Yes...I spent my weekend sceaming my throart to shreads in front of 2 billion people on live TV, while carrying a plastic snowbard for the Closing ceremonies of Vancouver 2010.It's amazing that I didn't lose my voice.
To all the people who wonder how we little people get involved in the Olympic ceremonies,I shall enlighten you.
Most of those dancers you saw in the girlie mountie outfits and all that,went to auditons. But then there arethepeople likeme...whowere too young be two friggin months. Damn.
VANOC called my dance studio,asking for representatives to Volunteer. All the good people of the anthem cast( that's me! We lip-synced to 'O Canada'. Everyone lip-syncs in the ceremoies,including k.d. lang and the tap dancersmwho... feet-synced.) were chosen becvausewe were either (a) dancers to young to auditiolon and therefore eager to get into the ceremonies whatever the method,or (b) cadets,hockey players, and girlguideswho are usedto been bossed around. I never realized how horny casdets were until I started going to rehearsals.
Starting in December, we met most Saturday afternoons in a large white canvas tent while wearing plastic bibs with numbers on them(was number 639)and learning howto maneuver a giant plastic snowbard through dancemoves, and arranging our bodies to form numbers(I could be found in the '5') and the words 'STRONG & FREE'(I was in one of the G's.) You have never lived untilyou tryto run 300m in less than a minute while tryinmg not to betramolesby the 1099 other volunteers doing the exact same thing.
Yes,I did suffer a lot of abuse during my rehearsing. Especiaslly at the hands of those snowboards, they were dropped on me a lot.
The day before the bigdya, we had two whole runthorughs; that is 10 hours, most of which we spent waiting in the tent with 50cm squaredofpersonalspace. Surprisingly,I didn't mind somuch. I got some good sketching in, nessecity has made me imaginative,and I had 1099 models wth nothing better to do than pose.
The dayof,we werepacckedinto the tent whilst the Canada/US hockeygame was happening. There were 5 TV's in the room, and we corwded around them. That was such an exciting game...but you will never be able understand just how exciting until you watch the game with 1099 other restless Canadians. It was so LOUD! Wow!
Eventually all of us got to open up the closing ceremonies. Just to be backstage waiting for our cue...uit didn't sink in until later that everythingwas over! It's an experience that will neverr be recreated...just the dreaminess, the seat, the cramps, euphoria, excitment, the hugs, bruises, squealing, autograph-hounding-the-atheletes, the sreaming, and the tiredness. Hope you enjoyed us you guys!
Thank-you and good-night!
By the way...you have noidea just how HOT the itis to be near the cauldron. So swealtering! and we were wearing sewaters!