Five Foot Two

By

Jacquimac

Edited by Jonelle

Part one

I still remember how it all started , we were at the dance class fooling about till the instructor arrived. Alec was on piano the playing away without a care in the world and I started to sing along. It was an old song from around 1914. Everyone looked at me and asked how I knew the song, I remembered my grandmother singing it often and I always thought it was a catchy song and it just stuck in my memory.

Alec started to play another piece of music and asked if I knew the words, I didn`t just know the words I could the Charleston dance. The dance teacher Ms Mays had been watching us and asked me to do a dance duet with her so we did the Charleston together. We didn`t do much dancing that night just talked and she told us about ragtime and other early twentieth century dances.

It would seem I started something because at the end of dance session it was announced we would be learning the dances the y did in the roaring twenties and later on a review in the school gymnasium. Ms Mays decided to see my parents to find out when my grandmother would be visiting again, she struck lucky as Gran arrived the following week. Gran was eighty yrs old and small, but very active. She could walk the legs off us any day of the week and not break sweat.

I never knew Gran`s husband as he was killed in the second world war and she had never remarried, even when she struggled to raise a family of seven kids alone before the dawn of the welfare state. As she was starting to get on a bit in years it was decided that she would sell her house and come live with us which she did.

So at the next dance session Gran turned up as an instructor and roped me in as her assistant because I could do the all 20`s dances as well as she could. Side by side we did the Charleston to start with and moved onto the Black Bottom,The Bump,Shimmy,Bunny Hop, the Collegiate Shag, ending with the Foxtrot and a Waltz. Everyone was amazed as we went form one dance to next. I then ended up singing the Charleston and Five foot two ,Honeysuckle Rose and Stardust.

Gran really liked ragtime because it was her generations music, it was also the time of the Great Depression a really bad time for everyone. I used to spend my holidays with Gran and she taught me all the songs and dances from that era. Ms May had found about a Broadway show called "Runnin Wild" and somehow had managed to get a photostat copy of the original script from one of her contacts.

Ms Mays was trying to write the revue while the rest of the student learned the songs and dances from the Roaring Twenties, with Alec on the piano, some of got picked to sing certain songs and to dance to them. The Idea was to wear costumes as authentic as possible to the period we were portraying. Oh boy was everyone tired at the end of the sessions, Sandra said that she didn`t realise how hard it was to keep the pace going, but Gran told her that in her days when you went dancing you spent most of the time on the dance floor.

Over the weeks everything started to fall in place, we were having problems with costumes as we didn`t have the money to buy or hire them. The script was done, just who was to do what had yet to be decided music wasn`t a problem as there was an amateur Jazz band at school.

Gran and Ms Mays started to involve me more with choosing people to match parts, as they knew I could do all the dances and sing the songs I wasn`t a problem.

Some of the parents watched the rehearsals and were persuaded with helping out, the Dads doing scenery and the Mums helping to make costumes.

The script was finally finished a much cut down version of the original.

I had to help Dad take Gran`s trunk from the attic to her room one night, she was getting out her Flapper Girl outfits. I thought she was going to take part as her dresses wouldn`t fit any of the girls, or maybe they being used as examples to help make costumes for the girls.

Gran and Ms Mays started meeting more often to place the kids were they would fit better, they were determined that the revue was going to be a major success for the kids. There wasn`t a lot of success with the various sporting teams this year and this was a good chance for the non sporty kids to succeed for once. Most of the dance club were too small, not strong enough or had no interest in sport and were constantly bullied and teased by the bigger kids. Gran and Ms Mays were scheming together, the kids , well we were just having fun singing and dancing at every opportunity.

A week later and the list was put on the notice board and everyone crowded round to see what part they got. My name was on the list but not what part I was to play. I asked Ms Mays about what I was going to do and was told that she and Gran would talk to me later.

I hadn`t really looked at list except to see the part I had got, but then again I don`t suppose the rest of kids had either. When I got home Gran and Ms Mays talking with my parents, as soon they saw me I was told to join them. Dad had a weird smile on his face and Mum was giggling when Gran took me upstairs.

Gran explained that they were short a Flapper Girl and as I could do the female parts in the dances they wanted me to take the Flapper Girl spot. Well I played girls parts in some of the schools plays so being a Flapper Girl was no big deal. Gran Opened her trunk and took a Black Tier dress and handed it to me along with a beaded headband and a pair of 3 inch T-Bar heels. I already had some female lingerie accumulated from doing school plays so I went to my room and and put everything on.

I went back to Gran`s room and she put a single black feather in the right hand side of the headband handed me a Feather Boa a pair of long sleeved opera gloves all of which I put on and we then went back to the lounge.

