Well, I’m currently in Seattle for the moment & I thought I would try to do a quick post before we pack everything up and travel abroad! My husband & I are in the midst of boxes & our home looks like a tornado has hit it!! I’ll save you the trouble of seeing it & just post pics from my last month or so. My last weeks in July were filled with such immense pleasure that’s hard to describe in words. I was fortunate to be able to perform with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo during the run of their second program, Romeo et Juliette. Like I mentioned before, Les Nuits De La Danse was outside on the terrace of the Casino, but I didn’t realize how extreme it would feel till I was out in it myself. At first it was very noticeable (like during my warm-up back stage), but in certain scenes, it felt as though I was really in Juliette’s bedroom - truly an intimate setting, and then for the balcony pas de deux, being outside made the scene all the more genuine! I guess as dancers we are in control of what we feel in the space… Here is a picture of BMC dancers warming up for the first program on the terrace.

The very next day after this dress rehearsal pictured above, the company sat in front of the television at the studio and reviewed notes & spacing, pointing out things that could be tweeked or fixed. This is something that was new to me, but I enjoyed watching the collective processing & the visual that they had in front of them. I didn’t want to disrupt rehearsals by using the flash on my camera, so I turned it off, which in turn made for a blurry picture! - Sorry!

Jean-Christophe’s Romeo et Juliette holds a very special place in my heart, so to revisit it was a dream. The rawness of this special version of the story comes through with it’s intentions while you’re watching, but dancing it, is also like living it (and the choreography provides for this). I had many thought-provoking rehearsals yet again since the first time it was set at PNB, but this time I was on BMC soil, and it felt like a new experience for me altogether. I can’t wait to revisit it again! Here are some images that photographer, Angela Sterling captured in rehearsals. These photographs are copyrighted.

One of my favorites…

And the final bows after the 200th show of Romeo et Juliette - This was a very special night to be in the audience.

Like all good things, the BMC season ended, but with it were inspiring & thoughtful performances of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Altro Canto I & II. I hadn’t seen either piece, but was in awe of his completed masterpiece. Many said he would most likely continue to re-work, or modify Altro Canto II, but I was so happy to see the process from beginning to end, of what was to what is now. I can’t wait to gain more exposure to these works!

After the season ended I was whisked back to America to enjoy some down time with family & start rehearsals for Giselle for Ballet Hawaii. I was able to rehearse peasant pas de deux at my old stomping ground, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. My partner for peasant pas was Jonathan Stafford, Principal dancer with NYCB. Jon & I hadn’t danced together in over ten years, so it was really wonderful to be able to work together again. Jon’s partnering was much like before - easy and comfortable, and I felt at ease and very taken care of. It felt like home Hopefully it won’t take another ten years for us to dance together again!!

Here is a group picture of the cast from my Ballet Hawaii gig. Among the cast were Emily Ellis, Savannah Lowery, Tiler Peck, Jonathan Stafford, John Selya and Joaquin de Luz. It’s always a blast to meet other dancers on common ground & this group was a fun one. I only wish our time together would have been a little longer.

So now I have 3 more days here in Seattle, and I am making the most of it by taking class with my old colleagues, visiting with friends, going to our favorite restaurants, and then attending farewell dinners & parties this final weekend. As we pack up our belongings I remember the past & look to the future. More soon - xoxo!