I'm sharing this post as a perfect example of a miscellaneous gig and perhaps an unexpected place you would think of a dancer/choreographer getting hired. On Easter Sunday I was hired to perform at a church. I got this gig from the same booking website I get most of my gigs - GigSalad.com.

Their request was very straight forward.

We need movement/choreography for a performance of Hillsong United's "So Will I x Ten Billion Times". There is a 2 minute section at the bridge of the song where we want movement. There is a place onstage (approx. 15x8ft) for the dancer. The movement can be improv or choreographed. We do two services 9:20 and 11.

I was very impressed by how straight forward their request was since often times people are unsure about any of the details or exactly what to ask for. They even had a precise budget - $300. The pastor - who I was coordinating with - sent a video of the space and we spoke on the phone a week before the service.

The only other preparation I needed to do for this was listen to the song about 10 times and read through the lyrics for my section of the song which went:

If the stars were made to worship so will I If the mountains bow in reverence so will I If the oceans roar Your greatness so will I For if everything exists to lift You high so will I If the wind goes where You send it so will I If the rocks cry out in silence so will I If the sum of all our praises still falls shy Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times...

For something like this, the lyrics make for great inspiration of movement (challenge - see if you can see correlations in my movement in the video!) Stars made to worship - gesture towards the sky; mountains bow in reverence - a movement that bends at the waist; oceans roar - wavy arm movements; we'll sing again a hundred billion times - repetition of movement.

Unfortunately the video is rather dark, but you'll get the point.

Enjoy