Episode 5

Today was a time to ramp up the rehearsals. During the Day we had Ann Ryan (a Thai Traditional dancer) teaching Julia Quinn (the Pineapple Woman or PW) some dance moves attached to a ceremonial blessing and Loy Kratong. Julia is an amazing dancer who picks up style very quickly, and soon she was a real Thai Princess, (except for the fingers bending fully backwards. Ann says when she was a girl in Thailand she had to soak her hands in warm water and massage the fingers into shape.

Next on the agenda was Sue Ross teaching the cast some Hungarian folk dancing, it may look simple but it is quite tricky. We are going to use this for the Crocodile Man (CM) in a solo. Thank you Sue for your time and expertise.

Splitting the cast into 2, Joanna Noonan took a rehearsal utilising our CWA ladies in a feather duster routine to a wild cha cha track. Despite a few broken Dusters, Joanna and the girls managed to produce a lush little number directed by the Head CWA – Bilha Smith.

The other half of the cast went with Tim Newth to work on some Thai kick boxing blessing movements, some masculine crocodile hunting moves, and some blessing actions starting in the mood of walking meditation and incorporating Chinese and Indian actions. Sound complex? Well this is done to traditional Mua Thai sound track that morphs into a really trancy mix I have done of Donna Summers’ I Feel Love.

After watching loads of Hungarian dancing, both teaching tapes, and performances, Yoris was sent home with a DVD to learn some basic steps. This will be turned into his solo. I think Yoris is a brave man. He is employed as an actor and I respect his desire to rise to the actor challenge. He has been employed on several other Tracks shows (A Bowls Club Wedding, You Dance Funny, and The Cook The Queen and The Kelly), predominantly as a comedian.

Yoris Wilson as the Crocodile Man

I love working in Darwin with such a wide range of influences and people