The Last Audition

I remember when I was a high school senior.

I remember racing to the mailbox to search for the elusive big envelope from a university that indicated a letter + orientation info or obsessively refreshing my email for that "congratulations" message.  I remember watching over my friend's shoulder as she watched a live countdown clock during a free period between English literature and theology to see if she would be accepted to Cornell University. 

As a college grad auditioning for ballet programs, I am still the same.

I auditioned for State Street Ballet (Santa Barbra, CA) on April 23--an extremely late audition in the NYC ballet student world. This was obvious as there were 26 company auditonees and 2 school/summer intensive auditionees (myself and 1 sixteen year old).  I was number 100 and I stood mostly in the back, but as the audition progressed, I felt better and better. By the time we were in our pointe shoes, I was whipping out double pirouettes in the middle of a petit allegro and feeling the music so hard during contemporary rep that I gave myself bloody scratches from the safety pins attaching my number to my leotard.

I was obsessively refreshing my email the next day--it's something I do after every audition, even when the teachers tell us that we'll get an email within two weeks.

Three days later, I was notified that I'd not only been accepted to the summer intensive, but also to the professional training program, despite the age limit of 18-21.

It's okay, they said.  There are some dancers repeating the program, and besides, you look younger than 22.

This is where that baby face pays off.

So next fall, I will be a Professional Track participant at State Street Ballet, which is essentially located in the homeland of SoCal and pleasantly in the same time zone as my parents--something that will be nice given this crazy year.