Dad just stared open mouthed while Ms Mays and Mum started making a fuss, "We`ll have to get your hair cut to a bob , makeup will have to done to enhance the outfit etc. Dad went out somewhere, and the three women went shopping and while they were away I went and changed and hung everything up. After a couple of hours I decided I would have an early night and went to bed.

Five Foot Two

By

Jacquimac

Edited by Jonelle

Part two

At breakfast I admitted to everyone that I secretly dressed up in girls clothes , they all started to laugh and said " We know" , well that started a discussion about what I wanted to do, I told them I wanted to be a girl.

Dad phoned a doctor he knew and I had an appointment for that afternoon. After he went to work the rest of us got ready to go into town were I was dropped off at the hair dressers. Gran told the hairdresser what she wanted doing and gave her a picture.
About an hour later They returned to collect me and after paying and thanking everyone we headed home, I could see that they had been busy while I was having my hair done.

That evening it was back to the dance studio and a full dress rehearsal, As soon as I entered the room I was swamped by the girls, the boys just gave me weird looks.

The revue was at the end of the week in the school gymnasium, they picked that as the venue because it had tiered seating along three walls.

At last it was Saturday and the show time, we had all turned up early so that hair and make-up could be done, the revue wasn`t a long one about an hour and half from start to finish and we were eager to strut our stuff.

The Jazz Band started with Alec in top hat and tails singing

Five foot two, eyes of blue,
But oh, what those five foot could do,
Has anybody see my girl ?,
Turned up nose, turned down hose,
All dressed up in fancy clothes,
Has anybody seen my girl?
Now if you run into a five foot two
Covered in fur,
Diamond rings and all those things,
Bet-cha life it isn`t her.
But could she love, could she woo?
Could she, could she, could she coo?
Has anybody seen my girl?

With around of applause and we all took a bow. At the same time I came on doing a Solo Charleston. We were followed by dancers doing the Bunny hop followed The Lindy, and Black Bottom interspaced with songs of the period. At the end all the singers started singing Five Foot Two and all the Flappers came on dancing the Charleston, we had a great night and enjoyed it. As we finished the gymnasium erupted with applause

Everybody congratulated us for putting on a fine show and the local theatre manager offered us a chance to take part in a show they were going to do charting music and songs from the 1920`s to the 1950`s, Of course we accepted they even included the Jazz Band and we would get a good donation from ticket sales.Of course some of us would have to learn dances from the 1940`s and 1950`s and it was going to be a lot of hard work, but we would get better costumes, professional make-up artists and more important for the dance club Publicity.

I had attended the appointment dad had made for me and the wheels were put in motion for me to start living as a girl full time, I was seeing a specialist in Gender issues on a weekly basis and he was dealing with the school and educational authorities, It wasn`t all plain sailing there was the bullying but soon ended when the Alec and the rugby team threatened the bullies, Teasing I could put with and Dad was handling any issues that other parents might have.

School finished for the summer holidays and the show was only a month away, We really put in the work getting the dancing right, then came costume fittings. As mine was original 1920`s manufactured a couple of the costumes were loaned to the dressmakers. Costumes for all three periods were finally put together and the dress rehearals were good but fun at same time.

The show was in three parts, one for each period, and we were all performing in two periods so costume changes were rushed and everything laid out ready to go from one to the other .
Again we turned up a couple of hours early to get ready, This wasn`t just a one night show so we wanted to get everything right for the opening night, and you feel the tension in the theatre

All the girls had their mums helping with costumes so they didn`t spoil hairdo`s and make-up. Gran had produced some feathers for the Flappers girls to wear in their headbands just as they did in the 20`s.
Oh boy did we look good when we were all made-up and in costume, camera flashes were going off everywhere as proud parents took photo after photo.

　

Part 3
　
Sneaking a peak through the curtains we saw a packed house, nerves started to get the better of until we shooed off stage when the stage manager told us that ,"All you can do is your best. I have confidence in you."

The curtain rose and the show started with a lone figure reading from a book.

The reader briefly told of culture, fashion and politics of the post WW1 or as they were called "The Roaring Twenties" for a few minutes, it might sound boring but it certainly looked like people were interested. This was followed by Alec once again Singing " Five Foot Two " and me doing a solo Charleston. followed by the rest of the 20`s dancers ,singing and dancing for about forty minutes. That ended the first part of the Show.

As the curtain fell there was a resounding applause and we knew we had performed well, the Producer came over and congratulated us.

