So while the Commonwealth Games were going on in Glasgow one of our staff members was busy rehearsing as part of the cast performers in the closing ceremony. Julie Wilson, who is based in the North East Glasgow was selected to perform as part of a volunteer cast of over 1,000 people. So when she wasn’t out with her Carmyle Green Gym group or doing outdoor play sessions with the children in Cranhill, she was taking part in top secret rehearsals at Bellahouston Academy, making sure she knew her shimmy from the slosh. Here is what she had to say about the experience:
It’s been a really great experience, and indeed probably a once in a life time sort of thing. We started rehearsing at the start of July, where we were gradually introduced to the show and all the choreography that we had to learn. It was certainly a gentle introduction, teaching us the simpler routines first, which was great as the majority of the cast including myself weren’t dancers, but it was reassuring to see that we could master what they were teaching us. Over the next few weeks we had a few rehearsals but it wasn’t until the 25th July that the ‘real’ rehearsals started. It was an action packed 10 days with rehearsals everyday. It was only then that the enormity of the show became apparent. Before we were rehearsing in groups of 400ish people, but before we knew if there was over 1000 people all gathered in the playing field, trying to do things in time with each other. The first week was great, with the sunshine, pleasant evenings, and everyone’s main concerns where dehydration and sunburn. We weren’t so lucky the following week, the torrential downpours meant we more worried about running out of ponchos to keep us dry! 
Regardless of what the weather was doing, the cast where there, learning together and each day being surprised about the things we accomplished. No doubt we looked rather strange to the neighbours that looked onto the playing field where we practiced, but I’m sure they enjoyed their sneak peak of the show. After our dress rehearsals, everyone was just waiting for the big day. It was quite daunting going into Hampden as it was unfamiliar to us, and we didn’t have a chance to rehearse in the venue as the team were working round the clock to transform it from an athletics venue into the festival site. Thankfully we had a dry evening for the closing ceremony, this is nothing short of a miracle given the terrible weather during the afternoon so no ponchos were required – hoorah! It was great to see everything come together and the end product of all our hard work. Everyone made it through, I remembered most of my steps, and for two hours we didn’t stop dancing or smiling. 
Some of my highlights included some pre show banter with Dougie MacLean, meeting lots of athletes from all over the Commonwealth and I even got to hold a silver medal, thanks for team Northern Ireland for that! Overall it has been a great experience, lots of work, but worth it to have played a small part in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
