Wow, what a week! The build-up may have been slow, but then it all seemed to go into overdrive, before splashing out in a brilliant Saturday climax: GFest – a really fabulous festival taking in all that is great about LGBT and queer art and culture.
Seeing as this was the first time that I had been on the stage in over a decade, I was relishing the excitement leading up to the big night. The week of rehearsals running up to GFest was the first time that I felt fully confident that things were finally falling into place, and by Friday the whole choir seemed to be on a proper buzz about the upcoming performance. Damn, we even got our moves right once or twice!
The practice seems to have paid off though, as we arrived at the Cockpit Theatre a little nervous, but able to storm through sound-check with no major cock-ups! Back in the bar/dressing room it was obvious that everyone was really psyched up and excited (and no, it wasn’t because there were Pinkies left, right and centre stripping off and changing). After one or two accidents with rose pins and nipples, we were all lined up backstage, and then suddenly out into the bright lights and in front of a vivacious audience of practically… well they were there at least.
It all honestly went by as a bit of a blur. Within a minute it seemed Anything Goes had rolled off to applause, before us basses got into our stride with a bit of k.d. lang and Amy Winehouse. We rounded off our set nicely with the Scissor Sisters’ I don’t feel like Dancing, to which, in my humble opinion, we did a bloody good imitation of people who do indeed like to get jiggy (if only a little bit). With our top dancers boogying away out front, I think we finished on a high, and the audience seemed to agree. 
What a way to break in a newbie! Loved it, and the singing and bad dancing carried on well into the night, but I still made it into practice on Sunday.