This Friday night, I was so excited to begin learning my dance solo. Together my teacher and I picked and edited a song: Manhattan by Sara Bareilles. This song is about the meaning of a place changing at different points of a relationship and I am beginning to study the lyrics to be able to relate better to the song. It was a great experience to be one on one with my dance teacher. She had an idea of choreography going in but we experimented with some parts and worked together to find what felt and looked best on me.
The first time she had me dance on my own was a little bit scary. This was partly because I saw some friends of mine peeking through the window of the studio. But it is also interesting because in class when we do combinations it is always in groups and no matter how well I think I know the movement myself, I always subconsciously match myself with the people around me. I left out a lot of details but my teacher was so sweet in reassuring me. The more I did it, the more natural it became but I still have over half to learn. I will have to put a lot of time and effort into mastering this dance and I look forward to cleaning it and getting it engrained in my body.
It is difficult to count this dance because it is in six instead of eight, which is what dancers are used to. Also because it is a lyrical piece, a lot of the movement comes with the words she sings and cannot be fully timed out. I will try to listen to my song as much as possible and memorize exactly how she sings the song. The lyrics to my edited version are below:
You can have Manhattan
I know it’s for the best
I’ll gather up the avenues
And leave them on your doorstep
And I’ll tip toe away
So you won’t have to say
You heard me leave
You can have Manhattan
The one we used to share
The one where we were laughing
And drunk on just being there
Hang on to the reverie
Could you do that for me?
Cause I’m just too sad to
You can have Manhattan
Cause I can’t have you
And so it goes
One foot after the other
Til black and white begin to color in
And I know
That holding us in place
Is simply fear of what’s already changed
Ahhhhh
You can have Manhattan
Cause I can’t have you
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