![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
acroyearI'm a dancer of multiple tradition/folk styles, though morris dance is my active tradition right now. At the faire, my lady and I are Cat & The Fiddle Morris (she's the cat with the fiddle, i just dance morris). Outside of faire, we're members of Foggy Bottom Morris Men (google for it, i'm too tired to look it up). in fact, we're doing a pub crawl in arlington on thursday night, though i have no details where yet.
In addition, i'm well versed in english country, scottish country, scottish highland, cape breton step, english longsword, english rapper, and i've dabbled in breton folk dance.
for all of that, i hadn't done any traditional dancing at all until my first visit to MDRF, september 1993, after graduating from college. i walked in the gate and promptly got offered to join in the participation dances they did at the time (we're going to try to bring them back next year). by 1994 i'd started the scottish dancing outside of faire, returned with a little more confidence, and was honored to have actually been remembered from my one visit the previous year by the then dance mistress (now the laundress, mrs. pugh). Within the next year, 1995, i was performing at faire in Three Left Feet. By 2001, I had my own act.
here i am, a professional performer at the faire, and its in something i had only just started less ten years ago. Cat & The Fiddle Morris just finished our 5th season (my personal 11th working season) and are stronger than ever; we just directed our first "show", the Danse Macabre parade prior to the pub sing on sunday.
and i'm not alone in the "humble beginnings" story here. not by a long shot...
i can go on and on with many stories of current stage show productions and how each of them started from meager beginnings -- an actor joining the main company, now running a commedia production company and character director of the festival; a "mere" street magician many years ago now director of Fight School and running his own stunt-show production company; 2 members of our Young Actors Ensemble internship from the *90s* are still with us as adults (one you saw every night as a co-MC at pub sing).
the real wonder of this festival, the real reason its "family" for so many of us, is just that -- they are actively willing to support us to contributing something new to the festival, provided we keep our egos in check and remember we're working with a very large company that all have their parts to play. a little patience, a LOT of practice, the willingness to look to do something that hasn't been done, or at least isn't being done now, and the festival can be a wonderful supportive environment for developing skills, developing shows, developing talent.
would that everybody's home was so supportive...
In addition, i'm well versed in english country, scottish country, scottish highland, cape breton step, english longsword, english rapper, and i've dabbled in breton folk dance.
for all of that, i hadn't done any traditional dancing at all until my first visit to MDRF, september 1993, after graduating from college. i walked in the gate and promptly got offered to join in the participation dances they did at the time (we're going to try to bring them back next year). by 1994 i'd started the scottish dancing outside of faire, returned with a little more confidence, and was honored to have actually been remembered from my one visit the previous year by the then dance mistress (now the laundress, mrs. pugh). Within the next year, 1995, i was performing at faire in Three Left Feet. By 2001, I had my own act.
here i am, a professional performer at the faire, and its in something i had only just started less ten years ago. Cat & The Fiddle Morris just finished our 5th season (my personal 11th working season) and are stronger than ever; we just directed our first "show", the Danse Macabre parade prior to the pub sing on sunday.
and i'm not alone in the "humble beginnings" story here. not by a long shot...
i can go on and on with many stories of current stage show productions and how each of them started from meager beginnings -- an actor joining the main company, now running a commedia production company and character director of the festival; a "mere" street magician many years ago now director of Fight School and running his own stunt-show production company; 2 members of our Young Actors Ensemble internship from the *90s* are still with us as adults (one you saw every night as a co-MC at pub sing).
the real wonder of this festival, the real reason its "family" for so many of us, is just that -- they are actively willing to support us to contributing something new to the festival, provided we keep our egos in check and remember we're working with a very large company that all have their parts to play. a little patience, a LOT of practice, the willingness to look to do something that hasn't been done, or at least isn't being done now, and the festival can be a wonderful supportive environment for developing skills, developing shows, developing talent.
would that everybody's home was so supportive...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-10-26 02:22 am (UTC)yep on all of the above
Date: 2005-10-26 12:19 pm (UTC)Please bring back 3 left feet. They were my old dance troop in the 80's, and I love them. I still teach those dances to the Noblesse group. (which is why some of your non-hive dancers knew Maltese already)
Also, now that Alice (fish monger) is gone, I think I'm the longest continuing MD rennie. I started the first year of Columbia with my parents (still a boothie). Steve jokes that I just stood in one place and the faire grew up around me.
(yep, I have pictures of those days- for those that are worried.)
Re: yep on all of the above
Date: 2005-10-27 04:17 pm (UTC)