I am in New York again. I was here for ten days last fall during my sabbatical. I am here this time because the students from SMU are performing at the Joyce Theater as part of the Limon Dance Company’s 70th anniversary season. They will be performing the beautiful There is a Time at the Saturday matinee and again on Sunday evening. It is such an amazing opportunity. I ran into them on Eighth Avenue this afternoon just after their tech rehearsal. They were beaming – beautiful to see. Les Johnson and I lived around the corner from the Joyce at 307 Wet 20th Street from 1975 -1989, the summer we relocated to Minneapolis.
This is a photo I took today. When we lived there, it had a funky, heavy metal door with a small window. I am writing about this because last fall, I went by and there was still one tenant we knew, Louis Messina, still living in the ground floor front apartment. I took a breath and rang his bell. He came out and we had a brief but warm chat. His health was not the greatest. When I went by to take this picture today, his name was no longer there. That was difficult. My relationship to New York has changed. New York has also changed. It is, I think, a city for the young and the wealthy – in 2015, I would say the very wealthy. It is a matter of perspective, I suppose. It could have been the same when I was living and working here but it does feel different now. I still have strong connections. I am staying with Frank Davis in the West Village, I am seeing my oldest and closest friend, Trevor Lewis for dinner tonight. Lisa Booth and Deirdre Valente are still on Broadway representing artists. There are JAZZDANCE posters on the walls of their office space. Some of the original JAZZDANCE company members still live in Manhattan. We had a mini-reunion during my sabbatical. It was delightful and very emotional. I found my voice as a jazz dancer and choreographer in New York City, working, creating and playing with some extraordinary people. Right now, I feel kind of melancholy.