Closing Night

Whoop whoop! What an amazing past few days this has been!!! Tonight was the closing performance of "Azishe!" with JazzArt, and it was on fire! Every night has been a different kind of performance with a certain energy and a certain audience. But every dancer knows that no two performances are ever the same, and it's in our blood to always critique ourselves when we exit the stage. You know that saying "You're only as good as your last performance" ... Tonight was that opportunity for me to leave it all the stage not to prove anything to anybody else but myself. And man I feel good.

I have really made a family here with some of the dancers. They treat me no differently than how they treat each other .... With love and respect.  I've noticed and admired the constant support between dancers. They will do anything for each other, whether it be fetch a busy girl food so she has energy to dance or to plaster a bloody boy with bandaids because he's too tired to do it himself. That kind of affection is so contagious. And in turn creates a positive environment for the dancers to take space in.

I've received a few comments from the viewers on how well they thought I fit in with the rest of the group. JazzArt is known or having a particular sense of style. Which is why hundreds of aspiring JazzArt dancers came to audition for the training programme, but only 15 were chosen. In the back of my head I know that I would have more eyes on me, being the only white cast member and only an intern. I knew that every little step I took on that stage was compared to the others. But I didn't let it scare me. I wasn't going to let the color of my skin be a reason for the audience to think differently of the piece.

Feeling humbled and on Cloud 9
 Xoxo - Maria