The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2019 July issue Villager Newspaper | Page 6

6 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER
July 2019
Charbonneau women bust out the moves
Niners begin practice for
annual show in September
By CLARA HOWELL
T
he Niners who participate in
the annual show that’s filled
with skits and dance num-
bers are nothing short of
sassy and bold. From dancing the can-
can to performing in skits and dances
that centered around life in the ‘70s,
the Academy Awards or a cruise ship
that celebrated different stages of a
woman’s life, the show leaves the au-
dience keeling over in laughter or in
awe at what these ladies — some in
their ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80’s or even ‘90s — can
do.
And the Niners have already started
gearing up for their four September
shows. They’ll perform for the communi-
ty 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Char-
bonneau Country Club. This year’s
theme is Disney, and ladies have already
started practicing small group skits and
dances to songs including “The Siamese
Cat Song,” “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” and
“Hakuna Matata” from the Lion King.
The Niners will also perform a group
finale to the “Mickey Mouse March.”
“Anybody that’s involved in it has to
make a huge commitment to it. That’s all
laid out to them ahead of time so they
don’t come into it thinking, ‘What did I
get myself into?’” said Joanna Sawyer,
the show’s choreographer. “You have to
really do a good show and the audience
really screams and yells.”
For about 19 years, the Niners have
taken to the stage in elaborate costumes
and witty outfits, but in 2004, Sawyer
became involved as the choreographer,
occasionally taking charge of the
entire show.
In 2004, Sawyer was playing golf with
Helen Heestand, who was in charge of
the annual show and Heestand wanted
someone to choreograph and teach the
cancan. Sawyer had recently retired and
with her background in dance — she
was a dance coach at Hillsboro High
School for 10 years and had taken tap,
jazz and ballet her entire life — she
COURTESY PHOTOS
The Niners performed a dance to “All That Jazz” in the 2013 show
Roaring Through The ‘20s.
agreed to become involved.
Most of the dances that are performed
are jazz dances (the kind you see in cab-
arets or on Broadway).
“That’s the hardest part for them, is to
learn a dance that’s three or three and a
half minutes long and to know what
comes first, second, third, fourth,” Saw-
yer said. “It makes your mind work,
that’s for sure.”
Each year the shows are quite unique.
In 2005, the show was Queen for a
Day, based off the old American TV
show where the women revealed their
problems and the girl with the worst
problem received a prize. During that
show, three members of the Niners had
golf issues: one broke windows and
couldn’t receive insurance, another
woman kept winding her club around
trees and another was simply a “pitiful
putter,” Sawyer said. The group dance
for this show was “Diamonds are a Girl’s
Best Friend.”
Four years later, the show was Mama
Mia, Charbonneau style. Similar to the
movie, it followed the journey of the
daughter who didn’t know who her fa-
ther was. In the Niner’s version, the
mother had gotten together with three
pro golfers who had given her lessons.
The finale dance was to the song
“Dancing Queen.”
In 2015, the show was Calendar Girl
and each skit related to each month of
In 2004, the Niners danced the cancan, along with a western routine.
In the 2017 show Singin’ and Swingin’, all the songs were about golf and the women danced with
putters.
the year. The dance, which represented
December, was “Rockin’ Around The
Christmas Tree.”
The Niners pay for all of the costumes
and the behind-the-scenes work, includ-
ing setting up the stage, lighting and
draping, but ever since they started
charging $5 for the community show, it
has helped offset expenses.
“It costs us quite a bit of money so
that’s a way to help us with our costs,”
Sawyer said, adding that some of the
husbands of the dancers will participate
and help out. “They do the lighting and
we have two gals right now that do the
music for us. We have somebody that ac-
tually puts the CDs together. It’s all pro-
fessionally done.”
This year, with red pom-poms, Mickey
Mouse shirts and mouse ears, the ladies
performing in the show range from 72 to
81 years old.
“It keeps them young,” Sawyer said.
“I think half of the husbands would nev-
er believe what we did.”
Joyce Bowden, one of the Niners, said
it’s rewarding to get to spend time with
her fellow golfers.
“The best thing about it is the bonding
in the back room. We get to know each
other deeper and better,” Bowden said.
“We don’t have curtains,” added
Niners member Mary Fieweger, with a
laugh.