Strictly Ballroom is All You Need

- November 09, 2023

Glitz and glamour. Razzle and dazzle. Drag hesitations and fall away whisks. Strictly Ballroom by Blue Mountains Musical Society had it all.

Photo: Neaton Photography

I was lucky enough to be part of the ballroom dream as Muriel Shunt.

Here are just some of the components it took to create the musical masterpiece.

Director/Choreographer

Linda Aubrecht was an inspiration to us all. Not only was she an incredible director, but an amazing choreographer too.

Thanks to Linda I got to chasse around the stage.

Music Director

Apparently there's music in musicals. The super talented Jem was responsible for the music direction of Strictly Ballroom.

He helped us differentiate between "ah" - there's brownies, and "ah" - I've been stabbed.

I don’t have any photos of Jen, but I do have this image from sitzprobe, featuring Ri out the front doing their beautiful thing.

Colour and Sparkle

There was an impressive team responsible for the creation and maintenance of the array of costumes.

Muriel's signature colour was purple.

Photo: Neaton Photography

Purple may now be my top favourite colour.

Photo: Neaton Photography

All of the costumes were truly beautiful. Wow! Gosh!

Photo: Neaton Photography

Many were magnifico.

Photo: Neaton Photography

They could brighten up a dull day.

Photo: Neaton Photography

Emily, pictured in the middle, was responsible for keeping some of my sparkles attached.

Between work and the show I absolutely loved seeing you 8 days a week.

Hats

My giant visor wasn't the only important hat on the stage.

Kelly and Amy's hats took on lives of their own.

They should've had their own photos in the program.

Kelly looked especially delightful when it was Time to Dance with her small feet.

Tommy Arbunt

Competitive ballroom dancer, Muriel Shunt, needed a partner. Couple number 62 wouldn’t be complete without Tommy Arbunt played by Ash.

I couldn't have asked for a better dance partner... because I wasn't allowed to, but even if I was allowed I don't think I could've found one.

Thank you for lifting my leg,

Photo: Neaton Photography

for spinning me around,

and for putting me back down.

Photo: Neaton Photography

We made it through the show without a scratch...

Photo: Neaton Photography

And I only stepped on your feet like 5 times... every rehearsal.

I'm proud of us.

Photo: Neaton Photography

Thank you for being the Tommy to my Muriel.

Friendly Competition

Strictly Ballroom - a musical about the competitive ballroom world - could not have gone on without some rivalry.

Photo: Neaton Photography

Thank you for the friendship,

the fun,

and the fights - I'm looking mostly at you couple number 24 - Rory Lamb and Stephanie Shanks,

but also, Alina and Alanna.

Thank you for the apartment visits and for not questioning why I had an open flame fire pit indoors, Bec.

Thank you for waiting with me while we prepared (always too early) to race through the curtain.

Thank you always taking everything incredibly seriously with me, Roddirt (or Rod for short).

Thank you for having my back... literally, TC.

To all the ballroom dancers - Tyler, Hayley, Alex, Alina, Bec, Kev, Mitchell, TC, Rob and Alanna - it was a privilege to dance alongside you. My tiny brain thinks you're all amazingly talented human beings with wonderful personalities.

And as Muriel always said...

Dressing Rooms

We couldn't have gone onstage in Strictly Ballroom without somewhere to prepare ourselves.

The door of DR2 (the best dressing room) was manned by the delightful Wilver.

My home in the dressing room was adjacent to Geriatric Island and Crude Corner where new terms like quick-set emerged. I decided it means pre-setting a costume for a quick change.

In my dressing room home was my beautiful friend, Amy.

Thank you for sharing lollies, and your creativity (I think the Aussie roll will overtake the French roll).

I'm glad I could be there when you were losing things, including your way... into a wall.

Sometimes we had pep talks from the production team in dressing room 1. One time the pep talk came from Paul Mercurio who played Scott Hastings in the original movie.

Pubs and Parties

To perform 10 shows together a cast needs to be bonded. We did our team building exercises at the pub and parties.

One party was hosted by Ron, who is beautiful inside and out.

She even got me flowers in Muriel's signature colour for opening night.

And we continued our tradition of outdoor, night photo shoots.

We tried a few new angles,

and photography techniques this time.

Parody Cast

So, some of us actually did an additional 11th show just for everyone involved in the creation of Strictly Ballroom. For this one I needed a cast that would go along with my crazy ideas.

Thank you Bec, Wilver, Chelle, Bella, Kev, Tara, Nina, Nellie, Roxy and Ash for being so wonderful.

Lots of Incredible People

Strictly Ballroom would not have happened without all the dedicated people in the production team, cast and crew, including Dani, all the Bens and Avalon who sat on the bench with me during Dance to Win every show.