The Side Show at Carnival of Stars

By Amina Goodyear

When Pepper/Alexandria first asked me to be stage manager of The Side Show at Carnival of Stars, I was honored.  But I questioned my ability to do a good job as The Side Show was to be an experimental venue in the Carnival of Stars lobby. Her main stage dance line-up was full and she thought it would be fun to be able to offer additional performance opportunities in a more intimate setting for those preferring to dance for smaller yet very appreciative crowds.
The Side Show would also cater to first-time dancers and for those wishing to try out new or unusual acts as appropriate for "Carny" Side Shows. At first I envisioned two headed dancers, bearded ladies, dwarfs, midgets, giants, snake ladies and other "freaks". But then I remembered Elvis (if you too, remember Elvis, pretend you don't or you'll give away your age), so actually "I remember 'hearing about' a singer named Elvis who sang a song about 'Little Egypt', a dancer in a movie he starred in. She was a gorgeous and voluptuous dancer in a Side Show at a Carnival."
OK, then.  A Side Show at our Carnival of Stars is Totally appropriate! Indeed - it's totally necessary if we are to be a Carnival of Stars. Little Egypt.  of course.  was a beautiful, glamorous "belly dancer" and isn't that what we all are? Beautiful and glamorous! Yes, yes, yes!
Therefore, this is what we at The Side Show offered - Beautiful and Glamorous dancers to a very fine appreciative audience cheering us on.
Let me tell you what went on at The Show. First Heather, loyal husband and Janine transformed the sparse, empty space into something purely magical only befitting a Carnival of STARS performer and audience.
There was a perfect sized stage and Heather, husband and Janine did their magic.  Within minutes, maybe about 60+ minutes, there was a colorful tent and backdrop and priceless fabrics galore. This Side Show venue looked better than any Orientalist painting, better than any Macy's or Gumps holiday window display, better than yours or my imagination. It was beautiful and it was ours.  And I'm proud to say, it was a more a fun and beautiful space to dance in than the "prestigious" main stage.
Also we had comfortable chairs and little tables to make our intimate venue inviting to those who wanted to hang out and eat or drink while enjoying the show. Thank you Heather, husband and Janine for all your artistic talents! And, thank you Pepper/Alexandria for envisioning this and making this all happen.
After that, my work was easy. All I had to do was sit back and enjoy the show and just press "play"
on the CD player. The dancers - mostly women, but a couple of men also - all showed up on time and did what they do best. Dance up a storm!
I heard so many positive comments such as "I never had so much fun." "The dancers were all so great."
"This was more fun than the 'big' stage." "I loved the setting and atmosphere." AND "Let's do it again next year!"
Yes! Let's do it again next year. Now that we've set a precedent, we can go on to make it even bigger and better. Soon the dancers from the "big" stage will be BEGGING us to dance in our special place.