just a slide to the left

Connecticut-born choreographer in Cambridge. Twenty nine.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

aramisbeauchamp‌:

“Mostly wool, but a few other bits and bobs,” he said with a chuckle. “You never realize how much wool goes in a project until after you’re halfway through.” He gave a shame of his head. “I think the craft store might be my version of Target. You go in for one thing and leave with way too much.”

Matthew thought for a moment. “Are you a knitter, then?” he asked. He’d always meant to learn some craft or another, but dancing took up all of his time, especially in high school when he was competing. “Oh, yeah, Target gets me every time,” he replied, “especially around the holidays.”

[aramisbeauchamp]

Aramis had found a spot backstage to eat the lunch he had brought from home. “Would you believe it if I said I accidentally dropped a couple hundred bucks at the craft store last night?” He asked the other person in the room with a sheepish grin when he was in between bites. “I always forget how quickly things add up.”

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew nodded over his bowl of turkey soup from his sister. “I believe it,” he said. “My mom was a big crafter before the arthritis did her hands in.” Sheila Bowden was a real talent, and Matthew smiled to think of her. “So what’d you get?” he asked.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

noramaclean‌:

“Yeah, it does, but I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Nora tried to reassure the choreographer that the last show’s mistake wasn’t going to become a habit. “Really, you think?” She was honestly surprised, as she’d never felt truly comfortable when performing the role of the fifth queen. But maybe she wasn’t giving herself enough credit (or Matthew was lying to her to make her feel better, which was also a possibility). “Thanks Matthew,” and she smiled up at him, “It’s going to take a lot more than confetti to take me out.”

Matthew nodded. “I do think,” he said. “You clearly have a lot of fun with it, too, which is what the audience is really looking for, especially to counterbalance the atrocities going on in the lyrics.” Nora’s Seymour could stand to be stronger, if you asked him, but that wasn’t Matthew’s department, as that performance was more dependent on the vocals than a mix of vocals and choreography, so he didn’t mention it. “You’re a great performer,” he said. “I can’t imagine one slip would do you in.”

[carmricollo]

“Hey, Matthew,” Carmen walked up to the choreographer, “can we talk for a minute?” 

@matthewbowden​

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew was packing to leave, and he shrugged when the director came up to him. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “Always happy to talk to you, Carmen. This about the Megasix? Because I really think Nora’s got it down.” He could tell from the look on Carmen’s face, though, that it wasn’t about the Megasix.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew had finally finished the book his sister had insisted he read, and just in time for her visit on Sunday, but now he was bored, since it had been all that occupied his breaks in the past two weeks. That’s how he found himself impulsively practicing his part to the four-hand ceili he hadn’t danced since his freshman year of college. He thought he was alone, and stopped when he realized someone else was in the hallway. “Well, hi,” he said with a smile.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

gillian-cee‌:

Gillian stepped back from the machine, wringing her hands, “Go for it, but it’s one of the ones that lets the stuffies slip through. Totally not fair, right?” A morning off of the show was slowly seeming more and more stressful as she lost every arcade game imaginable.

Matthew grinned and maneuvered the claw to pick up the stuffed fox that Gillian wanted. He was smirking as he moved the claw over to the drop point, but the animal slipped out of his grasp just before he went to release the mechanism. “Shit!” he cried, slapping the machine. He laughed, and turned to the woman beside him. “You’re right. Totally unfair.”

[matthewbowden-blog1]

noramaclean‌:

Oh yikes, Nora hadn’t known that Matthew had seen her performance (and subsequently, her failure). So she tried to justify her mistake to the choreographer. “I knew the choreo and I knew where I was going, i just— guess the confetti was really out to get me this time. Some extra practice definitely couldn’t hurt though. Could we also maybe brush up on AYWD? I haven’t gone on for Howard in a while and I’m probably a little rusty.” Next time she was on, Nora was determined not to mess up like she had at that night’s show. “It’s fine; nothing’s hurt, except maybe my dignity,” she concluded with a laugh. 

