First of all, my apologies for being absent from the Winger for so long. In Spring 2008 I added a new element to my already busy schedule that has forced me to take some time to re-learn time management skills.

Last January I went back to school. I had some previous college work done, but none since I had moved to Austin. I always planned on going back, but I never expected it to be quite like this. Ballet Austin has teamed up with a beautiful private University here in Austin, St. Edward’s University, who with the help of many people has actually created a degree program specifically for the dancers. My degree, along with some of my co-workers turned classmates, will be in Dance and the Humanities. It is an absolutely amazing program that sometimes I still can’t believe it’s real. Essentially, each of us was given a collection of certificated credit for our dance careers (18-36 units depending on our experience…). To supplement those hours is the collection of Humanities classes in our degree program, which are being taught 6-7 units a semester at the Ballet Austin building. So now Mondays nights (and a few Saturdays…) about 15 of us stick around after work and “go” to school. Our participating group ranges from apprentices, company dancers, a couple recently retired dancers, and even our artistic director, Stephen Mills.

Here’s a group photo of our very first St. Edward’s class:

And of course there was the rest of the 2007/2008 season:

Including Cult of Color: Call to Color, a collaboration between our artistic director, Stephen Mills; musician/composer, Graham Reynolds; and visual artist Trenton Doyle Hancock. This was by far one of the most extreme productions I have ever been a part of. Trenton’s visual art and mythology is so intricate and evolved I think many of us wondered how we could possibly make a ballet out of it. Just to give you an idea, here’s one photograph from the production taken by Tony Spielberg:

Our season came to a close with Don Quixote and the opening of Austin’s new Long Center for the Performing Arts. It was a beautiful way to debut the theatre and I can’t wait to be there again for our upcoming performances in October. Don Quixote was, in a way, nostalgic for me. I performed in the Louisville Ballet’s production of Don Quixote as a trainee when these exact sets and costumes were built. But here I was, nine years later, in a different city, in a different company, and in a completely different stage in my life. It really reminded me of how quickly time goes by how many things can change in that short period. Here’s a photo of me as Cupid in Act II (photo again by Tony Spielberg). I don’t think a blonde pixie wig is particularly becoming on me, but it was such a fun role to do I would have worn anything and still had a blast.

The close of our 2007/2008 season was a very emotional one with the retirement of four of our dancers: Gina Patterson, Eric Midgley, Jim Stein, and Tony Casati. All four of these beautiful dancers truly made Ballet Austin what it is today and we have all learned so much from them. They gave their final bow with Ballet Austin with a joint toast onstage and this accompanying video montage of highlights of their career.

Now with our new season well under way and a collection of new faces (more on that later…) there is more excitement on the horizon. Tomorrow, just over half of the company travels to Washington D.C. for a two week residency with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. We will be learning Balanchine’s Episodes and performing it on their program at the Kennedy Center October 8-12. It’s crazy to me when I realize I’ll be performing a ballet in less than two weeks and I haven’t learned a single step! It will absolutely be an adventure!

I’ll be bringing my camera and laptop with me, so my hope is that in the midst of all of our rehearsals and studying for school I still have to keep up with while I am away, I’ll be able to blog about our trip.

See you in D.C.!!!