Wanderung 27

 

 

Bob:

Ever optimistic, I decided to attend the Ballroom Dance Class review at 10:15, where we reviewed waltz and rhumba. The rhumba went well but I still was having trouble with the European style of waltz. We had a very light lunch before our final Pop Choir rehearsal, but both of us were too nervous to eat much.

The final Pop Choir rehearsal was at 12:30, but we just ran through a couple of the Christmas songs we had just recently added and one other piece we were having trouble with, but not the entire performance. I was grateful for that because the heavy use of head voice for the first Bee Gees number was very hard on my voice.

We attended the "Backstage Tour" at 2:00 p.m., where we learned about the training and life on board of the singers and dancers, quite talented folks indeed. the dressing rooms were just as small one off each wing of the stage and the back hallway was actually used by the male dancers for their costume changes! Peter, who had taught all our dance classes, was nice enough to provide written sheets that summarized the dances he had been teaching.

Monika cut out early from the backstage tour to attend the Arts and Crafts session on constructing Bermuda Triangle Earrings. I found her there when I had finished the tour, and she had constructed a nice pair of earnings with a small, lopsided "triangle" of aluminum hanging from them. I thought we might insert the black pearls from Moorea into those aluminum frames when we got back home.

At 3:30 the passenger talent show began with a song about moonshine and an ode to seasickness by one of the men. One of the women sang "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and danced a routine to the "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B". But finally it was the Pop Choir's turn and we all turned in a creditable 1/2 hour or so performance of the 7 songs prescribed by Princess's corporate office plus 3 non-sectarian Christmas songs selected by Thalia, the director. The performance went over well, and I felt somewhat redeemed from my karaoke fiasco the night before.

The choir all had a celebratory glass of champagne at the bar amidships, after which we relaxed in our cabin until dinner. We managed to stay up afterwards and catch the singing-and-ventriloquism act after dinner which was, really quite good. I still cannot see how he learned to sing so well without moving his mouth at all--a rather rare skill I would think!