![When you grow up, remember this, Miss Diana believes in you, and in your ability to shine. And when life grows heavy, as it sometimes will, turn on the music and dance… because you can.This year, my mom is retiring after more than half a century of building a world most people didn’t even realize they needed, but once you were in it, it changed you.Inside The Dancin’ Place, there were no call outs. No hierarchy of worth. No chasing trophies. You learned by watching, by feeling, by trusting something inside of you that maybe no one had ever asked you to listen to before.It was non competitive, safe, exploratory, diverse, creative. A place where everyone knew they could dance. And she meant everyone.Long before people were even talking about inclusion in dance, she was already living it, building access through White River Ballet Company, making sure finances, differences, or life circumstances never stood in the way of expression.Her focus was never competition. It was story. Bringing fairy tales and music to life in a way that made you feel like you belonged inside of them.Looking back now, after more than 20 years studying the body, movement, and human potential, I see it clearly. Her intuition was brilliant. She didn’t intellectualize it. She lived it. And it worked.The studio was just one expression of her.Because outside of it, she is the same artist, in her gardens, her menagerie of animals, her books, her music always playing.She never separated art from life. She showed us that life itself is the art.I was raised inside that kind of love. To be seen, nurtured, believed in, without needing to prove anything first.I know how rare that is. And how much of what I’ve built came from that foundation.So this isn’t just a retirement. It’s the closing of a chapter that quietly shaped generations to feel, to express, and to trust themselves.And somehow, even as she steps away, what she built keeps living.Happy Mother’s Dayto my mom, and to every person who mothers in the truest sense, who nurtures, empowers, sees, and gives life to others. Scroll to the end for 3 photos of me as a wee dancer in her school and me about to deliver my 2nd]()
When you grow up, remember this, Miss Diana believes in you, and in your ability to shine. And when life grows heavy, as it sometimes will, turn on the music and dance… because you can.
This year, my mom is retiring after more than half a century of building a world most people didn’t even realize they needed, but once you were in it, it changed you.
Inside The Dancin’ Place, there were no call outs. No hierarchy of worth. No chasing trophies. You learned by watching, by feeling, by trusting something inside of you that maybe no one had ever asked you to listen to before.
It was non competitive, safe, exploratory, diverse, creative. A place where everyone knew they could dance. And she meant everyone.
Long before people were even talking about inclusion in dance, she was already living it, building access through White River Ballet Company, making sure finances, differences, or life circumstances never stood in the way of expression.
Her focus was never competition. It was story. Bringing fairy tales and music to life in a way that made you feel like you belonged inside of them.
Looking back now, after more than 20 years studying the body, movement, and human potential, I see it clearly. Her intuition was brilliant. She didn’t intellectualize it. She lived it. And it worked.
The studio was just one expression of her.
Because outside of it, she is the same artist, in her gardens, her menagerie of animals, her books, her music always playing.
She never separated art from life. She showed us that life itself is the art.
I was raised inside that kind of love. To be seen, nurtured, believed in, without needing to prove anything first.
I know how rare that is. And how much of what I’ve built came from that foundation.
So this isn’t just a retirement. It’s the closing of a chapter that quietly shaped generations to feel, to express, and to trust themselves.
And somehow, even as she steps away, what she built keeps living.
Happy Mother’s Day
to my mom, and to every person who mothers in the truest sense, who nurtures, empowers, sees, and gives life to others. Scroll to the end for 3 photos of me as a wee dancer in her school and me about to deliver my 2nd
6 days ago
