It felt right. I felt lucky!

Liz & Shannon      Photo by William Frederking

This past May I graduated from Ohio University with a BFA in dance. With a degree in hand and most of my belongings packed up in my parents Subaru I made my way to Chicago.  With only a week of city livin’ under my belt I found my way to Margi’s Dance COLEctive Technique Week, at the end of which would be my first professional audition.  Getting back to technique and meeting so many wonderful people was such a great way to get me introduced to this city. I was excited about the promise of being a part of a company so soon in my career.
 

Not long after the call back I got the email that told me I would be an apprentice with the company.

It felt right.  I felt lucky!

It made me happy for the 17 year-old Liz that convinced her Mom she should be a dance major in college.

After a quick call to my family with a slight undertone of “I told you so”, I got ready for my first rehearsal.

Coming right out of a college program that valued the choreographic process, and building of the artistic voice, Margi’s work felt right at home. Discovering that my voice would be heard, even as an apprentice was an exciting venture. And finding a dance community that I could be a part of so soon was more than I could have hoped.

I dearly miss the group of dancers I left when I graduated. And in this -15 degree weather I am noticing now more than ever that I am no longer in the soft warm blanket that college had me wrapped up in. But The Dance COLEctive makes me feel supported and heard and warm.  I certainly didn’t expect to be a part of such a creative and open group of dancers so early on in my career in Chicago. Plus, knowing that I am following in the footsteps of many, many great women is something pretty exciting.
 

Submitted by TDC Apprentice, Liz Conway, February 19, 2015.