Sorry: this dance company cannot hear you over the sound of how awesome it is.

We were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a circle onstage, hands joined and feet in first position, when the curtain went up at the Miller. The first strains of Norman Dello Jollo's score began, and the last rays of evening sunlight were pouring onto the stage as the fourteen of us were joined in a circle-- Limon's metaphor for time. I can't think of a more perfect opening for a dance performance.

Th next ballet (the one I promised I would post about, but didn't) was a series of three duets (a pas de deux, a jazz, and a modern) followed by a finale with all three couples. I was in the pas de deux, and though the rehearsal process was not easy for me, the performance was a catharsis of sorts: once I was onstage I dissolved into my character, moving with R seemed like the most natural thing in the world, and the pas flew by and was over before we knew it. All six of us rocked out in the finale, we got a screaming ovation, and after the curtain closed R and I acted like we had won the lottery.

Cut to: The Shostakovitch ballet. Can't speak for anyone else, but I had the time of my life. V and I had a lovely pas, a moment we waited for for six months. The finale was a blast. I couldn't remove the Big Dumb Grin from my face, was sad when it was over, and got my umbrella stuck in the curtain during our bow (oops).

I had one more ballet after that, and after my last ballet there was a short film, clips from different performances over the last ten years. It was gorgeous. Everything after that.... is a blur. But I do have to give props to the cast of the ballet that closed the evening, because they were magnificent-- that much I remember ( and I'm sure the audience is going to remember their performance for a long time, too!).

There's a lot more to say, because it was a great night-- a great performance, a great crowd, the conclusion of the tenth season, and (for me) the end of my truly-amazing Rookie Season.

However, I'm running out of words and brain cells, this post has been long, and the time has come to prepare for my company's small performances this week. So, if anyone from the company is reading this: Congratulations!