Turning 35: 7/28/25

“I don’t want you to wake up at 35 wondering if you could have made a life in dance.”

That’s what my college dance teacher said before my senior showcase, when I was 21.

The intervening 14 years looked nothing like I thought they would.

Far from the jazz, modern, and Argentine Tango that dominated my dance life in my early twenties, the cornerstone of my profession now is a dance I hadn’t even studied until I was twenty-five.

I think of everyone I’ve danced alongside over the years— from Lincoln High, to UCSC, to Jacob’s Pillow, to venues and studios across the Bay Area.

Some of us are still dancing, many are not. I see clips on social media and get the occasional invitation to a performance. Fewer every year.

But today I got to wake up and say: I am 35 and still dancing. I don’t have to ask what could have been.

What a gift.