Proshai, Robushka.

I met Rob on September 17th, 2006; the day I auditioned for "Company B." He was a gentleman who enjoyed dancing as a hobby and a form of self-expression; he had a career as a prominent violist with the Houston Ballet Orchestra and often played for the Houston Symphony. He was funny and personable and friendly as all get-out; he laughed and joked with us all the time and even attended my 21st birthday celebration at Poison Girl. His energy and personality added so much to the company; we shared some lovely moments together in improvisation class and he gave a lovely performance as Algeria Touchshreik in Outside.

We stayed friends even after I left the company. I made sure to invite him to parties, and we'd occasionally bump into each other at Houston Ballet studios and give each other hugs and chat for a while. Every time I went to the ballet, I'd wander down to The Pit during intermission to say hi. He was a great, sweet guy who touched a lot of hearts.

On Christmas Eve-- minutes before I left for church-- I found out through one of my dancer buddies that Rob passed away. He was fifty-two and he lost a battle with cancer. He played his music right up until the very end, too-- he and Barbara Bears shared a final performance at Houston Ballet's Jubilee of Dance on December 4th. He was a wonderful guy, and he will be sorely, sorely missed.

Proshai, Robushka = Good-bye, Rob Bridges. 1957 ~ 2009. We love you, man. Have a spiffy eternity. <3