Counting one and two, I step toward Peter—who Julia paired me with—raise my hand, brush his on three and four, pass through on five and six, and turn around to face him again on seven and eight. Thankfully, he doesn’t talk, too focused on timing the moves. We switch partners, and I perform the same figure with Phil, then with Larry, and then with Jonas.
Julia shakes her head at us. “No lingering!”
Were we?The remark feels unfair because I’m sure I wasn’t lingering.
Well, I don’t think I was.
And even if I were, I didn’t mean to.
Once everyone is comfortable with the steps and figures, Julia nods to our three musicians. We redo everything with live music, and it’s even more fun this way.
“Keep your steps light and delicate,” she enjoins the women. “Give me poise… Give me ballerina grace… Perfect!”
A short time later, she pronounces us ready to do a full run-through of the quadrille first, and then the ländler.
In the back of the room, Sandra rubs her hands in eager anticipation.
“Try to talk while you dance,” Julia prompts us.
“In character?” a few people ask.
“Only if you’re up for it. But if you feel the dance demands more of your attention, then just chat as yourselves,” she says and partners me with Peter.
Jonas is matched with Hyacinth and positioned next to us.
“I had a great time last night,” Peter says the moment the dance begins.
“Yes, it was very nice.”
“We should continue that conversation tonight.”
I give him a tight smile. “Actually, I didn’t sleep well, so I’m going to turn in early.”
“Oh. Of course.” He makes a concerned face. “Lack of sleep can cause memory holes, which is the last thing an actor wants.”
He falls silent after that, and I hear Hyacinth ask Jonas, “How does theater compare to film?”
I smile to myself. When a woman initiates a conversation, she usually does so by asking the man something. A man’s icebreaker, on the other hand, is typically a statement of some kind. After he makes one, he expects the woman to ask him a follow-up question. Rich or poor, nice like Peter or nasty like Jonas, all men are raised to be that way. And mothers are just as much to blame for that consciously or subconsciously differentiated approach as teachers and the rest of society.
“I don’t act in the movies I produce,” Jonas says to Hyacinth. “But, as a general observation, I’d say theater is harder. It’s a live event, and you don’t get a chance to redo a bad take.”
“But is there a way in which it’s easier?” Hyacinth asks.
“I guess…” He wrinkles his nose. “There’s no worrying about the angle of the camera, no gaff tape on the floor to stay inside of, no 180-degree rules…”
Julia corrects our foot placement and posture as she passes by.
“Have you been in a movie?” Jonas asks Hyacinth.
Did Mr. Macho Man just ask a woman a question?
Coming from him, it’s probably a pickup line. Next, he’ll go,“What? You haven’t? Oh, but I can fix that!”
“I haven’t!” Hyacinth gazes up at him. “Can you make that happen?”
“I don’t interfere with the auditions.”
Hmm.
