Funnily flaunting a fear of dancing
Jen Childs is scared of dance. But not so scared that she won't admit it in front of an audience, explain her many humiliations in great detail, and perform snippets of ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and many other styles. She does all that in her new one-woman show for 1812 Productions, Why I'm Scared of Dance, which opened Wednesday night at Plays & Players Theatre.
Jen Childs is scared of dance.
But not so scared that she won't admit it in front of an audience, explain her many humiliations in great detail, and perform snippets of ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and many other styles. She does all that in her new one-woman show for 1812 Productions, Why I'm Scared of Dance, which opened Wednesday night at Plays & Players Theatre.
The show frames the story of Childs' life through chorophobia, or the fear of dancing. It is filled with clever lines, which Childs delivers mostly spot-on.
A funny costume hides ineptness, Childs says, and she changes outfits often during the 70-minute piece. Early on, she bravely sports a gold top, tight gold spandex pants, and visible leotard lines. She dons enormous shorts, red suspenders, and a clown nose for a hilarious dance segment that pays homage to everything from Singin' in the Rain to Madonna to Flashdance. And, yes, the costumes do draw attention away from the details.
One may wonder why Childs hasn't put in more effort to improve her dancing, if she finds it so excruciating yet unavoidable in her profession.
"I don't really like learning how to do new things," she says. "I like knowing how to do new things."
But her monologue includes some errors: Childs says ballet dancers all look like models and basketball players, but in fact it's difficult for tall dancers to find work. And she compares the demise of ballet's third position to Pluto's recent fall from planethood. But third position has been on the outs for many decades.
And it's only near the end of the piece that universal themes emerge.
"The show could just as easily be called Why I'm Scared of Kickball," she says.
Then Childs goes on to explain that her 7-year-old daughter loves ballet and thinks her mom is a good dancer. And in her daughter's eyes, unlike in a dance studio, Childs finally sees, "There are no big mirrors, just small ones."
Harriet Power directs Why I'm Scared of Dance, which was choreographed by Amanda Miller, Karen Getz, Melanie Cotton, and Nichole Canuso.
Why I'm Scared of Dance
Presented by 1812 Productions at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, through Oct. 31. Tickets: $26-$35. 215-592-9560,
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