When I was five years old I would sing and dance to the soundtrack of Broadway's A Chorus Line. For those of you who are familiar with the musical, you'll know that it's not necessarily a kid-friendly production. A Chorus Line is about a group of dancers auditioning to be in the chorus line of a Broadway show. The songs they sing reflect why they want to be a dancer, and how they got to the auditions. At 5 years old my mom told me that she would take me to see the show when if came to the San Francisco area, and she did. I had waited over 15 years to see it. We got amazing orchestra seats, and when the lights came on and the music started, I began to cry. I had envisioned what this would look like for years. What were the dances going to look like, how did the story move along with the songs. It was overwhelming.
I am by no means a dancer. I wish I was. And I can sing alright- I know my limits. If I could sing better, and if I had an ounce of capability to dance, I would definitely be pursuing a career on Broadway. It's the grandest form of performance out there. You use your voice and your body to convey all the emotions you're trying to get out. Don't get me wrong, I love being a comedian. I love being on stage and letting my personality shine through as I make people laugh, but there is just something about singing that I can't describe.
The video below is one of the numbers from A Chorus Line. I probably could put a clip of all the songs and explain what it means to me, but I narrowed it down to three. This first one is "Music and the Mirror" I used to sing and *Poorly* dance to this song around the house. I only did it if no one was in the living room. I was so self conscious, but when I knew no one was watching, I danced as such. This song still means a lot to me now. It's saying, "I know I can do amazing things, I just need you to give me a chance to show you."
This next song, "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" was one I loved to sing to, and I had no idea what I was singing about. (Some of the chorus is, "Tits and Ass, where the cupboard once was bare, now you knock and someone's there...") I'm surprised my mom didn't censor me, but I didn't know what the words were, so no harm, no foul right? I was 5 years old dancing around singing about getting tits and ass. How adorable. This song is about a girl who, despite her talent, felt she wasn't getting jobs because of her body. So she went to the doctor and took care of that. It's still one of my favorites to sing.
This last song is what I thought was a song about a guy. "What I Did For Love" is sung after the director ask those auditioning, what would they do if they couldn't dance anymore. This song is about the things we'll do for the things we love- in this case- being a dancer. It still speaks volumes for me as a performer, and I completely understand everything about it.
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