What it's like to be part of the Fright Fest dance crew

By: Janese Watson

What is it like to be a part of the Six Flags Fright Fest dance crew? You’d think it would be a blast because you’re doing something you love while getting paid at the same time. Well, you’d be right: working at Fright Fest is very fun. There is never a dull moment and the other casts there are amazing to work with. Fright Fest is a great thing, but it can get frustrating and difficult sometimes.

Fright Fest dance crew is fierce. What I do is scare the audience, while showing them the movement of dancing. Being a dancer at Fright Fest is very impressive and we want people to realize that as much as possible. It is only for two months, but it feels like two years. We start practices in September, every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Friday is as soon as school is let out until ten p.m. Saturday is really from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., but since I have dance from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, I go to work as soon as I can. Sundays are the longest; we practice from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Yes, on a school night. It’s hard to fit all of this in a schedule, especially if you are already a busy person. It is expected of you to drop everything you did before and make Fright Fest the new priority, because it is your job and your responsibility.

September practices are very hard. It is non stop dancing with a one hour break to scarf down food. We have a couple of drink breaks, but not many. It is important to make our fifteen minute dance look perfect. There are times that it would look a mess, but we just kept trying to make the choreographer, Kelly Stevens, happy. Kelly makes up our dances every year and spends her time cleaning them up with us. “This is a group that I never have a problem with cleaning, meaning making the dance perfect,” says Kelly.  She is very dedicated to what she does and always strives to make us better. After September ends, we start preparing ourselves for October, which is the month we actually start performing and Fright Fest opens for the public.

October is a very hectic month in the life of a Fright Fest employee. You get so little time to prepare for something so big. We perform all night Friday and all day and night Saturday and Sunday. We get an hour to put in fake contacts, cake on makeup, glue on fake eyelashes, get dressed, and stretch for the big show. Things are hectic, but eventually we are ready. After performances, we usually can’t breathe, but go straight to our boss to tell us how we did. Her response is usually very positive. When shows aren’t going on we walk around and scare people or relax until the next show. October is a very busy month, but there is more down time than September. Working at Fright Fest is something really cool and if you are capable of dancing, I would suggest auditioning. Fright Fest demands your time, patience and hard work, but, then again, what job doesn’t? It’s a lot to take in, but I love what I do, and wouldn’t do it if I didn’t.