By Noriko Zaragoza
This is my final blog post as a professional ballet dancer.
I am about to finish my professional dance career in 3 weeks, and I’m very happy about the decision I made. This season I had the chance work very close with my Director, Javier Velasco, and I leaned so much. He gave me a very clear guide on what it takes to become a Ballet Mistress and when I was slightly lost he always showed me the right way. It wasn’t easy for me to do and sometimes I needed to follow through on some very difficult decisions even though I felt slightly uncomfortable.
I enjoy rehearsing dancers. How amazing it is to see them becoming true artists in their own way. Some need more attention, some do it naturally, and some need to be pushed. I truly believe that every dancer should have their own artistic understanding and performance. Each dancer definitely grows with experience, life changes, and most importantly by keeping an open mind. It is my job to guide them so that they don’t go the wrong way, help them discover, and help them get through it.
Even though I will no longer be on stage, I will always be trying hard, studying a lot with the confidence to do well. I will miss going on stage but it is also exciting for me to start a new chapter. I think what I will miss the most about being on stage is the connection and energy you feel from the audience. Every performance is different and the feeling you get from the audience is very special. It is an indescribable feeling when the audience is very excited and it pushes you to perform with a special energy you never knew you had.
I will make sure to take my pointe shoes off on stage on my very last performance so I don’t put them on again!!