veil.

Assisting Carla Catherwood teach our choreography last night in rehearal. 

I think choreographer Mia Michaels put it best: 

"...being acknowledged [with an Emmy] for being me, and not trying to be anything but me, is powerful...I always had to work so hard to be where I am, and I don't mind it. Because now, people know me for me." 

Obviously I don't have the same kind of mind as Mia Michaels - she's a brilliant creative director and choreographer - but her quote has really resonated with me. 

My parents, friends, students,  artistic peers and so many more have taken me exactly as I am. 

There's no veil concealing what I do. What you see is what you get. 

When it comes to dance and choreography, what has happened over the last six years has truly blown me away. 

I started teaching a small ballet class for toddlers when I was 17 to make extra money for university. During school, I came back to the Okanagan every summer to work and found I was naturally supporting my lifestyle completely by teaching dance. Whether it was in a summer camp setting, private lessons or large-scale open classes, I dance helped get me through university. 

When I started being approached to choreograph routines for highly trained students, I didn't have any idea how well-received my work would be. 

My mantra has always been, "there is choreography for every body." I always have an idea of where I want to go with my pieces, but prefer to paint the movement on the dancers I have available to me and pull out their strengths and quirks. 

I am so pleased to see this maybe just be working. The artistic director of my company, Carla Catherwood, called me a few weeks ago and asked me to help teach and choreograph pieces for various groups of dancers for our next big show in June. I'm beyond flattered and loving every moment in the studio picking her brain, collaborating and sweating it out. 

Yesterday, she and I co-choreographed a piece for the principal dancers of the show that we will be previewing in March. To see my peers doing my movement and having those moments of complete freedom last night in the studio...man, there aren't many things better. 

I have also been offered a major opportunity in B.C. this upcoming May to help out and teach at one of the big competitions - fingers crossed I can find a flight for a reasonable amount of pesos! 

This is just the beginning. I can't wait to see what happens over the next four months. It's going to be good, I can just feel it.