It was getting late. Wasn’t it always getting late? Well anytime anything sinister was about to happen. The sun was starting to drop down in the northwest. Being in Australia, the sun rose in the northeast and set in the northwest. What is it called when the sun is directly overhead… not north, south, east, or west but in the direct centre of all directions. What direction is that? Straight up? Is there a word for that direction? High noon? There was no such thing as high noon in Australia. The sun was never directly overhead.
But I digress. I use the word ‘digress’ in a sentence, as though I actually truly know what it means, when in fact I am only using it as I have heard others use it, not truly knowing it’s definition. We do that all the time as humans, don’t we. What does it really mean? Digress: leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing.
But I digress from my digression.
I was walking down the street, well on the sidewalk in our little conventional-box-home neighbourhood. I had of course just gotten off the bus and was walking towards my house that looked like every other cookie-cutter house in this cramped compound with the tiny front yards, houses perhaps ten feet apart and eight-foot-tall privacy fences encasing every backyard. I stepped off the tree-lined curb to cross the road of the cul-de-sac wherein was found my home as part of a tiny semi-circle of houses.
It had rained recently, and water droplets splattered from my sneakers with each step as I approached the other side of the street. I glanced to the curb as I approached, deliberately avoiding making eye contact with the sewer that ran like a big gaping mouth along a portion of the curb. I turned slightly that I would arrive at the curb to the right of the sewer, thereby preventing me from having to interact with it. I detested sewers. I had never trusted them and always tried to avoid noticing them. Or more like, tried to avoid them noticing me. I was always sure they were aware of me, and watching… always watching. Waiting. Waiting for me to get close enough that I would slip down their slopes and be swallowed whole by their orifices, to fall into some bottomless pit and be forever trapped or worse, just gone… falling falling falling forever.
Yes, I suffered from severe cloacaphobia, a fear of sewers. Ever since I was a child, I was convinced they had intelligence. They were an entity of sorts.
Sewers were the spawn of evil and what horrors stewed in their secret chambers was the work of devils and Mrs. Kraus, my former Algebra teacher… that old bitch. Trolls lived under bridges and Algebra teachers lived in sewers. I was sure of it. Stagnate water and mosquito breeding grounds, or swift, raging underground rivers, collections of waste and rubbish, or echoing howls of things not of this world (like Algebra teachers), lurking shadows, and the wailing of the damned (like Algebra students)… I just knew whatever was to be found in sewers, none of it in my mind was good.
My heart always started beating a tiny bit faster when I had to avoid a sewer. I would be fine as soon as I was up the curb and back on the sidewalk. But this time, something caught my eye. Something white and a bit large caught the light, reflecting from inside the sewer. I paused, always a bad idea. Curiosity always got me into trouble. I knew I should just keep going, but it was almost like, I had to know… I had to solve the mystery, least IT come slithering out of the sewer and follow me home. I had to find out for sure.
I leaned down a bit and looked directly into the sewer, my eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness I was peering into. Something white moved. I tilted my head and squinted, creeping a bit closer. My fingertips braised the damp blacktop of the street. WHAT the FUCK was it!! Red, I could now make out the colour red. I leaned in. Red… nose! White grease-painted face, wild orange hair sticking straight up and clear eyes that seared into me with an intense, luring stare that seemed to want to devour my soul. And big, fat red lips that suddenly curled into a devious smile, revealing big teeth. The lips parted and the clown chided, “Welcome to the weekend!”
I stood back up and stamped the ground with my right foot. “Dammit Billy, you almost gave me a heart attack! Get out of there and get home! It’s getting dark, you idiot. We’ve got a show to do tonight, so get moving.”
My brother, Billy. He did love to hide in sewers and freak people out. Just for fun. No wonder I had cloacaphobia. And sure enough, IT was dragging itself out of the sewer and following me home. Laughing at me. Idiot!
Babypea
with Gunner and Web
Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
I love this song, love scat and love the energy! It gives me dancing feet in RL so I thought it would be a heap of fun to dance to in SL.
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
Getting my other half to go shopping and buy the suit! I also could NOT get the timing right on the waypoints when the trio dance to the side and back again. He kept arriving after the girls or before, not in time with them, even though the times were exactly the same for all three dancers and the distances between waypoints for all three dancers from start to finish remained the same. It makes no sense. I spent several hours adjusting the timing on the waypoints and no matter what I tried, nothing worked. I finally got them tolerable but they are still not right. It is annoying to work this long and hard on a dance and find it utterly impossible to remedy an ugly spot. I have never had this happen before with waypoints and still am mystified as to why.