A short time later the curtain went up and second part of the show started. The actors and dancers were in wartime uniforms and costumes singing and dancing the popular songs of the war and dancing the Jive, The Jitterbug and other dances of the period again with a short narration. This was the swing period.

The third part of the show consisted of everyone on stage dancing to Rock and Roll, partners were being thrown in air and caught, it was more like a cross between Chaos and Acrobatics but we all enjoyed ourselves.

The Curtain dropped and those that needed to changed back to their original costumes for the finale. So the 20`s dancers danced on first, followed by the the 1940`s Swingers and finally the Rock and Rollers.Each group was a bit smaller than during the show with a third of the dancers in each periods costumes.

The Jazz and Rock and Roll bands were called onto the stage and the audience once again erupted with applause, it was about 20 minutes before we managed to finally leave the stage. We had a brilliant night and we had another seven weekends of such shows all of which were sold out.
The following night was just as successful, OK it wasn`t all perfect but hell we were only kids and did the best we could, At least everyone was happy with the performance so far. If nothing else it was certainly educational.

The Roaring Twenties was time of change before the Great Depression, everyone thinks that the 1960`s were the time of Womens Lib, they couldn`t be more wrong. Womens Lib started in the 20`s, women dressed for comfort not to show they`re figures, the tried to look more boyish cutting they`re hair into a short bob and started to wear trousers,

Gone were the corset, and pantaloons on old, hemlines were raised to a couple of inches below the knees, make-up and higher heels were worn. They started to drink and smoke openly, and even tolerance was practiced to minorities.Then came the depression followed by WW2. The show taught us a fair bit about time between 1920 and 1960.

We had six more weeks of Saturday and Sunday shows and as far as we knew they were sold out. Everyone from the Director to the Floor Sweeper was extremely happy with the performance, and there was talk of even doing more shows like this in the future.

The Local press , Radio and TV stations all ran the story of the show in the local news and everywhere we went the town was buzzing. Those that had seen the opening night were telling everyone how great it was and we were getting mobbed by our peers.

The Kids on the schools sport teams were trying to find a way to knock the ground from under us, everyone of those teams had proved a failure last season ending bottom of the various leagues they were in.

Soon enough it was time to go back to school now the holidays had come to an end and during morning assembly congrtaulated the dance club and Jazz Band on their success and rubbed it in about the sports failure of last year.

I was know attending school as Kendra May McCallister and was popular with the girls and a few of the boys. Some lessons were changed. Were I used to do the boys crafts I now did the girls craft, like sewing,cookery etc and I enjoyed them.

I could already do these crafts as Gran and Mum always insisted that everybody should at least know the basics of running a home and at the very least I should be able to sew a button on a shirt. The truth was I found sewing, knitting and embroidery relaxing, they also kept the fingers supple and some of the girls were a bit put out when it turned out I was quite good at them.

The school was planning it`s yearly nativity play and the dance club were asked to perform, but this time it would be the dances that slave girls in eastern harems did, like the belly dance. One wit asked if they were going to include the dance of the Seven Veils but that was vetoed as it was too sex orientated.
　
　

Five Foot Two

By

Jacquimac

Edited by Jonelle

Part 4

Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt 1884 - 1962

The dance club got a sizeable donation from the ticket sale as well as a new building donated by one of the big conpanies in the area. We were now starting classes for different types of dancing covering everything from clog dancing to Ballet.

More and more students enrolled after every show we did, even some of the sports teams took up dancing to improve their coordination. No longer were we referred to as Ponces by the bigger kids, we had proved ourselves to everyone and came up smelling of roses.

It was laughable the first time the Rugby coach brought the team in for ballet training, 20 six foot boys having to do the bar exercises with girls that were half they`re height and only 8yrs old, but they finally admitted it was harder than running around trying to catch a ball.

All the sports team did well that year and watching the rugby team doing ballet steps to avoid a tackle was a sight to behold, especially at the end of the game when they started to perform a little ballet in front of opponents they had just demolished.

I was now accepted by everyone and was often asked for dates to dances, although I usually ended up with Alec.

My nickname had now become Five Foot Two to everyone who knew us, why ? because that became our signature tune and aslo as it was my exact height.

The rehearsals for the nativity started and I with some of the other girls were in the scene where Herod issues the decree to kill all male children under the age of two. Those harem costumes are a bit revealing and cold to wear near a draught, but it was fun and again was enjoyed by everyone.

Twice a year a musical would be put on in the theatre with the dance club providing the dancers and nearly always had packed houses.

