

Karma

Oh. my. GOSH.

I JUST blogged about this on Monday, gleefully basking in my granted good graces to be able to sleep in and avoid the 5's.

I now make it a point to never wake up in the 5's no matter what....Thankfully, even in my most busy work seasons since teaching, I have been spared from rolling over in the morning and seeing a bright red 5 staring back at my face. Glorious.

Telling poor Rob how utterly sorry I was that his rat-race-American work schedule required he be up at the crack.

To Rob: As for having to wake up at 5 AM, I'm truly sorry. I hope your Saturdays are good to you.

Just yesterday I received a phone call from a good friend of mine with whom I taught high school choir. He still teaches there, and he asked if I would choreograph his Spring Pop Show. At first he asked that I choreograph for his choirs only, which meet later in the day. No problem! I love to choreograph...and teach pubescent 9th grade boys how to keep their mammoth feet from winding around their ankles.

But THEN! He called back and said his assistant now wants me to choreograph for HER choirs as well, which meet very EARLY in the morning. And on one particular day, I have to be there at 7 freakin' 30! Not to mention he also added his men's choir into the batch. It's the choir that all the jocks take to goof around and make my teacher friend miserable. I'm scared of Men's Choir.

You know what this means, don't you? Considering the commute in the morning out to the school will probably take 45 minutes at that time, and that professionally speaking, I should arrive at least 15 minutes early.

I'm going to have to wake up IN THE 5's!

I better NOT blog about how thankful I am those pills are keeping me from getting pregnant.

Karma....is such a bitch.

The 5's

I occasionally suffer bouts of insomnia. I lie in bed at night, keeping myself awake by wishing I were asleep. It's quite painful, really. But lately, I don't even try to go to sleep. I just stay up until the wee hours of the morning because the night time is so much fun. I love staying up late and I love sleeping in the next day. And now it's a sleeping habit that I can't break. And a habit that some consider lazy, others consider weird, and I just consider different.

For two years I taught and conducted high school choir. They were two of the most challenging years of my life. I learned more about myself and this world than I ever have. I learned that there are many different ways to do something right. That different paths can lead to the same desired goal, and you get to think and create and pick your path as you go. And no one can tell you that it's the wrong one, because it only matters that the path you've created for achieving your goal works. There's not a right way to life, really.

But the most important thing I learned from teaching high school choir is that waking up in the 5's almost every day of the week is horrid and should be illegal. No one should have to wake up at 5 AM or 5:30 AM or 5:55 AM. I now make it a point to never wake up in the 5's no matter what. And if for some strange reason I have to, then I am in a horrid mood and don't talk to me. Thankfully, even in my most busy work seasons since teaching, I have been spared from rolling over in the morning and seeing a bright red 5 staring back at my face. Glorious.