Something I’ve neglected this year is that I’m first and foremost an artist. Well, this has honestly been an ongoing dilemma since my performing career ended but it’s become worse post-Covid. I can’t seem to find my way back to my former self. It’s been a real struggle to integrate my old life with my new one. I still haven’t figured out how to exist in this second career as a self-employed, full-time Pilates teacher while still nurturing the artist and performer in me. There’s a void where my inner-artist used to feel comfort at a soul level. I desperately miss creative collaboration. And I miss the process of merging great minds and talent to tell stories within the heightened atmosphere of physical theater.

My favorite Summer memory is every Summer spent in NYC to study dance. I was lucky enough to train at Dance Theater of Harlem, Alvin Ailey School of Dance, and Broadway Dance Center. This small-town girl had been fascinated with the NYC dance scene since the tv show “FAME!” debuted in 1982. I dreamed of attending the “Fame!” school (LaGuardia High) and performing full-on production numbers on cafeteria tables. But my Summers spent in sweaty dance studios full of grit, discipline, and determination sufficed. I absolutely loved spending every day fully immersed in dance culture.