Dancing with Persuasion
23rd March 2010
I wanted to be an actor, writer, and director in theater. I pursued that with a child’s enthusiasm from my youth until young adulthood when even my considerable energy could no longer resist reality. I just wasn’t that good and worse still I wasn’t getting better. So, I followed my talent elsewhere, but never forgot those early lessons. And, my experience as a dancer, while proving me no hoofer, still taught me persuasion metaphors.
In high school I had a great part in the chorus with the musical, George M! I had made the cut for the lead, George M. Cohan that great Broadway musical theater talent, but because I could not sing or dance outside of my bathroom shower, I didn’t get the part. But, I was good enough for the chorus line! Great experience, too, for as it is written, There Are No Small Parts Only Small Actors. My partner could dance like the wind with all the effortless grace of a spring breeze. I enjoyed just watching her and had to resist becoming the audience with her skill. Not only could the girl dance, she could teach.
After our first miserable rehearsal where we were bouncing off each other like bowling pins in a mix master, Barbara gave me a sweet smile, pointed to a distant edge of the stage, and asked me to stand over there, WAY OVER THERE, and just watch her. Only when I walked 30 feet from her and no longer threatened her safety, did she then run through our pas de deux routine alone. And then I saw the soft breeze of her talent as she floated through the routine, gracefully lifting into the air, swinging, pivoting, gliding all without my controlling manly strength.
Teaching by showing, she sized up my limited talent and explained how to develop my skill. Instead of lifting, tossing, and swinging her body around the stage floor as if I was the motive force behind her actions, my job was to act like I was lifting, tossing, and swinging her. Simply: She’s the dancer and I’m the actor.
Our rehearsals got a lot better from that first failure as I learned how to dance like Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune. Just move gracefully on time and don’t hit anything. Work in some funny bits with a hat or a quizzical look but only if you can do it on time and without hitting anything. In other words, don’t dance; just act like you’re dancing.
The proof of this pudding was in the performance, of course. Everyone who knew me couldn’t believe I got cast in the chorus line and eagerly anticipated my star turn in Demolition Derby. But, I disconfirmed their accurate anticipation by fooling them with my acting and Barbara’s dancing. After a few weeks of working with her, I learned how to move on time without hitting anything and adding little dazzles, charms, and bits to boot. My friends and family were dumbfounded backstage after the performances. Who knew we had a Fred Astaire in the family. Mom wept. Even our director, who knew how to crush you and did so as needed, congratulated me. He knew it all along, he said, nervously wiping sweat off his face.
If you ask me today, I’ll tell you I’m a good dancer because I know how to act like a dancer with a girl who knows how to dance. If you want some other kind of dancing, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Persuasion is acting like a dancer with someone who is a dancer. If you can get the Other Guy moving the way you want, all you have to do is move on time, not hit anything, and add dazzles, spangles, and bits along the way.
5, 6, 7, 8, give my regards to Broadway!