The truth behind FB dance-shoot photos

I would like to tell you about my latest dance shooting in Cairo. And what is really happening on location, behind the pretty full-make up and dress-up photos that I publish on my Facebook page. It is an exciting and prestigious job to have in Egypt, but it comes with a price.

So my last work was shooting a TV-commercial for Oxi Arabia. They are a local dishwashing liquid and washing powder producing company. So I had a feeling I will me dolled up to look like the perfect housewife. I was right.

GETTING PIMPED UP
A typical media production shoot lasts for 12 hours. When I first get on the set I have to wait, because staff is setting up the location, stylists and hair/make-up crew is preparing their stalls for the make-overs to start. I spent about 30 min getting my hair blow-dried and straightened and about 45 min getting my make-up done. Since I have worked in Egypt for almost 6 years now I have become to know many of the people in the field, so it's like having yourself pimped up by your old friends.


Then the stylist comes in. Usually I have done a costume fitting before hand, but this time I didn't and they gave me my outfit hoping I would fit into it. I was lucky. Every skirt, shirt and shoes, hair bands and earrings are counted for, noone can slip anything into their bag. Although over the years I've seen girls try. We change clothes is small cute hippie caravan buses.

LOCATION
On this particular shoot we had a very exciting location - a high-end grocery store in a Cairo Tagammoa area. The shop closed it's doors at 10 PM, immediately the production crew flooded the supermarket aisles, filling shelves with Oxi products, taping everything with pink tape and hiding competitor's products from the camera eye. It was pretty awkward dancing in the middle of customer-free grocery store. Being surrounded by food for 12 hours was pretty hard, we became hungry fast :)

THE CHALLENGE
Now the real challenge in these shoots is not dancing nor acting. The challenge is to stay awake, stay alert and looking fresh. This is what we call professional in this field of dance work in Cairo. Imagine leaving your home at 6 PM, to take a crew bus at 7 PM, to arrive on location at 8 PM and to get yourself looking pretty by 10 PM, only to start the shooting at 11 PM, and THEN stay up for the next 12 hours looking fabulous and trying to sell the product, fresh and happy in every single camera shot. It takes a hell of a lot stamina and experience. My whole body is screaming for sleep, but I keep on dancing through the cold hours of the night in a supermarket. The last few hours are excruciating and we keep on looking at the clock, the sun has risen and we can see people on streets rushing to their works. Our work day is still not finished. Then the golden words from the mouth of the director "It's a wrap everyone", the whole production team is applauding, the client is smiling and the dancers, well, are dead!

The day that follows is usually filled with sweet dreams, literally!
Stay tuned for the final TV-ad!