My bud Chris Olwage is a semifinalist on New Zealand's Got Talent! He is an incredible dancer pushing the boundaries of contemporary dance and traditional ballet. His costumes are also next level! We had a chat this afternoon on all things dance and glittery:
Apart from being an amazing performer, you also make all your own costumes is that right? So many sequins! What is one
of your fave ensembles that you have made so far?
Wow, every costume I make is a unique
venture into the world of the unknown for me, I have to learn the techniques
from scratch through books and online resources. Often taking more than
several attempts to get it right. I must say though, the costume that I made
for the Firebird performance was by far my fave, I learnt how to make tights,
cincher corset patterns, and form headpieces along the way!
What does a typical day look like in the
land of Chris Olwage?
A typical day usually starts with a
groan (an utterance resulting from the awakening the pain in my body from the
activities of the day before) then I force myself into the kitchen for my
morning bowl of oats. From there the days vary... Most typically it would be
me racing around the house trying to gather the necessaries for the day, work
clothes, gym, clothes, training clothes. Then it's off to the gym for a
workout, then I usually teach a few classes, have a rehearsal or two then get
back home feeling shattered. And in the silence of the night I begin to create
the masterpieces... costumes and choreography sometimes till I fall asleep
sequins still in hand. Wake-up and repeat cycle.
Most memorable performance of your
career so far?
Most memorable performance definitely
has to be the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony...
And most embarrassing on stage moment
ever? (Common... we all have one!)
Haha, this would most certainly be
part of the most memorable performance... Running onto the field at the Opening
Ceremony I tripped on my shoe and ended up on the wrong foot for a jump I had
to perform... consequently did an entirely different looking jump... it
wouldn't have been all bad considering it was an ensemble piece... but it just
happened to be when the TV crew was filming my group in close up being
broadcast live to millions around the world!
The big life dream?
Big Life Dream aye? Well, after a
successful performing career I'd like to form a performing arts company that
deals in creating multi-disciplinary art shows that challenges what we call
theatre today using different methods of performance art to create unified
performances. I wanna make shows!!
Keeping my fingers crossed!
XX
