A letter from Jennifer Bondelid (C'99)

We received this letter from Jennifer Bondelid (C'99), an alum who continues performing today, as well as teaching and choreographing locally, in response to our Special SPOTLIGHT series.

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Jennifer Bondelid (C'99), back at the barre during the Alumni Dance Retreat 2010
Photo by Karen Craig

"Thank you for another great issue, Emily.  If I may, some follow-ups for you from the perspective of a peer of that self-described 'core group'. 

The help we received from Judith Patterson, who stepped in to oversee our efforts to pull together a show during Joy Baker's illness, shouldn't be forgotten.  She was the director of the Theatre/Dance department when it first became more than just the Theatre department, and she really wanted the highest quality possible from Dance at Principia.  She REALLY knew her stuff and when Joy became ill, she came in to teach Joy's classes.  We learned so much from her.

What Sherry [Hopkins] said about dance 'being able to rip your gut out' is so true.  The dance school I teach at had its yearly contemporary dance concert this weekend, and one of the choreographers brought 2 duets to the stage that really had something important (not easy) to say.  One of them was to Eminem/Rihanna’s "Love the way you lie"... two lyrical dancers in black camisole leotards and little black shorts with a distressed man-size white button down collared shirt, with a pair of man's shoes each for a prop.  The choreography was amazing - you could SEE their invisible partner and the physical abuse through their movements, as well as what they thought about when he wasn't there, from wanting to leave to wanting to make everything right and please him.  Instead of a bow, the two girls just held up handmade signs that said "Respect, You're Worth it." and "Respect U, Walk Away."  

The other piece that really told a heart-wrenching story was also a duet, to "Life Left to Go" by Safety Suit.  One girl was on a sofa surrounded by her slippers, journal, other paraphernalia (you could tell she spent a lot of time on that sofa), and another girl who was dancing what her soul felt.  The girl on the sofa was moving in a way that wasn't technical dancing, but that expressed her physical and emotional pain, and the other girl was expressing the same pain, but through the use of beautiful technique with freedom of movement.  The girl on the sofa was danced by an amazing student who has broken the same leg multiple times over the past couple of years and been sidelined over and over.  (Side note, the injured dancer choreographed an amazing trio for 3 other dancers, so expression through movement continues on, despite physical setbacks.)  I love that as artists, we have the freedom to dance/choreograph about things that people don't necessarily feel comfortable talking about.  

Emily [Wakeling] hit the nail on the head about how valuable it was to have visiting professionals.  After getting to meet dancers from other eras of dance at Prin during Alumni Reunion, it strikes me that it was especially valuable to my generation of Prin dancers.  We got to learn Cunningham, Graham, Ailey, and David Grenke's amazing technique.  Our daily classes in ballet and jazz with Joy kept me primed, and the yearly modern workshops with guest instructors were the kind of food that has especially benefited me in my current work with my local dance studio and RDA company.  I hadn't had modern training before I came to Prin, but the workshops I had there were so intensive that when I auditioned for a regional company, I was offered a contract as a principal.  I hadn't even planned to audition for their modern track, I thought of myself as a ballet dancer.  I choreograph and perform with them still, though I was only under contract with them that one year.  

Congrats to Victoria [Ries], wishing her the best with her new baby!  I'll never forget her amazing pirouettes; she could turn like a top.  

I love what Holliday [Rees] said about how dance training is so very worth it no matter where you end up professionally.  I'm always having that conversation with the parents of my dance students, the self-discipline and work ethic you learn in the ballet studio serves you well in whatever you do with the rest of your life.  To say nothing about making you a better patron of the arts, and where would the artists be without patrons!  :)  I'll never forget the Don Quixote pas de deux that Holliday did with Michael Booth.  If you ever get a chance to see a video of their pas de deux, do watch it.  It includes a heart-stopping one-armed lift... ahhh, beauty!"