Performing

It’s peak performance period: last Thursday was the girls’ school concert; the day after that Rhea recited her poem in French that she won second prize in her age group for in the whole city; and tomorrow is the girls’ ballet performance. We’re getting the work ethic in to them with rehearsals for ballet being three times a week at the moment, and a dress rehearsal on top of that lasted all day today.

I volunteered to help backstage at both the dress rehearsal and ballet concert and I’ve been allocated the task of girls’ dressing room helper, including helping out with makeup. ‘Why don’t you wear makeup?’, asked Rhea yesterday. Maggie had showed us how to apply eyeliner after Rhea’s recital and it was a revelation to me. The only times I’ve worn makeup was for my Year 12 Formal (and despite instructions to go easy on it, it was liberally applied by a professional makeup artist and I didn’t like the feel or the effect) and Duncan’s wedding, in which Maggie helped me to put on a bit of rouge and something around my eyes, I don’t even remember what. So this is a learning journey for me as well.

It was fun hanging out in the room backstage, there was a real buzz, though it was slow going at times and there were long waits between periods of activity. The children did some drawing and colouring in, Lara and Rhea played cards, and they all played hand clapping games including Double double this this/ Double double that that/ Double this/ Double that/ Double double this that.

The more experienced mothers re-did the makeup I did on four girls, including Rhea and Lara’s, making it more pronounced and thoroughly covering their faces. ‘I wish you wore makeup,’ said Rhea after the rehearsal. ‘Then we’d be able to play with it instead of having to borrow Maggie and Grandma’s.’

Eating and trips to the toilet were also scheduled in. There was a military operation checking that each child had a costume and then lining the girls up to help them put them on, including six pins criss-crossed over their headband-ears so that they didn’t fall off. We used a cotton bud for each girl to share a single stick of lipstick so that they all had the same shade of bright red.

The girls were cheetahs and they performed a dance with zebras, both groups wearing snazzy costumes complete with ears, gathered ankle gauze and stripey or spotty leotards peppered with gold or white glitter. They nailed their performance and were capable and cute. The three mothers watching, including me, were teary watching it.

Tomorrow I’ll see them again from backstage, and then I’ll sit in the audience and watch the second half, which showcases dance forms like tap and jazz. The girls have already asked me if they can do tap or jazz, another two days per week of lessons, just as they asked me repeatedly after last year’s concert.

We can give that some thought. In the meantime, I can’t wait to see them perform again tomorrow, and then sit and enjoy the rest of the show. What hardworking, clever girls.