So I think I can dance

The clouds look like thinly painted strips of white on the bluest of blue skies. Behind me, the green and brown and red hills climb and then fall to meet the ocean, just at the cusp of the horizon. I stand in a moment of disbelief at the edge of the pool, looking around the palm tree lined Malibu hills mansion--and then I smile, thinking "and I'm getting paid for this?!"
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Okay, so there's a (good) reason I don't write fiction. But today was definitely non-fiction. My first gig since my move to LA: a featured dancer in a short film titled "The Audition" about the shooting of a music video--the biggest budget short film I've ever seen (or even heard of). An amazing setting (sitting in the pool, you could look out towards the ocean), more than a full crew, an up and coming director, an up and coming singer, food, water, wardrobe--everything. AND I got to dance, looking all GQ in a full suit with a slick tie as part of choreographed routine that five of us learned an hour before going in front of the camera. On a side note, we learned the routine without music, and the the first time we danced with the music the film was rolling--so if you ever see it, now you know why I sucked.

It's probably not something I'll do again (even though one of my childhood dreams was to dance for Janet Jackson), but damn, it was a lot of fun. Not only getting to dance with cameras and lights and makeup people and all that, but meeting the other people around the set, especially my fellow dancers: one guy, a bonafide graduated-from-the-top-ballet-school-in-Russia-dancer-turned-Cisco-employee-turned-actor. Talented as sh*t, funny as sh*t. Another guy--the choreographer actually--a 21 year old kid who's an actor and an emcee, and very good at the business of acting (so smooth on set with the director and crew). The third guy, a singer from the Dominican Republic who comes across so cocky and soo Hollywood, but with such a chill demeanor that you can't help but dismiss your first impression and love him. And the last guy, a down to earth, "sarcastic from being in the biz", but "energetic cause he hasn't given up on the biz" cat that could move.

Every one of these guys has a dream, and every one is smart and hard working with the great personality to match. We chatted, we laughed, we learned from each other, we danced, and then we went our separate ways. It was kinda like traveling; you know, when you meet people from different places and have the greatest conversations over the course of several beers? Except instead of chatting about where we've been, we were chatting about where we're goin.