Welcome to the Eras Show! We have chosen some inspiration from the world’s most famous pop star, Taylor Swift. We will celebrate ten eras that define Brenda’s Body Shop. My favorite number is 4, so choosing our 44th recital for this journey made sense. You do not have to be a Taylor Swift fan to enjoy our production, but if you are a Swiftie, you will appreciate all the little nuances inspired by her. We have been planning our show all year and doing some extra fun things on social media to build excitement. We revealed each of our ten eras one at a time by using clues or Easter Eggs as known by Swifties. Once someone guessed the era, we revealed the dancers, the songs, and the costumes for that era. This game lasted several weeks until we revealed all ten eras. It took some thought to break down 44 years of dance into ten categories, but we managed to do it. If I were to offer a bonus era, I think it would be called the Danny Era. A talented dancer, choreographer, and actor Danny Durr began teaching at the shop in 2013. For five years, he attended weekly classes. When he moved to New York, we insisted he still be part of the studio, so we scheduled weekend choreography jam sessions. The skills the students developed learning at a fast pace enabled so much content to be mastered. Danny elevated our dance program and the choreography he teaches is creative, technical, and fun. His ideas have been transformative, and the generation he taught and inspired are now top-rate instructors for BBS. Danny is originally from Cumberland and graduated from Fort Hill and Frostburg University with a degree in Dance/Theatre. He is doing big things in his career, and watching his journey has been amazing; I’m like a proud dance mom. Danny was introduced to me by Wendy Walker another fine instructor that enjoyed teaching ballet and theatre at BBS for ten years. She was a wonderful teacher and is my go to friend for creative brainstorming.
Before elaborating on each era, here are some general thoughts about this year’s production.
This is the first year since COVID-19 that our studio is back to 100% operation with complete enrollment. Our team of instructors has never been better. The balance of experience, skill, and youthful energy is perfect.
On the 44th day of the New Year, we revealed a passion project that Laura Stutzman helped me create. One of our college instructors, Arianna Torrisi, did an internship with Laura and was just the extra hand we needed to pull everything together. We recreated the concert logo for Taylor Swift’s Era Tour. There were 11 spaces in a grid, just the number we needed to feature each instructor. Each instructor had his/her photoshoot to recreate the look from their Taylor Swift-inspired photo. Laura did an outstanding job; she made us look like Hollywood stars. The artwork is the official logo for the recital and will appear on the backdrop, recital tee shirts, and tickets. Staying with our Taylor Swift theme, it is only appropriate to have merchandise, so the artwork will also be available on coffee mugs, thermos, stickers, shoe bags, and water bottles. The most sentimental memorabilia will be the commemorative book created by Laura Stutzman. She will take tons of priceless photos to put in this one-of-a-kind book. Check out our website for more details on the book and other merchandise.
Another fun tradition is to have a photo shoot for our seniors. This year, we have one senior, Krista Rinker. Her photo inspiration was from Taylor Swift’s Time magazine cover. Krista has her own Time Magazine cover with the caption “Time to Pass the Baton.” Krista has been twirling batons for years, so this was the perfect slogan for her cover shot. Her banner will be displayed proudly on the side front of the stage.
Fourteen days before the recital, I painted my lucky number on each hand and filled my arms with friendship bracelets I had made during Christmas break. I posted the picture on social media to generate some excitement and announce that every performer will receive a friendship bracelet with the show title and one for each of their routines. Imagine making the whole world feel like they are part of something and a friendship bracelet to remind you that you're unique. Friendship bracelets and painted nails of every color were certainly an easy nuance to want to duplicate for our era show.
We are not delusional enough to think that every person will like Taylor Swift, but plenty do. Five of our ten staff members were fortunate enough to see her in concert, and we had a great time sharing our experiences. So, Are You Ready for It? We have some “Fearless” performers “Bejeweled” with “Style” who will make the whole place shimmer!