Rain and Reflection

It’s been quite a rainy few days here in New York…perfect time for reflection and blogging!

Over the past few weeks, I have been in rehearsal nearly every day!  Under the direction of fellow Princetonian Pilar Castro Kiltz ’10, I performed with Ensemble Dance in Wayside, a 25-minute dance-theater piece inspired by the poetry of Princeton professor Paul Muldoon (a shorter, earlier version of this piece premiered at the CoolNY Festival this winter, which I blogged about in February). Last week, the newly developed iteration of this piece was showcased at Dixon Place as part of the venue’s works-in-progress series.  Because Ensemble Dance includes performers from all circles (9-5ers, BFA/MFA students at Tisch, freelance artists, etc.), our rehearsal schedule was complicated to say the least.  Minutes before the show, we were running through sequencing, cues, props, choreography, and light changes, and I will admit, it seemed that all of these moving parts were doomed to turn the poem’s “scene of a crash” into reality.  As the lights dimmed for the second and final act of the evening’s performance, Ensemble Dance took a final breath together in the darkness.

Onstage, 25-minutes of dancing goes by in a blur, but I distinctly remember feeling the confidence, physicality, and breath of the dancers performing around me, and we truly became an “Ensemble.”  The combination of weeks of rehearsal and last-minute adrenaline set in at the exact moment of performance; that evening, Wayside was the best it has ever been performed.  As a mentor of mine said to me, we “gave it all, and in the right way.”

Next up on the horizon, Education Through Music’s Children’s Benefit is next week.  Our partner school students are busy rehearsing for the big evening.  The evening will include performances by ETM partner school students and bands alongside classical guitarist and former Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams and the cast of Broadway’s hit musical Million Dollar Quartet.  Meanwhile in the office, ETM staff are occupied with party-planning, speech-writing, seat-assigning, and all the details that go into making our biggest fundraiser a success.  The date of the gala not only coincides with the unveiling of ETM’s new look(!), but also quite a few grant proposal deadlines, which means I am quite busy at work.

Finally, everyone at ETM is looking forward to having TWO new fellows on staff next year! Congratulations and welcome to all of the fellows who have accepted positions for the 2012-13 year.