Since my time in New York City had some of the best moments of my life as of yet, I can’t help but be grateful for what it brought me and how it shaped me into who I am today. New York City allowed me to be where I am today, dancing in Chicago. I would love to explain the story of my move from the Big Apple to the Windy City. If you would like to watch the beginning of this story take place, you can watch this video about my last performance in New York City.

Coming to the end of our dance school year, we had a final performance and I was able to perform a solo from my favorite classical ballet Don Quixote. I spent months preparing for the weekend of shows and it was a performance I’ll never forget. Not in the fact that it was perfectly executed, but the fact that I truly had an amazing time performing that variation with all of my friends clapping and cheering me on from the sides of the stage. Finishing that piece gave me so much joy, even though my lungs were dying from all the large jumps I did. 

My mom flew out to see the performance which was such a blessing to have my biggest fan in the audience. After the show, some of my friends and I went out to dinner and celebrated such an amazing show and year of learning and growth. 

After the weekend was over, my mom flew back to Minnesota and I stayed in NYC for a week longer to soak in every last drop that I could of the city. We had two days left of classes, which was more just time for us to have meetings with our teacher, have a little graduating ceremony for those graduating, and say goodbye to each other. 

The rest of the week I spent exploring more touristy spots that I hadn’t seen before. I hung out with some friends, walked the Brooklyn bridge, had a photo shoot and then packed up my apartment and all of my stuff for my next adventure. These adventures are documented below. 

Crazily enough, I was actually headed to St. Petersburg, Russia for the next two weeks. My teacher had a connection in Russia with a prominent ballet master who was holding a summer intensive and she invited all of her students to join. 

So even though the last week in NYC was very sad since I was leaving some of my friends, I still had half of my friends going on this trip to Russia with me. Thankfully, I had two more weeks with them. I documented lots of my time in Russia on my YouTube account and you can find some of our Russian adventures here and our performance vlog here.

The traveling after our Russia trip was pretty intense. Starting in Moscow, Russia, I pulled an all nighter after our performance. Then I got on an airplane headed back to New York City at 7 am. I landed in New York in the evening and spent one night at my apartment. Then I flew to Chicago the next day to start my new journey in the Windy City of Chicago. My parents picked me up in our van with some of my personal belongings from my room back in Minnesota that I would use in my new apartment in Chicago. That next day, Monday, the 5 week summer intensive began for the company I would be a part of in the fall. 

It was a crazy weekend, but it was so exciting. I was so happy to be at Ballet 5:8 dancing and learning even more. 

As my NYC story comes to an end, I hope you enjoyed reading and learning something new from my journey. Stay tuned for more adventures of my life in Chicago and what being a professional ballerina entails. 

Until next time,

Ellington