Opening Night!!

     Greetings from Dressing Room 3!  It is just about 6:00pm, an hour and a half before the curtain rises on Sacramento Ballet's premier production of the 2011-2012 dance season.  The backstage area of the Community Center Theater is busy as dancers begin to filter out of their dressing rooms and towards the stage for a brief warm up class.  Earlier today we gave a free preview performance of Trey McIntyre's Second Before the Ground and Ron Cunningham's Dracula to an enthusiastic audience of high school students.  This abridged preview performance was an awesome way for the dancers to prepare for our main run of shows and for the Ballet to introduce artistic performance to the next generation - keeping the tradition of the arts alive and prosperous for our future!

     The few hours before opening night are filled with many different emotions.  In performance we must retain all that we have rehearsed throughout the prior weeks, while also expanding our artistry to another level.  These past few days in the theater I have been able to see my fellow dancers transform into beings of higher power, reminding me of the famous quote by Mr. Einstein: "Dancers are the athletes of God".  While on stage, staring into the dark void of the auditorium, there is a sense of inhibition and abadonment from one's self... it is an incomparable feeling that I cherish and can hardly explain in words.

     I have spent most of the late afternoon sitting in my dressing room, which I share with fellow dancers and friends: Stefan Calka & Oliver Adams.  I have kinda been laying low and preparing myself mentally for the evening.  In my dressing room I have hung some pictures to inspire me.  In February 2010, before performing Second Before the Ground, both myself and Darwin Black (a past company member) lost our Grandmothers.  Our performance that year was dedicated to them - and so to keep the tradition alive I have included pictures of all my matriarchs and patriarchs.  My Grandmother, Grandfather, Nana, Mother, Father and a picture of Darwin's Grandma: Bunny.  I also have a note hanging high on my mirror from my departed Grandparents that explains how proud they are of me and how special my gift of dance was to them.  Although none of my Grandparents ever had the opportunity to see me perform in a professional atmosphere I know that they are always watching me and know that they would be proud of me.  In my room I aslo have a small green box, given to me by an old friend - it's a "box of happiness" that includes items like: movie tickets, fortunes, merde or "good luck" cards, notes, comics, buttons, etc... things that remind me of pure joy.

      Here are some pictures of my dressing room and particularly my spot in the middle of it all - please excuse the mess - and hope you enjoy the glimpse into where I reside when not onstage.  HAPPY OPENING NIGHT!!!




Dressing Room 3: Stefan's spot on left, Oliver to the right and me in the middle.  Notice the shoes on the floor - I once heard that it was bad luck to have your performance shoes on your dressing table...so I always make sure to keep them by my feet!




A close up of my inspiration pictures: far left is my mother & father on their wedding day, above that is me playing my Garndma's piano as a little boy, below is my Nana, then a picture of my Grandma & Grandpa, and below that: Darwin's Grandmother "Bunny" sits atop my happy box.

You might also notice my McDonald's Monopoly game pieces, my ever present razor (being Italian = shaving a LOT!), a notebook to jot down corrections, some chocolate for energy and plenty of band-aids - I am kind of accient prone.