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
It is a ton of fun, slick, bouncing, and a really good time.
4. Is there anything you would like others to know about your dance?
Scatman John actually really did stutter in RL and yet he sang so brilliantly. I think he was amazing and inspiring. I agree with him, the stutter and the scat are the same thing. It’s like most things in life, all about perspective.
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Ally
with Eva
“One Night in Bangkok” from the Broadway show “Chess”
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Si
with Lina, Kyser and Jilley
Man Of The Woods, Justin Timberlake
Thank you to R. Crap Mariner for the above photo.
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
It is a good Justin Timberlake song, and they are always good to choreograph dances to.
Its a nice catchy number too that you dont get sick of when you have to listen to it for hours working on a dance.
Plus I already had a good set that works with the dance.
2. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
This is a fun dance, no deep meaning, just enjoyable.
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Denyaii
with Cara, Fiji, Hallie, NaeNae, Oriya, Sammy, SoCo, Vanity, Web
Janet “BurnItUp”
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
I Love Janet…one of my favorite artist
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
Getting the spots right on stage
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?’
It’s fun and entertaining…was a rL dancer and i miss it but with sL i can keep doing smiles…don’t need ben’gay…well maybe for my fingers
4. Is there anything you would like others to know about your dance?
I hope they was entertained and can feel the song as i do
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Kyshra
When Doves Cry – Shaman’s Harvest
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
I fell in love with “When Doves Cry” a long time ago when it was originally released by Prince. It holds a lot of memories for me in general, and when I stumbled on the acoustic cover by Shaman’s Harvest, I just had to find a way to bring it to life in an original way. I’m sure there are a lot of ways to do the song, but I wanted to do something very different than what you might see, so I tried to avoid any colors or elements that would be reminiscent of the original artist and landed on nighttime at the ocean and a very minimal set.
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
For this act, it was entirely set based. I’ve not worked with actual waves in a set before and these beasties want to move around no matter where I anchor them. So there’s always some last minute adjustments to make while standing and waiting for the intro music to go away.
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
I first listened to “When Doves Cry” when I was in my teens and was having some rough days. It just spoke to me and was kind of haunting. It always stuck with me and I thought that it was telling a story of passion and desire and transformation. The costume chains represent the parts of the song that speak to me of being restrained and boxed into certain roles and trying to escape the limited boxes of our lives. I decided to represent the struggle to change things while being held back at the same time with those and the costume change from flowing material that hides some of the chains down to only having chains and gems on to represent breaking free from what hides us while still feeling held back.
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Adam
with Bella
Ed Sheeran / All Of The Stars [Official Video]
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
I saw the movie and was extremely touched with the movie and the relationship between the two dying kids
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
Two sets took a while, creating the streaming text across the back of the stage, the heart beat monitor, the clouds to look just right to present a view of heaven
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
I love the music and the meaning behind the song, and especially the positive messages that come out of it
4. Is there anything you would like others to know about your dance?
I hope that others enjoy the music and our portrayal of the music in our set and dance and props and effects
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Elayn
with Khaos and Sam
That Other Girl – Sevdaliza
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
I love Sevdaliza. I like the music style and ‘edginess’ of her music. That really was the inspiration for me.
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
I wanted to use a particular graphic special effect and had to learn some “tricks” to make it work.
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
I think it speaks to a common inner desire to be someone else. To not be happy with self. Not right or wrong, but real.
4. Is there anything you would like others to know about your dance?
It’s all ‘me’. There is no “Other Girl”.
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Lina
Crowd Dances
Kelly Clarkson American Woman
Eminem Remind Me
Come Together
1. Why did you choose this song to create a dance to? What was your inspiration?
The songs I chose for the crowd dance are all remakes or samples of songs I grew up loving. They were a fun way to remember the past and enjoy a new twist on the classics.
2. What were the particular challenges you dealt with when creating this dance?
I have a hard time keeping the animations in a crowd dance “unisex” Most acts I do are all female and have a lost of sensual movement in them, for the sake of our manly men on staff and in the crowd I try my best to keep you all from doing too much hip shakin and shimmying
3. What does this dance mean to you? Is it a bit of fun, or is there a deeper meaning?
THis was all good fun and rock for a Friday night.
4. Is there anything you would like others to know about your dance?
Just grab a ball an hold on, I promise you a great time 😉
Elysium Cabaret 