Dust off your leotards, pull on your sweatbands, channel your inner Olivia Newton John and get ready to get sweaty!
Sam About Town hit the gym to the tune of Zanadu and had a bit of a workout with aerobics junkies, Cheryl and Chardee.
SAT: After a sell-out season at the 2018 Adelaide Fringe Festival, you are back with your show Get Sweatier with Cheryl and Chardee. Please tell us more about the show.
C&C: Get Sweatier with Cheryl and Chardee is a 50-minute ride through the best bits of 80s Aerobics – the moves, the fashion, the men and the music. We’re very into all aspects of the 80s (despite not being born until the early 90’s) and we want to share our love – and our unique workout style with the world – or at least Adelaide Fringe!
SAT: Cheryl and Chardee are two self-proclaimed ‘semi-professional aerobic dance instructors’. Sounds serious. Where did you do all this training and how did you become so professional.
C&C: Without giving too much of our impressive origin story away (you’ll have to come to the show to share the full experience) there’s some professional training mixed in with skills learned from our idols on Aerobics Oz Style and the best dancers that 80s film clips produced – think Kate Bush and Olivia Newton John.
SAT: Born in the 90s, an 80s trend is un unusual choice. Are you particularly drawn to thigh chafing, camel toes and sweat patches?
C&C: All of that and so much more is what has inspired us to be the sweatspiration that we think the world needs. Really it boils down to the fact that it’s hard to not have fun when you’re wearing legwarmers and a high cut leotard. We just love how amazing bodies are and embracing the parts people may see as unflattering is just as important to us.
SAT: How did you come up with the idea for the show?
C&C: While the other kids were waking up early to tune in to CheezTV, we were waking up even earlier just to watch Aerobics Oz Style – it was all those years ago that the seed was planted. Once the aerobic bug has bitten you it’s hard to go back.
SAT: Who is this show ideal for?
C&C: Anyone who remembers donning a leotard and mounting an aerobics step, either in public or in the privacy of their homes. It’s also great for kids from our era who recall their mums and dads sweating it out in front of the TV or calling up Danoz Direct to order their very own AbSwing.
SAT: What did you learn from your Adelaide Fringe run last year and have you changed the show and integrated learning experiences and new ideas into this year’s show?
C&C: We learned that the people of Adelaide love to work up a bit of a sweat and certainly aren’t afraid of coming up with their own moves! Since last year we’ve also performed the show at Melbourne Fringe and picked up a few new moves – and had a full year to watch even more exercise videos. Audiences can expect a bit more work-out inspo and more jiggle and giggles.
SAT: Last year The Advertiser review quoted that you have “great chemistry and bundles of energy.” You must bounce off each other (literally as well as figuratively). How do you keep up the pace?
C&C: We’re both super different but luckily these opposites attract! We like to get into the mood by listening to some snazzy tunes before we kick off a show and also believe that carb loading is very very important (please take us out for Pasta, people of Adelaide!)
SAT: Could you share some insights into how you go about the writing process? Do you crack each other up?
C&C: If it makes us laugh and it’s got a bit of sass, it goes in the script. We’re super conscious of including body positive messages so that’s also in the back of our minds as we’re putting together our shows.
SAT: Your alter egos, Alicia Norton and Mikayla Lynch are recipients of the 2019 Tessa Waters Mentorship Program. Could you tell us about this?
C&C: Tessa Waters is an absolute icon in the Fringe scene. She’s been touring for years and always puts on an awesome show. Alicia and Mikayla are thrilled to be working with her – and Cheryl and Chardee, well we’re just as excited too! Who knows where it could take us but Alicia and Mikayla have told us they’re dreaming big – so we’ll just do as we’re told!
SAT: Are there any Fringe shows that have caught your eye that you’re hoping to see?
C&C: There’s lots of
groovy shows that we’re bursting to see – we’re performing at The National Wine
Centre and pretty much all of the shows on their line up are on our must-see
list for us.
SAT: What is in store for Cheryl and Chardee for the rest of the year?
C&C:There’s some excitement on the horizon, watch out Melbourne because we’ll be hitting up your Comedy Festival with shows at The Imperial…and who knows what’s next…maybe a cheeky overseas trip to the world’s biggest Fringe Festival…that could be fun!
Where to find Get Sweatier with Cheryl and Chardee:
February 15th and 16th The British Hotel Port Adelaide at 7pm
February 17th and 24th Ferguson Room at The National Wine Centre at 4:30pm February 23rd, The Keg Room at Hotel Victor at 7:30pm
March 1st, HAT’s Courthouse Cultural Centre Auburn at 7:30pm
TO BOOK TICKETS: https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/get-sweatier-with-cheryl-and-chardee-af2019
Follow Cheryl and Chardee on social media:
https://www.facebook.com/CherylandChardee/
https://www.instagram.com/cherylandchardee/
