The amazing Kyra, and a little on New York

Let's see, so I lied. I definitely didn't continue that last one on the next day. Oops. Well, there's a good reason for that...kind of. I have been on the computer for the last two days almost straight, looking at information on moving to Canada. There is so much to be done! I'm trying to figure out what the most cost-effective way of moving will be...there are some things that I'm not quite ready to get rid of, but on the other hand, it might be nice to start fresh. So many decisions!

The thing is, I just moved in with Kyra last year and that was certainly a cleansing experience! Moving from my own small studio apartment to living in a living room (and that is NOT a bad thing, trust me!) was quite a change! It was honestly the best decision I ever made. With the downturn of the economy and Kyra changing her lifestyle from full-time ballerina to nursing student and ballet teacher, we both decided it was time to help each other out. That's what friends are for anyways, right? We are both independent people, and were nervous about having roommates again. However, we have always gotten along very well and it just seemed like God wanted us to support each other through this time. Well, not only did I decrease my rent tremendously, but I was helping her out with her mortgage by paying her rent, AND I rid myself of A LOT of possessions I realized I didn't need! It was definitely a nice fresh change. I learned how to live in small spaces, became MUCH more organized (who wants to see piles of old pictures, left over Christmas decor, and pointless junk lying around while sipping a glass of wine in someone's living room anyways?) Okay, well I'm not THAT organized I guess, because I definitely still have some piles of old mail that I need to constantly search through, but HEY! I'm getting better...those piles are a lot shorter than they used to get!

Seriously though, living with Kyra this year has been such a learning experience and has helped me grow tremendously. The way that she has approached this massive change in her life has been with nothing but fearless faith and grace! She gets up almost every morning before dawn, goes to school for a few hours, comes home and studies, goes to teach until 8:30 at night sometimes, and then comes home and studies more until she can't keep her eyes open. (We all know how easily this one can fall asleep!) :) Then she gets up the next day and does it all over again! AND somehow, she still manages to find time to socialize with her friends, make awesome lasagna every so often, choreograph little routines for her young students, and volunteer at church on the weekends. This lifestyle is completely different from that of a dancer...go to work everyday, practically in pajamas, and wait for your moment to shine whether it be in rehearsal or onstage. It's the same routine day in day out, and don't get me wrong. It can be quite exhausting! You can be rehearsing for six hours straight for 5 days in a row and then have performances during the weekend where you are quite possibly in every single ballet. Who has time for school or a social life?

Okay, that's going a little far because I have seen some dancers do it. But I guess what my point is, is that sometimes a change of lifestyle makes you realize what's important in life. Ballet can be so self-absorbed, you easily forget about everything and everyone else but yourself...I need my sleep before this show, I need to get up early to warm up and prepare myself for my day, I need Monday to go to the doctors and do my chores so I don't have to worry about it during the week, I don't have time to meet with someone for coffee or a drink (I'll just see them at the studios anyways), church is too early for me to get up on Sundays! I mean, while this is all important yes because it comes with the territory, I'm just sayin' that it's easy to get wrapped up in ourselves and our routines. Kyra's schedule changes from day to day and the grace that she has had while handling all of it has truly amazed me...and inspired me! And she's so happy! We hardly ever see each other because of our different schedules, but when I walk in the door and see her smiling face, it's like a breath of fresh air because I know how happy she is in this new chapter in her life. Honestly, seeing that has prepared me for this change that I'm about to embark on. It truly has made me see once again, that God's timing is perfect! There's a reason that that cheesy saying "Everything happens for a reason" exists! I mean, I had no idea how I was going to handle having a roommate again and look where it's gotten me! I feel that much more confident now about moving to a different city and exploring something new and different that I haven't seen yet...ever! All this was made possible by my amazing roommate and her schedule-jumbling skills that I have had the pleasure of witnessing for an entire year.

So I didn't continue on my experiences in New York...sorry. I guess I should touch on that a bit for my family's sake. Half of the reason I started this blog was to update them on my life.
SOoooooooooooo.....

ummmm......




Nothing is coming because I'm still so overwhelmed with how awesome my roommate is! I'm going to miss her so much!....and her lasagna. Shoot, I gotta learn how she makes that.

Well, let's just say that I went up there for an audition and it went really well. I am not a fan of cattle call auditions (open auditions) and there were over 100 girls there, but somehow I made every single cut. Someone actually showed interest in me and I was pleasantly surprised. Something kept me there the whole time...God?

I really think so actually because I felt like a complete fool during the auditions. I'm SUCH a ballet dancer, and seeing so many well-versed contemporary dancers there was slightly intimidating. But I just kept closing my eyes, trying to stay focused, and remembered why I was there...to learn. To take a step out of my comfort zone and see where exactly I stood in the contemporary dance world. It's always good to get some perspective. Needless to say, I was in there with one of my favorite So You Think You Can Dance winners and it took me all I could to focus on the choreography and not watch her the whole time! haha...

So somehow, I ended up being one of four girls left at the end. I had the privilege of working with Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden with just a few others in the room. As much as I've heard about these two, I've never had the chance to work with them so this in itself was pretty inspiring. We worked with partners, which definitely almost made me shit myself because I haven't partnered with anyone in a long time. And I'm tall!! There's a lot to deal with here! :) I'm just sayin'....

But there's something quite liberating working with someone you've never met before and especially when you're both there for the same reason. The drive we both had to get a job created this.... determined energy. You feel the person's energy and you can bounce off of it...it's awesome! When one person feels insecure in one part, the other may not, and consequently there's this EVEN energy that amounts. You can feel the confidence in the other person and it is passed on to you. Does this make any sense? It's difficult to put this in words. Well, I was blessed to work with this great guy who really kept me calm. Once we got the hang of things and got used to each other's energies, it was fantastic! He kept telling me to trust him, and once I was able to do so, everything just flowed beautifully. We worked together for maybe an hour, but I felt more comfortable working with him than I have working with some people for weeks! But I'm convinced it's because we both had the same intentions...we just wanted to learn while we were there, whether it amounted to a job or not. It was such a positive learning experience even though they didn't offer me anything in the end.

However, on a side note they DID tell me how much they loved my height and length! Do you know how good it feels to hear that from someone you've worked with for just a couple of days? Zero labels. Just genuine appreciation. To me, this equals the permission to feel liberated! Cheers to that, kids!!!