I came to New York in an effort to reclaim a crumbling dance career. Who would have thought that at the age of 21 that would be my reality, eh? But it is. While going from a professional contract back to a school has been incredibly difficult, there are days when I feel like it is all worth it. Dancing, after all, is like breathing to me, and I will take it in whatever shape or form it is offered to me.
Today I had the most amazing opportunity to improvise with my fellow members of the BFA program at Alvin Ailey. What I saw blew me away. Our teacher gave us to prompt to choreograph/improv a piece that was a minute long, that was a story of our lives, from birth to now. The amount of creativity was astounding, but that's not what really got me.
Dancers have an incredible ability to be able to call forth the most raw emotions; its what creates such a powerful performance. What the audience doesn't know is sometimes the hardship that the dancer suffers to bring such real emotions to the stage. In our little improvisation exercise today, there wasn't a single person who didn't make me cry. It is something I will never forget.
Around the holidays, I end up thinking a lot about how grateful I am to be able to dance the way I do, and to touch so many people. Today it hit me very hard. While I may not be where I want to be yet, I am truly grateful to the dancers who I am sharing this crazy road with.
-Fly high, little birds!
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