Spring is such a wonderful and often bittersweet time of
year. Young dancers, whom we’ve watched grow
from young children to accomplished young adults, leave us to graduate and move
on to exciting futures. Some of them take all the poise and dedication they’ve
learned from dance and parlay that into wonderful careers. Others choose to
continue their practice. Two NADA and NADT Alumni Emily Patterson and Bridget
West have been cast in some pretty incredible ballets as they extend their
education at the University of South Carolina. We had a moment recently to
catch up with Emily who tells us all about What They’re Up to Now!
Emily Patterson:
On April 15th, Bridget and I had the chance to perform in
the University of South Carolina’s annual Ballet Stars of New York performance.
Every year, our teacher, Stacey Calvert (former New York City Ballet soloist)
invites several current Principal dancers from NYCB to perform iconic
Balanchine ballets with us. The fact that we even get to perform these ballets
at all is special, because the Balanchine Trust has so many rules about who can
perform them, who can set them, and how the production runs as a whole. This
year, we performed “Allegro Brillante” and “Stars and Stripes,” two incredibly
difficult but well known Balanchine works. I was honored to dance in Allegro
Brillante, a fifteen-minute ballet danced by four corps couples and a principal
couple, which was danced by Ashley Bouder and Jared Angle. Though it was one of
the most challenging ballets I’ve ever danced, it was absolutely a dream to
perform. The second work in the show was commissioned by Sara Mearns for NYCB,
titled “The Bright Motion” and choreographed by the renowned Justin Peck. This
one was a phenomenal duet between Sara and Robbie Fairchild, and it was
thrilling to watch. Finally, the showstopper was the famous “Stars and Stripes”
Ballet, set to the famous Sousa music, arranged by Hershey Kay. It was
especially thrilling to hear it played by our live orchestra! The ballet is
split into five sections, or “Regiments,” as Balanchine named them, and Bridget
and I both danced in the opening section— usually called the Short Girl
Regiment. Of the thirteen girls in that section, we actually danced right next
to each other (just like old days!). Following our regiment were the Tall Girls
and the Men, with the men’s regiment leader role danced by NYCB’s Anthony
Huxley, an incredibly exciting and beautifully technical dancer to watch. Then,
Sara Mearns and Robbie Fairchild took the stage again for an exhilarating pas
de deux as the Liberty Bell and El Capitan. The ballet culminated with all 41
dancers on stage together. We enjoyed every moment of this performance!
 |
| taken by Jason Ayer, and features the USC Dance Company with Sara Mearns, Robbie Fairchild, Anthony Huxley and the men of Columbia City Ballet |
So what’s next?
Emily will graduate from USC on May 12th. She’s
been auditioning and sending her performance reel to a lot of different companies.
While in undergrad, she also completed the prerequisites for a Physical Therapy
graduate school, because she’s always been interested in helping dancers
recover from injuries and the science behind physical activity. “So somewhere
down the road, I’d like to pursue that as well... but not until I’ve had my
fill of performing,” says Emily.
Bridget is a rising junior at USC, and, along with dance,
she is interested in learning more about Athletic Training—whether that is
through a PT program or becoming a personal trainer!
