Bottle dancers- Fiddler

[sassypanz]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 9:43pm

Anyone know how they do the bottle dancing thing in Fiddler on the roof?

[Thenardier]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 9:46pm

yeah...

they got talent...

I don't know what you mean....They put bottles on their heads, balance them, dance...It's simple to understand, difficult to execute....

[erniesgirl96]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 9:53pm

there is a little dent in thier hats that help hold the bottle in the hat..........the rest is all talent....

[Joshua488]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 10:07pm

A friend of mine, Ryan, was called in to audition for one of those men in Fiddler on the Roof. The dance part of the audition consisted of doing a bit of that choreography, but without the bottles. "It was hard enough without the bottles. I need to workout," said Ryan.

[sassypanz]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 10:43pm

I mean if its like a magnet or velcrow ir sometin..

[Mythus]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 10:47pm

There's nothing. They (the dancers) are just very good at balancing bottles on their heads.

[Joshua488]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 10:48pm

I think that they are saying that there is NO magnet or Velcro. It is just skillfull balancing.

Hence: the rest is all talent.... , said erniesgirl96.

[timote316]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 11:00pm

I got chills when I saw the bottle dance the first time a professional production of Fiddler. I don't know why, but its just an amazing sight.

[st8gemom]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 11:20pm

When we did it (at a children's theatre) we put a small amount of sand in the bottom of the bottles to give them some weight. The rest was up to the kids to balance them, and they did!

[cturtle]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 11:22pm

first time i saw that show in summer stock, the bottles were attached with chin straps. it was pretty cheesy.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/14/05 at 11:27pm

If you add weight to the bottom (sand, gelitan, etc) it helps when you balance them. Also, a hat that can hold it a little. And Lots of PRACTICE!

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 2:07am

It all depends on the director. I've seen "Fiddler" productions where they have used velcro...some have even designed little holes in the hat to fit the bottles in.

But the TRUE productions, which I'm sure the Broadway revival is, do it the old fashioned way: Just hats and bottles.

I had the priviledge of doing a regional production of "Fiddler." The director had toured with "Fiddler" before and had directed dozens of productions of it. When I auditioned, the callback dance was the bottle dance. When I was cast we were taught the Bottle Dance on the first day of rehearsals and were told that we would remain true to the piece and not cheat. We would do the dance the old fashioned way. So we practiced that dance every day. We were told to bring the bottles and hats home with us and to walk around the house as much as possible while balancing the bottles on our heads. It was probably the hardest physical feat I've had to perform on stage, but I take pride in being the only bottle dancer in that production who never dropped the bottle. :)

Updated On: 5/15/05 at 02:07 AM

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:41am

I was in Fiddler last summer (Motel) and I danced at my own wedding, and we used the original Broadway choreography for the bottle dance. It was intense. All of us bottle dancers were rehearsing every day whenever we got a break in rehearsals. But the truth is it was worth it. The crowd went nuts, and we got amazing responses. I even have a cute picture of my 2 year old nephew imitating me with tupperware on his head.

Akiva

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 6:09am

Has anyone actually ever seen the current revival and saw one of the bottles fall? Just wondering... I'm sure it has happened at one stage.

QM

[Jon]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 8:12am

The only authentic way to do it:

1: The hats are slightly dented to fit the bottles (and molded so the dent stays there).

2: The bottles used are bottom-heavy - possibly with some sort of polymer poured inside to add extra weight at the bottom.

NO MAGNETS, NO VELCRO, NO NOTHING! (velcro hadn't even been invened when the show originated).

Famous story: During rehearsals for the original production, one of the dancers asked Jerome Robbins: "How do we keep the bottles from faling off?" Robbins replied, "If your bottle falls off your head, you're fired. That's how!"


SPAMALOT SPOILER AHEAD:

I have no idea if any rigging is used for the Grail Dance.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 11:22am

i did a production of Fiddler last winter and we had hats with indents in them. i'm pretty sure that's how it's done in the show.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 11:55am

I did Fiddler two falls ago ( i was Fyedka), but i was in the bottle dance and we also had to do it without Velcro or sand... what we did was we took the bottle and placed it inside an old bean can so that the bottom was flat... then we wrapped it in elctrical tape (in case a bottle were to fall) .... I never once dropped my bottle, which i think was one of those things that just makes me smile... on closign night we got through 8 preformances with no bottles dropped durign a show our director cried bcause it was the first time (out of the three times) she did fiddler and didn't have to use velcro....

why did they have water in the bottles in the revival?... because when they flipped the bottles water went into the audience which was kinda weird

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 12:29pm

The story goes that in the original production of FIDDLER Hal Prince and Jerome Robbins had the pink slips for each of the dancers inside the bottles. If the bottle fell and broke, the dancer was fired right there on the spot.

It would be interesting to know whether any bottles have fallen during professional performances of FIDDLER. Anyone know?

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 2:36pm

As amazing as the bottle dancers are, NOTHING comes close to being as amazing as that solo clarinetist that comes on stage and plays that AMAZING solo. Both times when I saw the show I paid no attention to the dancers and just watched the clarinetist's fingers move, and try to follow, it was just wow. (Major pit geek and clarinetist for clarification)

[Dollypop]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 2:40pm

I guess it really was AMAZING!

[erniesgirl96]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 7:04pm

I work at the theater and there is just a little dent in the hat to hold the bottles, and they are heavy so that helps hold them in place. Everything else is just skill and great talent.