Pamela Semken Solo

Photo taken by Pamela Semken

Wednesday, March 24^th, 3:45pm, The Tin Table. I arrive and set up the back room of the restaurant by pushing two tables out of the way to make some space to dance in, and setting a place at a long table for
Pamela to watch. I put on her plate my digital camera and a card for her colored in reds and yellows, with instructions for the rest of the solo.

4:11pm, I order two of Pamela’s favorite drink- Tanqueray 10 and tonic with lemons and limes (sorry

Pamela, they had to use Sapphire!) I drink half of mine before she even arrives, out of nerves and anticipation.

4:15pm, I meet Pamela and her entourage at the front podium of the restaurant, and she gives me a hug- I immediately feel less worried as I see that she is instantly warm towards me. I lead her to the room I have set up, sit her down at the table, and have her read the card, which says:

“Pamela,

Here is my digital camera for you to “capture the experience, and savor the memory” of this performance.  Enjoy the drink!

Cheers,

Kelly” 

I turn on the song “Hollywood Perfume,” by The Pretenders- one of my favorite rock-out, sense of abandon songs. Pamela and I clink gin and tonics, and I say, “to being alive.” I put down the drink, and dance an all-out abandonment solo, placing loosing and enjoying myself at the top of the priority list. Four minutes later, the song ends. Sweaty and breathless, I pick up my drink again, and toast Pamela once more, this time, “to living that bar dream.” Then we sit and finish our drinks, talk about the Glimmer project and its components, and share our experiences of the journey leading up to the solo.

From our correspondence, I had learned that one night, while drinking the very drink she now had in her hand, Pamela observed how happy her fellow bar-mates were as they unwound from long days, laughed with friends, etc., and she thought, “this is good.” She said this “inspired [her] to break out of [her] dolldrum life and open a bar/restaurant- how much fun to share your working day with people breaking out of their monotony…” As I got to know more about Pamela, the thing that kept coming up was this spark about living, of having a good time, of sharing wildness with people you love. Coupled with this, I got the sense that she was a badass, and a bit of a rocker at heart. I wanted her solo to have that sense of abandon and enjoyment that comes when you are euphorically drunk, and let go of everything to which you normally cling tight.

My pants totally ripped half way through- a HUGE RIP exposing the entire right side of my bottom. It felt completely appropriate.