Matthew shrugged. He wasn’t pleased that one of his actresses had fallen, but he tried to make light of it so Nora would feel better. “It happens,” he said. “And we can go over All You Wanna Do if you’d like, although last I saw of that, you’ve got it down pat. Your Howard’s probably your strongest performance.” He wasn’t sure if he should have said that, since he knew each alternate had their favorites, and he wasn’t sure if it would make Nora more insecure on one of her others, but it was the truth and he’d stick by it. He clapped her lightly on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

[hldo-deactivated20200326]

“I can’t believe I fell during the megasix — it’s so embarrassing. Now it’s going to be on YouTube for everyone to see.” Nora frowned as she began to take the pins out of her hair, pulling out stray pieces of confetti as she went. Maybe she was being a little dramatic, but it had hurt when she’d slipped on the confetti. 

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew hadn’t even meant to show up to that night’s performance, but his date had gotten canceled, so he went. After seeing Nora slip, he headed backstage and knocked on the dressing room door, waiting for permission before entering and hearing the alternate complain. “We can focus on the Megasix during the next alternates rehearsal,” he suggested. “How’s your ankle?” He hadn’t been sure if she’d rolled it or not, but dancing in those shoes had its risks, so he might as well ask.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

drum-throne‌:

June admonished herself a little. Since when was she afraid of bugs? Mercury was really messing with her head, making her feel all wonky, “Don’t tease, it’s a real thing. Haven’t you noticed the days are getting sluggy?” The drummer held a finger up to stop further questioning, “What’s your sign?” 

Matthew held up his hands apologetically, and smirked at her before sitting down next to her. “Scorpio,” he answered, leaning toward her in mock fascination. “So what does that mean for my future?” He might not believe in that astro mumbo jumbo, but he’d play along for the pretty drummer.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

lite-bright‌:

Aw frick. Frick, he shouldn’t have interrupted. Gabe’s hand came up to smack his forehead, “Uh, sorry, nevermind. It’s no biggie. I don’t want you to worry,” Well… maybe some worrying was in order? “There’s a bird in the rafters.” Oh god, he shouldn’t have bothered someone with this. He should’ve just driven the thing out with a broom. 

“Oh, thank God,” he said, relieved to have an excuse to stop reading for the day. Realizing how strange that sounded, he added, “This book is dull as shit.” Matthew stood up and tossed the book back onto the chair he’d vacated. “Let’s go hunt us some dinner,” he joked.

[drum-throne]

“Ew, get that away from me,” June reeled back her hand from her fellow castmate - realizing a little too late that her response could’ve come off as rude, “I mean, uh, it’s not that bad. I just- Well, uh… Sorry, it’s been a long day, mercury retrograde is totally getting to me.”

[matthewbowden-blog1]

“Mercury in retrograde, huh?” Matthew asked with a laugh. He’d gotten too close to the girl while trying to dispose of a bug in a tissue. “Sorry to hear that.” He moved around her and threw it away.

[alexmayberrys]

“Hey!” Alex bounced up to the person- hopefully not interrupting whatever they had been working on. “Would you be up for doing a takeover on the Instagram sometime soon?” Takeovers always increased activity on the account- fans loved getting to see behind the scenes and the daily antics behind their favourite show- and they loved seeing how much work went into putting on the show every night.

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew looked at the young speaker for a minute, considering. He wasn’t sure what he’d even really do. “I could demonstrate some dance moves in a story or something,” he suggested, “but I don’t know about a full takeover.”

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew looked up from the book he was reading and turned toward the voice that had interrupted his paragraph. At this rate he was never going to finish it before his sister came to visit. He’d always been a slow reader. He was happy for the distraction though, so he smiled. “Did you say something?” he asked.

[always-endeavr-deactivated20200]

“I refuse to spend more than 5 dollars on a stupid claw machine…” Gillian tried to hold her resolve, but in her defense, the bright lights and beating sounds of the arcade around her sure were convincing. She turned back to the machine with a look of dread, “But damn. I want that stuffed fox. Look at it’s button nose!”

@matthewbowden​

[matthewbowden-blog1]

Matthew smiled and leaned against the frame of the next closest arcade game. “There’s a trick to them,” he said. He hadn’t tried his hand at a claw machine in years, but he used to be pretty decent at it. “Want me to give it a go?”