It was funny when a stranger came into the Dance Club and approached Me and Alec who were talking to Ms Mays and Gran, he asked if he could ask a question and we said yes.
He told us he had seen the 1920`s revue we had put on and asked....
Why did we start with "Five Foot Two" as the opening number and not the Charleston??
Ms Mays laughed and pointing to me said " Her costume was from the 1920`s and she was the best dancer for the Charleston, not only that she is only Five Foot Two"

That set us all laughing even the stranger, who asked if they could talk in private.
After they went to the office we decided to call it a night and went home after saying goodnight to everyone.

As time went on the dance club went from strength with a few of dancer ending up as professionals. Sad to say Gran, passed away peacefully in her bed three years later leaving me everything she possessed, and a lot of joyful memories.
The stranger who visited that night was a big show producer and had been looking for new talent, and a few of us were asked if we would like to perform in professional productions. I declined as I was content with what I had but a couple did sign contracts but never made it big.

Alec and I finished school, he went to medical school and I went into nursing, once we had both qualified and Alec had got a position as a surgeon in a nearby Hospital I had SRS and a few months later we married.

Obviously I couldn`t have children and we adopted twins a boy and a girl, who we adored, now they`ve grown up and married and have their own families, although we see them a few times a during the year.

Alec and me still attend the dances that are held in the local area and the kids ask us to show them some of the dances we do,we still prefer the old dances to the stuff they call dancing today, no style or elegance in todays dancing.

Don`t think we`re old Fuddy duddies we`re far from it and all the kids love it when they see us dance especially when I do the Charleston or the Belly Dance.

Yes for us those were the good old days, the days of our youth, our fun and our hopes.

What happened to Ms Mays you ask, well she never got married and continued with the Dance Club until she was 70. She`s still around and we meet often and remember old friends and good times, she doesn`t dance much now not being as nimble as she once was but she will give advice to those who want it.

I went back to the Dance Studio and saw all the photos of the original members along with those of Ms Mays and Gran, they`re hanging in a room they now use as a Hall of Honour, some with us in costume, some in groups, and single shots of everyone of us.

One of the students saw me and not knowing who I was started to tell me all about the club, I noticed the photograph of Alec, Gran and myself in a corner well away from the other photos, I asked about it and was told that they were troublemakers who almost got the club closed down. I didn`t say anything and continued looking at the photos remembering names and faces.

Mary Anne James who now ran the club and we had known each other from the start walked in and seeing the position of the photograph, asked the student why it wasn`t with the rest. The student gave her the same answer as she gave me.

Mary Ann took the photograph and placed it above and centrally to the rest, the student didn`t seem to understand and told the young girl that if it hadn`t been for the people in the photograph the club would have closed years ago. I noticed the inscription on the brass plate said " Five Foot Two with Gran And Alec"

Mary Anne apologised to me saying that the memorial room was a new addition and the students hung the photographs. I asked the young girl "who told you those people were troublemakers" and she said the mother of one of the Ballet dancers.

I was introduced to the young girl who`s name was Shirley Jane Temple, jokingly I said "no you can`t be your much too young" Shirley didn`t understand and we ended up telling her about Shirley Temple the actress.

We went on to explain all about the early days of the club to the young girl, who looked very embarrassed, it was pointed out that if the first students hadn`t diversified and learned the many different styles of dancing the club might not be there today. I still make the occasional visit to the club and am held in a kind of awe by the younger members, especially when I dance them off they`re feet.

The last Visit I made I took Alec in Top hat and tails and wore my Charleston costume, when we arrived Mary led Alec onto the stage and he started singing "Five Foot Two" and I surprised the hell out of them by coming on stage all dressed up and doing the Charleston.
Mary introduced us as "Alec and Five Foot two" and the students went wild with cheers and applause.After a while the place fell silent and the students looked at us in expectation.

Alec said a short prayer to those who were no longer with us. One or two had died in the service of their country.

The silence continued and fond memories of those dances, the music and old faces stirred in our memories

AH the memories of days gone by, memories that will remain in our hearts till the end of our days.

Memory
By
Siegfried Sassoon
When I was young my heart and head were light,
And I was gay and feckless as a colt
Out in the fields, with morning in the may,
Wind on the grass, wings in the orchard bloom.
O thrilling sweet, my joy, when life was free
And all the paths led on from hawthorn-time
Across the carolling meadows into June.

But now my heart is heavy-laden. I sit
Burning my dreams away beside the fire:
For death has made me wise and bitter and strong;
And I am rich in all that I have lost.
O starshine on the fields of long-ago,
Bring me the darkness and the nightingale;
Dim wealds of vanished summer, peace of home,
And silence; and the faces of my friends.

The end