How to Ace Your Dance Call By Whispering "Clean Double" Into the Mirror For an Hour

We’ve all heard that affirmations can have a positive effect on your mental health and outlook in life. But what if they could do more? For Rachel Quincy, a non-union actor, singer and mover, affirmations have helped her do the impossible: a clean double at the end of a dance call.

“At first, I was skeptical about affirmations,” she shared via email, “but when I got a dance callback for Beauty and the Beast, I knew I had to try something drastic.” With no time to attend a remedial dance class, or even do a couple crunches, Rachel took action. “While I was putting on my makeup in the bathroom mirror, I felt a strong impulse from deep within me. ‘Clean Double’ the voice whispered over and over. Before long, the voice inside me became my own voice--I was saying ‘clean double, CLEAN DOUBLE’ out loud to my reflection in the mirror. My roommate knocked on the door because she was worried that I was having some sort of episode. But I assured her that I was fine.”

After an hour of relentless chanting, Quincy left for her audition, jazz sneakers in tow. Although the room was filled with gorgeous, leggy chorus-girl types when she arrived, Quincy felt relaxed, confident and only a little insane. “Normally, a dance call is the last place I would want to end up,” said Quincy, “But, thanks to my affirmations, I knew I had a secret weapon in the back of my jazz pants”

Her confidence reportedly paid off. Although much of the footwork was beyond her limited skills as a mover, Quincy finished strong with a double pirouette. “At first, I thought she had some real crazy eyes” confessed choreographer Chet Mikelson, “but damnit if she didn’t land the cleanest double I have ever seen.”

At presstime, Quincy was still waiting to hear back from Overlake Dinner Theater, but the experience has left her with new, unearned confidence: “If I can squeak by at a dance call with zero preparation, there’s nothing I can’t do! Broadway, here I come!”