Don't worry, no one died…

I don’t know if this qualifies as a blog post.  It’s more of eulogy…but nobody died:

With this week’s announcement of the retirement of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Erin Halloran, the dance world has lost a gem.  Read more in this Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.

Erin danced professionally for over 20 years, and is my favorite dancer of all time (besides Julia)!  A bold statement I know, but true.  Erin’s dancing is the picture of flawless technique and effortless poise—qualities that all of us in the craft should aspire to.

Sometimes you can just tell when a dancer has really thought about it and really cares, you know?.

I had the privilege of dancing with Erin in a number of roles, and many of these moments I reflect on as highlights of my ballet career. I would love to share with you the photo of Erin and I from Lynn Taylor-Corbett’s More Than a Song, but sadly my archives and Google searches leave me empty handed.  Instead I leave you with the following images:

Oh yeah, and you know how we’re always bitching about what we sacrifice to pursue life as a dancer—like having kids?  During her career Erin graced this world with two stellar children, Aidan and Leo, while still performing at the top of her game—an inspiration and example to anyone in any field of the ideal work-life balance. Erin, you’ve made me a believer.  You can have it all!

I’ve no apologies for this shameless love fest except to say that I may have jumped the gun a little.  This post will be rendered null and void if I can pull Erin out of retirement for the annual Dancers’ Trust performance or Texture Contemporary Ballet’s summer season(more on those later), thus proving me a liar…and a very happy man.