Day Four: a bit of tourism

Photo: The Lincoln Memorial

A day of rest! Last night was fantastic. It was such a RUSH (get it? ha) to be on stage at the Kennedy Center sharing the stage with the phenomenal Boston and Joffrey Ballets and to make our debut! It was a blast. But after a very long day and a great performance, it was nice to have a day off to play tourist.

We had class this morning with the Mikko Nissenen, artistic director of Boston Ballet. One of my favorite parts of this tour is taking classes with the other companies, but also to have class from different directors. And OBT's been fortunate enough to have two collaborations this season, the first being the 4x4 Whitebird Series with San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Eugene Ballet Company, and the second being the Ballet Across America festival. Getting to dance with other companies feels like playing, like summer camp for professional dancers.

Post class I saw some sights and sounds of the district. My family (including my aunt, grandmother, mother and father) took the Metro train to Arlington Cemetery, and from there got on a tour bus to see the Washington Mall.

My favorite stop along the way was the Lincoln Memorial. DC has so much history, and it was nice to hear some of the details behind all of the fantastic buildings.


I realized as we were leaving and looking across to the Washington Monument that the Lincoln Memorial was where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. I've always had an affinity for Dr. King, as we share the same birthday (January 15), and because he's a dreamer. I think the Lincoln Memorial holds a peacefulness above the some other monuments.



On a final note, my "merde" for Candace, my partner, on our opening night included a JFK quote: "Dream things that never were." I wrote in my note that there were several things I never dreamed of, and dancing at the Kennedy Center was one of them. It appears that Washington DC is place that was built on dreams and ideals, and it's cool to see that reflected in my own life.

Final performance tomorrow. It will no doubt be special.