He got a job.
He got a real job - at the "apprentice level" - that's what they call the first two years of being in a Real Company.
But he made it.
He's with Ben Stevenson in the Texas Ballet Theater.
He was in the home stretch of his first year when Covid19 hit. So the season cancelled and he was home with us - since March 2020.
But they continued to honor his contract. He was paid right through the season.
And he is headed back to Texas this weekend - even though it's unlikely that they'll have much of a season, bc Covid is raging through our country - with Texas, stubborn Texas, hard hit this summer.
It's unclear if they'll even try to have a Nutcracker - but oh I hope so.
He's so happy.
The Company is so psychologically healthy. Stevenson is a genius. And it's an honor to dance for him.
We are glad he's finished his training in Boston - a good two years, plus a couple of extra summers.
He told us he's glad he chose this profession, even though the Arts have been decimated by Covid.
I hope he stays with Texas. Every year, it's always a question - at least for the first few years.
No more auditions, we hope.
The part between trainee year and first year of employment is excruciating. It involves making sure you have your audition videos, your upload to the right medium for submission of said videos, your head/body shots, your ability to dance a contemporary as well as a classical piece. And then you need to come from the correct studios, and then you really need to dance in front of them, not just submit materials. We flew him everywhere and he found Texas while auditioning in NYC. And of course, Texas wanted to know within about 48 hours, and of course, he had no idea what to do - but decided that this was the place, bc of the way it felt. It was a good move.
And so, back to Texas, headed down to this - this Covid Zone. But he's got to get a car registered there, since he left in a flurry over four months ago when this disease took hold, and it's expired, so now he's got to get a Texas driver's license, and bc the state is locked down - omg - it's too much to explain.
We'll need to help him a little bit.
He's grown up well.
He loves his job, and he's been happy in this company which has felt like a family.
We just need to continue to pray and hope that he stays healthy and well - that we all do. And that our country somehow returns to a state of normalcy and grace.
God willing.
Oh I realized I didn't tell you what happened again.
ReplyDeleteHe lived in Boston for two years. It was wonderful and it was brutal. He learned and learned and learned. He could never come home, I realized, again. He graduated in 2017 and we flew to Boston and moved him into a friend of our friend the pastor of our church.
He learned to ride the trains all over Boston, at just barely 18. He learned to do his laundry more than he did at home. He learned to cook for himself, and to live with Pastor Susan and her son Frans.
He made friends, slowly. He fell in love. He danced so much, and so hard. He danced with the second company and had a role or two with the first company. He wasn't hired. He wasn't told why. He was used by them, and he was used up by them.
We picked him up in 2019, and he was thin and gaunt and pale and I was furious at these people who danced my son to pieces.
He told me to hush.
He'd gotten this job in early February. So we knew, by June, where he was headed. My husband and I drove our Volvo to Texas and left it at my cousin's home. Then, (how much will this let me comment?) we flew to Boston, rented a Van, which we named Vanessa, and stuffed it w/his stuff - left the rest, and drove him, us, and the stuff to Texas. He had an apartment, a Brazilian and a Swiss roommate and the car.
We had a place to stay, cousins I hadn't seen in 35 years, and the best food ever. He has grown to love Texas. He said "they all remind me of you, Mom." (The child had forgotten that this part of the country is where I grew up.)
He has been so happy there.
And we miss him terribly. Still.
Ballet is a cruel mistress. We've had 3 Thanksgivings without him. I cried at the first one at a restaurant. I attempted to cook the second one, cried again. And the third, I had pneumonia and was ill. I don't think I'll celebrate it again. But Christmas? We travel to where he is dancing. And that's been a delight and has brought intense happiness.
And now, we'll have to see what Covid brings. I pray that our federal government stops this madness and saves lives. And that state governments across the country smarten up, stop being so stubborn, and rid us of this scourge.
I want to go back to normal.
I want to be able to see him fly across that stage again.
But he's happy.
He's 21.
He's a professional dancer.
He made it.