So if you've voluntarily found this entry and by your own volition reading it, there is a good chance you already know several facts;
1. Calamity #5 was last night.
2. It was a full house.
3. It was AWESOME.
As a Calamity Co-Conspirator, I feel a lot of things. I'm of course overjoyed, on the most basic level, that our event was a success. But more poignantly, as an artist, as a choreographer, as a dancer, as a performer, I am enthused and invigorated. Whether all of those people were there to see just one person perform, whether none of those people enjoyed my dancing or my piece, all of those people in that room last night wanted to experience art. They would accept it in whatever form it came. They would love it, hate it, take it or leave it, but they could do any of that because they were there in the name of it.
Moreover, we had about 30 people performing last night.
Thirty individuals who had something to share. Who wanted to be a part of something. Who have something that they have created, or that they can create, that they are proud of, that they take joy in. Something that is theirs and theirs alone, but bears sharing to be fully enjoyed.
Last night was a hell of a night.
And it reminded me of something that I think, deep down, we all know.
You don't need to buy a "deluxe edition special release" album to hear good music. You don't need to watch the Academy Awards to find a good film. You don't need to shell out hundreds of dollars for ballet or Broadway tickets. Real, good art is here, among us.
Talent is not limited to those who have made it their career. And it is not to say that the talent of professionals is any less, but I think there is something to be said for those people whose definitive talent is but a part of their life. People who are juggling all sides of themselves and can still have a handful of strangers dancing like fools in public impress me more than the people, however talented, who have the crutch of producers, executives and big, big money.
I do believe that art is art no matter how you spell it and no matter how you enjoy it. Any maybe it's just because I'm especially proud of how far Calamity has come over the last few years, but tonight, right now, I feel so humbled by the presence of raw talent at last night's event.
Thank you all for being a part of this. I cannot even begin to describe how excited I am to continue this journey with all of you, and with all the new Collaborators we have yet to meet.
Stay hungry, my friends. And keep cooking.
-A.