Well, that’s all folks!
Four magical years of performing in Columbia with USC Dance.
Approximately 1 week ago the curtain fell on my last performance at the University of South Carolina, and it is incredibly bittersweet.
Over the past four years I’ve been so privileged to perform in 4 Fall Shows, 4 Student Showcases, 3 Contemporary Concerts, and 4 Ballet Stars of New York. Not to mention attending ACDA as well as choreographing on my fellow majors.
To say that USC Dance has been good to me would be an understatement. I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the amazing teachers, mentors, and guest artists that have taken the time to get to know me, and taken a chance on me. Experience is everything in this world, and I have been fortunate enough to have been challenged so often. I also need to thank all of the incredible dancers and performers that have been brought into my life because of this program. You are such special people, and I’m so unendingly grateful that you’ve become my people. Thank you so much for completely going against the stereotype that all dancers are cut-throat competitive, and instead have shown me more love and support than I could have ever imagined. You’ve picked me up when I’m down (literally), and kicked me in the butt when I needed it.
For me, an incredibly complex situation comes down to one simple thing, I truly and utterly love to dance. Being in front of an audience gives me the kind of energy people go skydiving for. For someone that has been so shy for most of her life, it doesn’t make any sense, but performing makes me feel like a bigger person than I am (no short joke intended). They say players live for the game, and I can confirm that this dancer lives to perform.
Graduation is just a few short weeks away. And with it another big life change. I don’t know exactly what the future holds. And of course, I find that terrifying. It may be hard right now for people to find jobs in any professional area, but it feels twice as hard to find a job as a professional dancer. Yes, I’ve been auditioning, and no I have no concrete plans yet. Truly all I want to do is dance, and its hard to think that it might take time before I know where I will be doing that. But that just means I’ll have to keep trying. There has to be something out there for me, I just need to find it.
