The Stage Anonymous

Arriving three hours early to the venue before the scheduled start of a performance can mean many things. Perhaps you are a member of the performance or you may be determined to secure a great place or seat. You could even be tailgating! However, upon entering the Cecil Jacobs Auditorium through the back entrance with my fellow performers, I can assure you that I did not need a seat and I was definitely not tailgating. I was about to be on stage during a dance recital: a place where I am perfectly content.

Of the three different areas of the stage namely, downstage, the “Wings” and backstage, Downstage is my favourite. Yet, you cannot get to one without passing through the other- a rite of passage almost. Put together, you have an experience leading from an adrenaline rush to giddy anticipation to a final mind wiping bliss.

Getting downstage can be as complicated as a chassé, running leap or tumbling pass or as simple as walking calmly to assume position before the front curtain lifts. The dim and blinking fluorescent lights from backstage are replaced by bright multi colored stage lights, bearing down and warming me whilst calming my nerves. The characteristic black and grey speckled carpet of backstage is replaced with highly...