Full Circle

I had the chance to see my roommate perform tonight in a series called "New Dances" that is held yearly by all Julliard dance students. I love that my life is so full of individuals that allow me the opportunity to access such different worlds. I don't know much about Julliard or it's programs besides the fact that it has to do with the arts and my first yoga teacher studied there for undergrad. So tonight I felt honored to be able to see this performance, really. How special to see my friend perform and do what she does best.

I get the program and proceed to read the inside front cover where it explains that Julliard only accepts 24 new students for each class (I later on asked my roommate how many students audition to enter and she said nearly 600!). Incredible. That means you spend four years in class, in rehearsal, eating, sleeping, creating with the same group. It is like family. That is a powerful thing. So every year around this time they put on a show where each class puts on a performance that is choreographed by a professional choreographer or an alumni. The piece is made to suit the dancers,  an original piece that is debuted for these performances. Each class performs as an entire group. Everyone must be included.

As I watched the freshman, then the sophomores, then the juniors, I noticed an evolution. An evolution in bodies, an evolution in tone, and evolution in teamwork. It is fascinating to see, though of course every year is completely different. I imagined myself at those times of my life and all the changes that I went through, just as they are going through. Then it was the seniors, more refined,  a striking  presence, and a collective energy that was undeniable. A unit, a team, a family. I got emotional during the performance, which was set to a series of Rufus Wainwright songs, specifically during the last number "Leaving for Paris". I'm not sure what it was, the fact that I knew it was one of my roommate's last performances and I compared it to similar moments in my life, whether it brought me back to times I was traveling in Paris, Europe and all over, or to leaving behind old lives for new beginnings and the melancholy and nostalgia that come along with it, or all of it, everything, and my tiredness to top it off. It's beautiful how dance, like other art forms, transports you to places through song and movement, to emotions and memories and evokes a response. It's powerful, it's raw, it's why we're here.

At the end of the senior performance, the juniors came out all dressed up and took another bow, then filed behind the seniors in a row. Then the sophomores did the same, and finally the freshman, each class, one behind the other. 90 Julliard dance students all on the same stage. Four years. Four classes. Full circle. I loved being able to see that. Even though I did not experience it myself in that same way, I have been there. I know the power of these moments, of this history, of togetherness and legacy. I took a picture as my roommate stepped forward, as all the seniors did, to take one of her last bows as a dancer at Julliard. It felt right. It felt important. It IS important, or rather was. It flew by, in an instant and was gone. I captured it for her and she was so happy about it. I know that I too would have loved and have loved when these moments are captured. Our lives are truly precious and each moment is a gift. Remember. Remember.

#everymomentmatters #thisisit #choosewell #livethelifetoulove #betrue #magiceverywhere #itsallhappening #fullcircle #followtheyellowbrickroad

P.S. Foto to Come!