On a
day and a bit’s notice I heard Madonna was looking for
dancers, including breakdancers. I had to be there.
After
harassing the casting agent and some last minute travel
plans, I flew from Toronto to L.A. When I arrived, it was
pouring rain. I mention this because it didn’t help the
mixed emotions I was feeling. I called the agent to find out
what time I should show up at the studio the following
morning. No answer. I called again an hour later. No answer.
And again. No answer. I was beginning to get a little
worried. I finally got through to her …
“Hi
Rita, it’s Sara, the b-girl from Toronto. I’m finally here…
in LA.”
After
what felt like a long silence she replied, “Oh! I didn’t
think you’d actually come.”
“Well, I’m here! I’m just calling to find out what time I
should show up tomorrow.”
“Um…
yeah… I don’t think I can let you just audition”
“But
I came all the way – you said it was – I …”
“We
made lots of cuts today, I can’t just let you join in. It’s
not even up to me. It’s up to the choreographer.”
My
heart sank. What had I done? Was this a huge waste of time
and money? Was I so silly to think that I could just fly to
LA on a moments notice and be let in to an audition for
Madonna what was at this point the second day?
I
pleaded my case.
“Just
give me 1 song. If you don’t like what you see, I will leave
the audition, nothing further. I came all the way from
Canada, just give me one song!”
She
told me I could show up to the audition but there would be
no guarantees of anything.
I went
to bed with butterflies in my stomach. If given the chance
to dance I was under huge pressure to prove myself!
I
arrived at Focus Fish about 40 min earlier than the time she
told me to show up and walked into a room full of super-hot
gorgeous dancers already rehearsing a number with huge
batons and hats. It was fast, high energy choreography. I
walked in trying not to look as intimidated as I felt.
Rita
informed me that I was welcome to join right in to the group
and I’d be asked to show my specialty to the choreographer
at the end of the day. Wow!! That was way more than I’d
expected. I was handed a number and I tried to blend in as
much as possible which was kind of tough given that most of
the dancers looked like they could have been models AND rock
stars.
First
up on the menu, a 4-5 hour session with a tango couple. Good
thing I brought my heels. I faked it as best I could. I’m no
tango expert but I’m pretty sure no one else there was
either. After stepping on my partner’s toes to Die Another
Day, we then moved on to reviewing the piece they learned
the previous day. With the props. It was one of the
trickiest I’ve had to pick up because you not only had to
think about your dancing, you had to pay attention to your
hat, twirl your baton, spin your hat on your baton, all
without batting an eye.
It
then came time for the “specialties” where you demonstrated
your special skills in front of everyone. There were
tumblers, flamenco dancers, Indian dancers, Irish dancers,
baton twirlers, step dancers, contortionists and this is
where I come in.
I put
on one of the mixed break CDs I was given at a jam
somewhere. The other dancers were clapping to the beat and
encouraging me as I toprocked. I hit the floor, did a little
footwork, did my head glide to mini headspin to push up to
hollow back. I stuck everything! It was well received.
We
were all told that they would not be making any cuts until
tomorrow so we should show up ready to dance everything
we’ve learned over the past two days. They asked us to
arrive at 11, saying that “she” would be arriving at 2pm.
Some
really lovely people (Dawn, Liz, Katie & Ryan) agreed to
stay late after the audition and helped me learn the dance
from the first day with the props. I was so tired from
dancing for 7 hours full out that I was having a lot of
trouble retaining any of it.
I
practiced with Ryan later in my hotel room. I was as ready
as I’d ever be.
Minus
the outfit.
You
see, at auditions in Los Angeles, the outfit is very
important. Most dancers had different outfits for each dance
that we had learned. So, I made my way to Hollywood Blvd to
find myself something I could tango in. I came upon
“Centerfold Fashions”, and well, the name says it all… I
picked up a tiny black number for $25 and went home to bed.
I
arrived the next morning, very nervous but the choreographer
assured us that we’d be rehearsing for awhile before “she”
got there. “She” as in, who? Word was spreading that Madonna
herself was expected that afternoon!
You
have to understand how big of a deal this was to me. True
Blue was the first cassette I ever bought and I played it
until it broke. Auditioning in itself is stressful enough,
let alone in front of one of your idols!
We
waited for Madge, and rehearsed some more, and waited for
Madge and rehearsed some more. I was taking a breather near
my bag and bending down to get some water. When I looked up,
there she was! Dressed in a navy pantsuit and a navy beret.
She looked right at me. I froze, then I smiled and moved to
the side as she walked into the room. She’s very small for
someone who is so larger than life. Hush came over the room
and she calmly thanked us all for being there.
We
were split into groups and told we were going to be doing
the dance with the batons and hats first. I was in the 6th
group. The music came on and the first half of the routine
was great! It came to the part where you have to spin the
baton around your neck. I started the spin and went to catch
the baton and I missed it completely. I stood in horror and
watched while my baton crashed to the floor in slow motion.
I scrambled to pick it up and managed to pick up the routine
a couple of counts later but I’d lost my composure and
wasn’t giving it what I know I could have.
Needless to say I didn’t get called back to do the second
dance.
I came
back to Toronto pumped and energized to learn all types of
dance, twirl all types of batons, anything to prepare me for
the next time I’d be offered such a huge opportunity. I’ve
been working hard since. Now I’m preparing to head back to
California and hopefully this time I won’t drop the baton.
copyright Ms. Mighty
Ms. Mighty is currently in Los Angeles dancing her heart
out.
