Yep, you read that right. Did you know I danced in the movie Tropic Thunder?

I had always wanted to be a dancer in a movie and I was so stoked when I found out that I booked it! It was the first movie I ever booked as a dancer in 2007. The choreographer was Marguerite Derricks and we got to shoot in Kauai for a week. Talk about a dream gig right?!

The choreography was a fun 60’s go-go vibe and when we got there the set was amazing. All the dancers were spread out throughout the set as if it was a party scene and we were the go-go dancers/entertainment for the event. Since my friend Jillian and I knew pole work, we were the ones chosen to dance on the poles.

But these weren’t just any poles. . . They had a helicopter on the set and places the poles on top of the blades that were about 20 feet off the ground. Wait, what?! Yes, these poles were on top of the helicopter blades! So we had to be harnessed in and strapped to the pole. So it was pretty hard to do the choreography.

If that wasn’t crazy enough, they threw us a twist. “Oh, the blades will be moving so hold on.” They then made the blades go round and round as we were strapped to the poles trying to do choreography! Mind you blades aren’t very wide at all, maybe 3-4 feet across. So there was no time to have high anxiety and backing out wasn’t an option.

We had some rehearsals and then were able to hang out on the beach for the rest of the day in Kauai. It was epic! We went to town, did a canoe ride around the island, and had some amazing food. We were there a week but only had to shoot 3 nights.

Once it was shoot day, or night I should say, we had to be on set by a certain time. Now the makeup department wasn’t prepared for as many dancers as we had so they ended up sending me to the special effects makeup artist who did Robert Downey Jr’s makeup. Not sure he did beauty makeup, but he told the crew to bring me in because he had an empty chair.

Ok, so I don’t want to be rude, but I looked terrible! Thank god the set was within our hotel and I was able to get checked off, cleared to go to my hotel room to change, and I redid my entire face. I did this 3 nights in a row! They never knew, and because I was on the pole no one ever came up to check our makeup. They just asked us if we were doing good and went on their merry way.

So on the final night of shooting, they tell us that an actor is going to be joining us on the poles. Ok, not sure how that was going to work but we will see. They decided Jack Black was going to be on my side of the helicopter blade with me.

Let me just say he is AMAZING! Jack Black was so nice, funny, and chill. Of course, I had to tell him that I loved Tenacious D. He was thrilled to talk about his music cuz I’m sure most people at that time in 2007 only talked about his movie roles.

So the rest of the last night Jack Black and I danced together around that pole. He chased me around it and was gesturing to grab my butt. I loved every minute of it. The whole gig was truly a dream come true! To be in Kauai for a week, shooting a movie, being featured next to one of the stars, and Jack Black at that!

Once the movie was about to be released I was stoked to see the final product. I went to the theater and was awaiting our scene and as you probably know by now if you’ve seen the movie, they CUT OUR SCENE! I was dying!! Noooooooo!! But then the credits came and low and behold there I was dancing on a helicopter blade with Jack Black chasing my tail. It’s a hot second but it was one of the best experiences of my life.

Just remember that you never know what gigs are going to come your way. And with all the twists and turns you too may just end up spinning around on a helicopter blade doing pole work with Jack Black. LOL