US Open 2014 Update #12 – Devil In A Blue Dress!

“You’re missing the guitar, you have to hit the guitar.” Ben and Cameo bring back her parent's famous routine, for its 20th year anniversary!

Cameo! It’s the same dress!

“Yes! It’s the dress my mom wore in 1995!”

“Devil In a Blue Dress!”

What a Throwback!

Cameo and Ben, bringing back this famous routine for the 2015 Circuit year, in a 20th Year Anniversary tribute to her parents, Michael and Amber Cross.

Of course they asked for Michael and Amber’s  permission first, wanting to be thoughtful of them.   Because the routine is to honor her parents, to show their respect and love.

The Crosses have been completely supportive, and have helped with choreography.

Ben and Cameo say they realized after dancing that they missed an opportunity – the could have had someone filming the Crosses, a camera just on them, to capture their reaction.  It was not possible to see them from the floor – between the spotlights and the speed of the routine Cameo couldn’t focus on their faces (although Ben says he was able to glance out and see them for a couple of brief moments – they were glowing with pride.)

But afterwards the Crosses were simply ecstatic. Thrilled and honored.

This routine is not the same as the original, it’s not meant to be the same.   Different intro music, different choreography entirely.

But that dress!  That Blue Dress!

It had to be the same dress, that was just meant to be.

For Ben’s costume they wanted to update it a bit, make him feel current.  So they used a shirt with a modern but “retro” feel, peeling embellishments off Michael’s original costume (just hot-glued on!) re-gluing them to Ben’s collar, cuffs, and pockets.

They say they’d been wanting to do something of this sort for a while, a throwback routine, an ode to traditional west coast swing.

Ben had wanted to use “Devil” for years.  When he was 12 years old he and sister Stephanie had even played with choreographing to this song.  So when he and Cameo started talking about music, and wanting to go Old-School, this was the first song that came to  Ben’s mind.

Cameo said, “You do know that my parents danced to this song, right?”

Ben said, “Nooooo! No way! Really?!?”  and it was a done deal.

They began choreography in June.  It’s Ben and Cameo’s choreography entirely, but they had a lot of coaching from Demetre, Malia, Benji, and the Crosses in the last days before the Open.

When they first began choreographing they had a surprise.  Either because the music took them there or because something emerged from deep in Cameo’s subconscious, without realizing it they’d created some of the exact same choreography as her parents had done in the original.

The Crosses came in at the end to help, just a few days before the Open.  Ben says, “We changed three of the biggest moments THREE DAYS before the Open!  Michael and Amber watched it through and said “Nope.”  During Cameo’s one-footed spin sequence, for instance, Ben had been still, the focus entirely on Cameo in front.  But Michael said “You’re missing the guitar, you have to hit the guitar.”  So they added Ben’s side kicks.  And there were other changes the Crosses made which had to be perfected and committed to muscle memory in those last days.

They say this routine is HARD.  In many ways.

First of all it’s fast.  Really fast.

The Crosses were famous for dancing fast – they were known for fast.

But Cameo and Ben are dancing even faster (at 160 bpm) than Michael and Amber danced  in 1995 (147 bpm.)

Just to get a feel for these speeds – this famous speed-demon song is only a mere 134 beats per minute.

 
 
Seriously – 160 beats per minute?!?  That is Lindy fast.

Especially in heels.

Especially with choreography that is intentionally hard to begin with.  To dance at this speed – and clean! – and relaxed! – she’s smiling she actually looks happy!  That is hard.

And the routine has a ton of content. It’s not like there are breathers, down moments.  It hits and keeps going, BAM!, right to the end.

They say that they made it hard for themselves on purpose.  They wanted to push their limits, to learn from the routine.  So they choreographed things that they knew would be hard to accomplish. In particular connection, using connection to its fullest, understanding connection at this speed.

And as Cameo says, to take something that’s already been done — an idea that’s already been out there — and to do it again — well that’s tricky.   And the pressure to make her parents proud, that made it even harder.

The speed, the complexity, the nostalgia – all of this made it a tough routine to choreograph and even tougher to dance to its full potential.

And man do they pull it off!

And now Devil has been launched  —  and there’s no rest for the weary.

Monday afternoon they drove to Cameo’s home from the Open for a day (Ben, who lives in San Francisco, stayed with Cameo in LA,) then Wednesday morning flew to Oslo, Norway — an 11-hour flight — for “Winter White”

Immediately after Cameo flies to Ireland to teach for a week, Ben flies to Hawaii to teach,  and then both fly to their respective homes for Christmas.

And then it’s Palm Springs, and the new 2015 Circuit year of back-to-back events and teaching weekends.

What a life!