An Ode to Nate Hodges

Some of you might already know Mr. Hodges (what exactly are the demographics of this blog readership, anyway?), but for those of you who don't, he's the Rogue Artists Ensemble choreographer. And he's amazing. Not only does he run his own successful dance company (Rhetoracle!), he's one of the nicest dudes ever.

Anyway. It's been widely established that I am possibly the worst dancer of all time. I've nearly failed every class I've ever taken (even with perfect attendance and a positive attitude! I thought that was supposed to count for something...), and I can't learn choreography to save my life. I think if my life literally depended on being able to learn a six-step combination, I would actually die. It's that dire.

So imagine how well I did last night when Nate taught Don, Matt, Tom, Sean, Connor, and me a three-minute (maybe? I don't know, it felt like hours) piece that involves backflips and explosions. Seriously! OK, the explosions are sort of just mimed. But the backflips are real!

Other things the piece contains, courtesy of Nate's own special language:

• "Glitter-BAM!"
• "Take a pony! Take a pony!"
• "Pirate skips,"
• "Pull the rope,"
• "Row the boat,"
• "Throw the pixie dust!"
• "Twinkly fingers,"
  
• and, yes: "Jazz hands!"

Come on, I think that list right there is worth the price of admission alone.