Dancing for Him

The ringing phone cut through my deep sleep. I was nestled under the covers and about as comfortable as possible. I braced for the worst as I fumbled around on the nightstand for my phone that seemed to be hiding from me.

“Hello?” I mumbled.

“Hey, Todd. It’s Martin.”

A grunt was all I could manage in response.

Martin was a good friend and colleague. We worked as electricians for Haphazard Productions. If he was calling, I needed to focus. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was a little after three in the morning. Luckily, I found the light switch on the first try. Illuminating the room helped me wake up.

“Hey. Yeah. What’s up?” I finally asked.

“Sorry to call you so early. An opportunity came up I thought you might want.”

I sat up. My eyes worked to adjust to the light. My brain, meanwhile, wanted none of it.

“Okay,” I said, sounding groggy.

“One of the senior techs on Top Dancer had to go to Texas for a family emergency. They need someone… this morning. I said you might be available since you’re on a hiatus.”

“Oh. Yes. I’m interested. When?” Now I was awake. This was worth losing sleep over.

“Call’s at five.”

“I’ll be there.” I got up while still getting information from Martin.

There was no going back to sleep now. If they needed me on set at five, I’d need to be there by four-thirty to check in since I’d be the new guy. I got the bed made and headed to my galley-style kitchen to make coffee. I’d only gone to bed three hours ago, so there was going to be a lot of coffee today.

I was all too happy to give up part of an unexpected vacation to work on America’s Next Top Dancer. I’d been off work for two days. The crew of Dealmakers found out on Monday that we were shut down for six to eight weeks because the host broke his arm in a weekend rock climbing accident. We had enough shows in the can that we could stop production, let him heal, and then resume shooting. The viewers would never see him in a cast.

ANTD was shot on the same studio lot as Dealmakers. When ANTD started three years ago I wanted to work on it, but I didn’t have enough seniority to request the transfer. Even if this lasted only a few days, I was psyched to be a part of it.

I was a huge fan of the show, so much so that I made sure to watch it the same night it aired so I could vote. The current season, only four weeks into the ten-week competition, was one of the best yet. Nathaniel Mayer, a hot guy and an amazing dancer, was captivating. He got my votes every week. Now I’d see him dance in person. I was practically bouncing around the kitchen in excitement.

Seeing the dancers work, not just Nathaniel, was going to be awesome. I’d have to make sure to keep my focus on my duties, of course, but there’d be downtime when I could watch rehearsals and see what they did first hand.

I’d been into dance for years. I’d seen all kinds of great dancing at shows around L.A. I’ve set my TiVo to record anything with a dance theme. Sometimes I get crap, but sometimes I get stuff like the Alvin Ailey performance that aired on PBS a few nights ago.

I think my dad’s the reason I got hooked on it. He’s an electrician and I apprenticed with him on Broadway. We worked together on a couple of musicals and the dancing blew me away. We did a stint at New York’s City Center for their fall dance festival and it was incredible seeing so many different kinds of dance on the stage.

I’d been tempted a time or two to take dance lessons. That seemed silly, though. Truthfully, I’ve got no rhythm. I’m a big guy, too, and I’m pretty sure my body isn’t built to move like a dancer.

Yeah, I’ve seen the football players dance on the celebrity dancing show, but they already knew how to move because of the sport they played. Other than working out, I haven’t been sporty since I graduated high school a decade ago.

The coffee finally finished dripping into the mug. I took it and headed off to the bathroom to grab a shower. I was never one to be late, but to work on ANTD there was no way I was going to be anything but punctual.