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Local dancer recalls Oscar experiences
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| Contributed photo Debra Hughes, left, with Jasmine Guy, second from right and dancers 1991 Acedemy Awards. |
By Jamie Larson
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
WEST TAGHKANIC - The Academy Awards, Hollywood's big night, is known as much for its theatrics and elaborate live dance performances as it is for the movies the award show honors. Through the Oscar's storied history, huge production numbers have been a premiere and competitive showcase for dancers. For three years local dancer Debra Hughes, now the director of Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts in West Taghkanic, was on that stage and she says tonight's show always brings back a wash of Oscar memories.
Hughes' three-year stint dancing at the Oscars started unconventionally at the 1991 show audition - she wasn't there.
"I missed the audition," Hughes remembered, "for some reason my agent hadn't called me."
She was mortified. She had wanted badly to try out for the highly-coveted job and now she didn't even get to show her stuff. To boot, this particular show's choreographer was Debbie Allen, the star of the television series "Fame" and the director and producer of TVs, "A Different World."
That evening at a dance class her teacher came up with a simple solution.
"He told me to crash the call backs," Hughes said. "'Crashing the callback' means I showed up uninvited to the second audition where only chosen dancers from the previous day are supposed to attend. I arrived just as the audition was getting underway, and approached Ms. Allen to explain my situation. With a bit of attitude she said she wasn't about to teach me what the other dancers learned the day before, but if I could pick it up, I could go at the end.
"There seemed to be a couple hundred dancers there, busily going over the choreography for two numbers, a ballet piece and a fast jazz piece to the soundtrack of the movie, 'Havana.' I was happy to just be given a chance, but was also in the perfect frame of mind for auditioning as I had nothing to lose; I just wanted to dance," she recalled.
Over the next few hours, by watching the auditions before her and even getting help from the other dancers she was competing against for the job, she learned the moves.
When it was finally her turn she says her ballet training was on display in the first number and in the second, a more athletic jazz number she said she could feel herself winning over the judges.
"I was the wild card that day, uninvited, but became among the chosen few when my number was called to be a part of the cast." She recalled proudly, "as we gathered together, Debbie Allen turned to me and said, 'You took someone's job away today,' I started to apologize, then realizing the absurdity of it, I stopped myself and then thanked her. I screamed and cried like a maniac during the drive home.
"Each year I worked on the Academy Awards was a new, exciting and enriching experience I will never forget. We worked brutally hard those three weeks before the show. It was live television and no mistakes could be made. Typically, we learned all the choreography within the first couple of days, and then spent the rest of the time, six hours a day, sometimes seven days a week rehearsing, perfecting, correcting, and always dancing full-out," she said.
Over the next two years Hughes danced in a wide variety of film-inspired performances, and has a story for them all. Hughes laughed when describing a dance based on the Disney animated movie "Aladdin." Hughes remembered the girls getting together and demanding hazard pay because there were men spinning and blowing fire in the show while they danced around with big blown out hair pieces. "The girls were worried they would go up in flames if they got too close." she said, "thankfully none caught fire. We only got $50 more."
In the same show there was a belly dancer who donned a gigantic live boa constrictor. During a break, the boa worked its way out of its basket and down into a drainage grate on the Universal Studios lot. They never did find the massive reptile.
Hughes says she enjoys her current role as an instructor at HVAPA, training dancers of many ages in a number of disciplines and says dancing at the Oscars was one of the greatest experiences of her life.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
WEST TAGHKANIC - The Academy Awards, Hollywood's big night, is known as much for its theatrics and elaborate live dance performances as it is for the movies the award show honors. Through the Oscar's storied history, huge production numbers have been a premiere and competitive showcase for dancers. For three years local dancer Debra Hughes, now the director of Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts in West Taghkanic, was on that stage and she says tonight's show always brings back a wash of Oscar memories.
Hughes' three-year stint dancing at the Oscars started unconventionally at the 1991 show audition - she wasn't there.
"I missed the audition," Hughes remembered, "for some reason my agent hadn't called me."
She was mortified. She had wanted badly to try out for the highly-coveted job and now she didn't even get to show her stuff. To boot, this particular show's choreographer was Debbie Allen, the star of the television series "Fame" and the director and producer of TVs, "A Different World."
That evening at a dance class her teacher came up with a simple solution.
"He told me to crash the call backs," Hughes said. "'Crashing the callback' means I showed up uninvited to the second audition where only chosen dancers from the previous day are supposed to attend. I arrived just as the audition was getting underway, and approached Ms. Allen to explain my situation. With a bit of attitude she said she wasn't about to teach me what the other dancers learned the day before, but if I could pick it up, I could go at the end.
"There seemed to be a couple hundred dancers there, busily going over the choreography for two numbers, a ballet piece and a fast jazz piece to the soundtrack of the movie, 'Havana.' I was happy to just be given a chance, but was also in the perfect frame of mind for auditioning as I had nothing to lose; I just wanted to dance," she recalled.
Over the next few hours, by watching the auditions before her and even getting help from the other dancers she was competing against for the job, she learned the moves.
When it was finally her turn she says her ballet training was on display in the first number and in the second, a more athletic jazz number she said she could feel herself winning over the judges.
"I was the wild card that day, uninvited, but became among the chosen few when my number was called to be a part of the cast." She recalled proudly, "as we gathered together, Debbie Allen turned to me and said, 'You took someone's job away today,' I started to apologize, then realizing the absurdity of it, I stopped myself and then thanked her. I screamed and cried like a maniac during the drive home.
"Each year I worked on the Academy Awards was a new, exciting and enriching experience I will never forget. We worked brutally hard those three weeks before the show. It was live television and no mistakes could be made. Typically, we learned all the choreography within the first couple of days, and then spent the rest of the time, six hours a day, sometimes seven days a week rehearsing, perfecting, correcting, and always dancing full-out," she said.
Over the next two years Hughes danced in a wide variety of film-inspired performances, and has a story for them all. Hughes laughed when describing a dance based on the Disney animated movie "Aladdin." Hughes remembered the girls getting together and demanding hazard pay because there were men spinning and blowing fire in the show while they danced around with big blown out hair pieces. "The girls were worried they would go up in flames if they got too close." she said, "thankfully none caught fire. We only got $50 more."
In the same show there was a belly dancer who donned a gigantic live boa constrictor. During a break, the boa worked its way out of its basket and down into a drainage grate on the Universal Studios lot. They never did find the massive reptile.
Hughes says she enjoys her current role as an instructor at HVAPA, training dancers of many ages in a number of disciplines and says dancing at the Oscars was one of the greatest experiences of her life.
To reach reporter Jamie Larson, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2269, or e-mail jlarson@registerstar.com.
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