We tried on our costumes for the first time after rehearsal on Tuesday. Duct tape will be needed at the back of mine while I'm flouncing around otherwise our show will instantly go from ballet to burlesque.
One never fully appreciates the cool, crisp alpine air of Queenstown until one wears not much other than skimpy material which looks like it was ripped from a curtain rail.
Our special guest star rehearsed with us on Tuesday, but the appearance is best kept a secret for now.
Sections of the sequence are locked and loaded into our memory banks and we bolt the sections together towards the end, which works pretty well.
Some parts are straightforward, such as when we're merrily bouncing around like newborn lambs, or waltzing "freestyle". But others are as mentally challenging as patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time while moving en masse to cues in the music.
Tricky steps include jumping awkwardly to the right then left then middle and repeat, to the dim sound of a triangle, with our feet in the usual ballet position while holding on to our flowers for dear life.
However, suddenly dropping to the floor on one knee like an anvil could be considered dangerous to our health. None of us mend quite as quickly as we used to, but we suffer for our art.
There is always some trepidation when Queenstown School of Dance co-founder Anna Stuart throws in a new section to learn and one of the latest involved manhandling the nearest dancer. Rowan McDonald is the lucky chap who gets to be hoisted in midair by Craig Ferguson and me and hopefully not dropped on the front row of the audience.
Anna has the patience of a saint and has only buried her face in her hands once.
"What happened to my quiet little fairies," she asked when we waltzed towards her like a herd of crazed elephants.
Nevertheless, morale is high and we're remembering our moves fairly well, despite the odd lapse in synchronisation.
But the pressure is growing as we near the big day. How will we cope without Anna as our safety net?
After all, we wouldn't want to look like amateurs ...
2011 Christmas Spectacular
See the boys in all their glory and enjoy the whole show when the 2011 Shotover Jet Christmas Spectacular is staged in the Queenstown Events Centre on Sunday, December 11. Doors open at 3.30pm and the show starts at 4pm sharp and finishes about 5.30pm.
Tickets are $15 per adult, $5 for children aged 3 to 14 and free for infants.
