Hey everyone!
It’s been a very busy and exciting time for me. I am sitting on Amtrak on my way back to the city with a three week stint at Home : ). I just finished a new work for 25 dancers at Goucher University in Maryland. I chose 25 to challenge myself…and see how I could get them all on one page artistically and technically. I haven’t titled it as of yet but it’s a pretty intense modern creation(With all the pointe work being created, it always excites me to see the barefoot!!) The dancers really stepped up to the plate and gave their hearts. The year started off with finishing a new work for Dance Theatre of Tennessee(Points of Interest), and creating a new work for Ballet Arkansas(Moultrie’s Spring). It’s taxing mentality to push out work but i love every minute of it. Freelancing is tricky, sometimes your’e so excited about work and then your’e frightened about not having anything to do. A lot of people tend to think your phone just rings off the hook 24 hours a day. There is tons of calling, emailing, rejection, and sharing of my work that keeps me in the loop. I always tell my younger choreographer peeps to stay in the hustle and keep doing great work at your highest representation of you. All you have is what you give out to the world. REJECTION is real and never going out of style, but at the same time ACCEPTANCE is just as real.
In other cool news, I got to meet Ms. Beyonce! Her creative director asked me to create for her Super Bowl performance and she loved it. I took some great dancers and we got to spend a day in the studio with her and her team as they put the performance together.(Huge thanks to dancers Ashley Everett and Anthony Burrell who got me in the room!) She loved the work, but the song ended up being cut from the set list and then added back at the last minute. Even though it wasn’t used it was a very important moment for me. At one point, I was in the house on the couch with the flu and a day later I was in the room with one of the biggest stars in America telling me she thought my work was beautiful. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve thought about getting a chance to share my creativity with her. As I get older, I am learning more and more that you really can’t sit at home and map out your future……..just keep doing the work. We really don’t know what the heck is coming around the corner next. I am accepting the simple fact that what’s meant for you…you will have (with Hard work!!) Will our paths cross again? ….we’ll see.
Next up …I will take some dancers to Portland Maine for a performance with The Longfellow Chorus in celebration of composer Samuel Coleridge -Taylor. I will keep ya posted…til next time be well and remain positive.
Darrell