First Impressions
Hi, my name is [so and so].
I am a [such and such].
[Handshake].
These first impressions are the beginnings of a show.
Stepping through that door to sit in those hideous ‘first day of a choreographic workshop’ circles immediately builds pressure through the body. Palms sweat and temperatures rise while each of us fidgets, waiting our turn to say an interesting bit about ourselves. Everyone else in the circle isn’t listening anyway because they are nervously constructing their own mini-bio too.
And yet, the entrance we make seems to resonate and we are a little haunted by a fear of not performing the way we wished we had. We still care about what they think.
None of it should matter. We are all doing something! Relax. We’ll get somewhere. We might as well take our first steps as they come because one foot will inevitably go in front of the other. The pressure that rises in the body on or off stage will continue to build. So let it build! Take someone else’s hand and introduce yourself. Start the show thinking of yourself as reduced down to a potent form of hot chocolate. You know, thick instead of the milky shit…we want the cream baby, not some half-assed semi-sweet, half the fat, half the flavor!
Like a male bird displaying his feathers to impress a female bird, we showcase our best colors for the other. Does he impress her by this gesture? He may be rejected but year after year, he puffs out his chest and tail feathers.
A first impression is unpredictable and cannot be imposed. Nevertheless, how does one expose their own desires without knowing what will happen? Perhaps it’s not the first step that matters, but the act of taking that step which leads towards something.
We try hard and judge each other harder. What about all those eyerolls when someone comes up to you in a bar or a party and you think, ‘Crikey here we go, why are they grinning like that?’ Or, ‘God their hair is pretentious/thinning/better looked after than mine!’
Judgements are difficult things to make and more often than not, take too much effort and energy than they are worth. There is no point fretting. First impressions can’t be controlled can they?
Dress fabulously at dance shows, or don’t. Let yourself be at play. Shift yourself about. Relish in the moment of uncertainty and say, ‘What the hell’ or ‘The hell with it!’ Life still goes on. Remember that people keep changing, and it ain’t over ‘til the curtain closes. But then again, there’s always the afterparty.
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