[rickfink]

Hey Debbie,

Let me brag on you a little bit!

As I mentioned Debbie performed in our 'Rhythms from the Great heart show' in 93. We had been producing staged shows with local and state money and this was our biggest yet. A week and a half before the the show someone dropped out and we were scrambling to fill her space! Debbie had been studying with Helene and even though she was a new dancer she had already started to make a name as a skilled performer with her own style so Helene asked her to dance.

Stage shows are different from the regular seminar shows that most people are used to. It was on a presidium stage and besides the three night run we had a tech rehearsal night and a dress rehearsal night. There was a lighting person or 'tech', a sound tech, stage manager and makeup people. In addition we brought in a multi-camera video crew with three camera operators, a technical director and assistant.

Debbie only had one week to prepare but did beautifully. Each night the crew fell more in love with her. I swear some of them would actually sigh when they said her name!

On Saturday night in the dressing room Helene's top broke. She tried safety pinning it but the pin bent out of shape. The other performers starting helping and one by one all the pins were bent out of shape and Helene was starting to panic! Then Debbie came to the rescue. She suggested that Helene take off her beaded necklace and use that to connect the top. It worked perfectly and Helene was able to perform a twenty minute set to live music without a hitch.

Debbie was extremely gracious and kept trying to refuse payment for the show. Helene insisted she accept it and told me later that hiring Debbie was the smartest thing she had done!

Take care, Rick Fink