September ushered in a whirlwind month for me and what a month it’s been!
I’m still shaking the star dust out of my hair and enjoying the afterglow of what was for me, the perfect culminating 10th Anniversary residency for DANCEworks. It celebrated DANCEWork’s decade of devotion to adding to the creation of new modern/contemporary dance in the USA.

The smiles and good will generated by all the performances were powerful. It felt like a perfect antidote to the recent display of nastiness in our culture, that we’ve all become too familiar with. Ah, the power of art to bring people together. I experienced an elusive mystical moment of oneness, when the power of dance displayed the human condition so well, that audience and performers merged together in spirit.

I realized in the process that a large part of the thrill of it all is about being able to share my passion for dance with others. I think that’s what moves he choreographers as well. While sitting in the audience, I feel very much in tune with them, yet somewhat apart. There’s an energy released at the conclusion of each performance,if the audience has been moved by what they’ve experienced, that is elevating. No other way to describe it. Fucking thrilling. The joy on the faces of the dancers at the conclusion of a satisfying performance is no less elevating. ” We’re in this together,” their smiles say to me. ” So thrilled you got it.”

You never can be sure during the planning stage of a big event that you’re getting the details right and that your instincts are correct.There are no guarantees in this world. I guess that’s part of the excitement. Unlike turning on the tv to watch something pre-recorded, you know you’re in an amphitheatre where anything can happen. There are no second takes or opportunities to do over. That is part of the excitement and what gives a successful live performance an added kick.

As the choreographers began to arrive on performance week, I felt an enormous sense of gratitude for their commitment to travel hundreds and often thousands of miles to join our celebration. I said on stage that if I’d died then and there I would have died happy.

That was not an understatement, but it might have ruined the party.

 

 

• photos by David Bazemore