That was the title of the dance piece that my son choreographed taught to 11 other dancers and performed himself at college. At almost 12 minutes it was the longest piece in the evening performances. They had asked that he shorten it to 10 minutes. He refused and said that if he had to shorten it he might as well not perform it. They looked at the outline of the piece and let him keep it at that. The piece is about racial injustice and is very emotionally hard hitting--especially for a mom watching her son portray himself from the afterlife after being a victim of racial brutality. Luckily, I knew what the theme of the piece was and what he was trying to get across.
What I did not expect was the maturity of what he created. It's not just a proud momma here. It was the best piece that night. Both nights his was the piece that got a standing ovation. His narrative was clear, the choreography was excellent as was his use of the stage. He trained his dancers well--and boy his dancing has also reached new levels. He had mixed his own music, chosen the cues for the lighting tech team, and helped his team of dancers build props. Is it weird to cry tears of joy while also knowing part of the tears are from the fear that I feel for all my kids when they are out in the world and I am not there with them?
His local dance teacher who started him on this journey at age 5 came to see it as did 4 other people from our city dance school. My wife and I and his sister were there. On the previous night good friends from church drove out to see it.
He has been told by several instructors that he should enter the piece in several festivals that are upcoming. He is thinking he may indeed do that. Today when I drove him back to school after a short home visit, he said that he has always known he wanted dance to be his career but wasn't sure what that could look like. Now, at this moment, he said he wants to be a "dance storyteller." I can see that in a lot of different scenarios. For instance, working with kids and helping them dance out their traumas. Creating dance stories for different life situations, dancing out news stories for social justice programs. It could literally be anything, and of course right now, he does not have to pin that down.
He has been asked to teach a hip hop workshop this month at college for the dance club that is on campus. He has been hired to dance in another students division three project, truly he is growing so fast as a person and an artist that it is hard to keep up with it all. Our home schooler is thriving there.
Easter is the end of the month and while for our house hold that is not a religious holiday in the way it is for my Christian friends, we honor the rebirth of life and the onset of spring. I asked him to invite home any friends who might want to come for dinner. So far we will have 5 friends plus the 6 of us plus my mom. I am thinking a buffet style meal and have asked him to find out people's favorite foods so we can be sure that there is at least one thing everyone likes available to them!
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