with me in case I needed them, wiped down the airplane
seat with a bleach wipe, made sure not to touch my face with
my bare hands, washed my hands often and carried hand
sanitizer around with me like it was holy water and I was
living amongst vampires. The true fear and panic of Covid19
had not really hit just yet when I arrived in Las Vegas.
The first day of classes was just as physically challenging as
I had anticipated, but I was proud of myself for keeping up,
with only a few modifications. Everyone was very nice but
mostly kept to themselves and the people they already knew.
The second day was slightly similar, but by the third day I
had gone to the spa with some new friends and bonded with
them. From that day forward I felt the shift, not just with
those that I went to the spa with, but with my entire class as a
whole. Perhaps it was me that had been reserved, but after the
spa day I felt so much more connected to all of my classmates.
I felt like I could be free with them, and indeed I was.
I had never performed outside of my city when we traveled
to the big festivals. I always just wanted to focus on my
dance studies and didn’t think I could handle the added
pressure and stress of performing. On the second day of
class, Aaliyah Jenny had heard me say to someone on lunch
break that I wasn’t performing in any of the shows. She
said, “Oh great, Darlina! Can you perform at the hafla on
Wednesday? We need more people to sign up for that. You
should do it! You can do any song you want. Just send it to
me.” I was flattered at the offer and decided, “Why the hell
not?” I told my classmates about it - thinking no one really
goes to the hafla anyway, right? Well, the day of the hafla
came and almost all of my classmates did indeed come to
watch me, cheer me on, and show me so much love. I was
overwhelmed with happiness. It was such an honor to have
them all there for me. It meant the world and made me feel
EVEN CLOSER to all of them.
Each class day that passed, we worked hard, danced hard
and continued to bond. It was so surreal to have a daily lunch
picnic outside with not just all of my classmates but all of the
other pros from the other classes AND OUR TEACHERS
TOO! It took everything I had not to fan girl out loud
over my dance heroes who were just eating their lunch on
the floor right next to me. Every single morning I would
wake up and swallow hard to check my throat. I would ask
myself, “How am I feeling? Do I have a sore throat? Am I
achy? Do I feel hot? Do I feel unwell?” Because while I was
experiencing literally the best time I’ve ever had in my dance
Zoe Jakes and
May Yang