(watch the video here–>)SCAD Circus Burlesque Performance
Did you know that SCAD Swing Club also has a burlesque troupe? At Swing Club, we love East Coast swing, Lindy Hop, Charleston, and Blues, but we’ve also got some lovely ladies who really enjoy burlesque dancing. When we were asked to participate with the SCAD Circus Club’s first ever performance, we were thrilled: We knew it was time to bring the Hot Trots, swing club’s burlesque troupe, together again. When they first formed, it was for a special club event, where 12 or so ladies learned a routine to the Elvis Presley song “Down in the Alley,” and it’s been about a year since then, so it was high time they got back together again.
Backstage ready to go on!
What kind of preparation went into the event? The previous routine had been learned by a burlesque dancer at Atlanta Varsity Showdown in 2010, and this year, the routine came from the New Year’s Eve show at Lindy Focus IX in Asheville, NC. You can view the original routine here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNpeOZOUWao For the Hot Trots’ version, everyone chose a different person from the video to follow and learned their part of the routine, showing off the different talents and personality of each dancer.
Dates were set for practices, and only those who were able to commit to either making it to all the meetings or practice on their own were able to perform in the final show. Having a lot less people than the cast for the original performance, Lauren, Liz, Nicole, Jill, and Sarah worked together to create some new choreography that would make it look like it was made for 5 people. In the end, their reworked dance made for a more entertaining act with more time to feature each dancer and without distractions. Besides the technical aspects of getting the routine memorized, they also put together props and costumes, which all fit well with each other while maintaining individuality.
Before the show, the Hot Trots and various characters from the circus greeted visitors in the lobby, and once it got started, it was a fabulous performance by everyone. For a first run, the circus’s only flaws were minor and well-covered for by the performers. With belly-dancers, jugglers, and contortionists before them, the Hot Trots were the grand finale to the show.
That’s the basic breakdown of the Hot Trots preparation for the show! Sound like fun? Sound doable? Like burlesque? If you answer those with a “yes,” maybe you should think about joining us for the next performance! The Circus Club will be putting on another show later on, and when they do, maybe you should be a part of it! Even without the Circus Club, the Hot Trots might want to perform for another Swing Club event, so if you’re interested, let us know, and maybe we could start planning a routine for spring semester!
