Kristin experiencing the wonder of dance

This past weekend went by so fast! Friday night a bunch of us went a dance fundraiser for an extremely talented, young dancer named Lindiwe McClinton Rose. We were introduced to her a couple weeks ago by her father, Vernon Rose, who is one of our teachers here in Cape Town. Vernon also plays a large role in coordinating the UConn in Cape Town program, placing us in internships that correspond to our studies and make up happy, along with being part of an overall support system for us students. 

Lindiwe is Vernon's daughter who is leaving for LA soon.  She will be attending a dance school there, so, the fundraiser she held was to raise money for her studies. The show was called "Outside the Box", in which the dancers had to incorporate at least one box into their pieces. It was pretty cool seeing the creativity of the dancers, but that wasn't the best part. When the dancers were onstage, I wouldn't even consider their dances as a "performance". A performance, the way I see it, would require acting or putting on a show. The dances may have been choreographed, but they definitely weren't "acted out". 

Outside the Box: Lindiwe McClinton Rose in center

The dancers were so alive and they put their everything into it. Not just physically. They put their whole soul and I've never seen or felt a dance really come alive before. I've watched dancers at recitals and on TV, even on the dance shows with the extremely talented dancers. But this show seemed to be different, the dancers were different. Dance is what makes them feel alive and you can see it and feel it. I almost feel guilty for feeling so alive while watching them; I'm just sitting there, seemingly doing nothing but watching. But I guess the audience is a part of it too. The audience's energy and sincere appreciation of this art I think makes it all the more beautiful and alive. I think it moved a lot of us watching it. So many emotions were conveyed throughout the show: happiness, sadness, anger, desperation, love, loneliness, togetherness, and so many more.  That is definitely up there on my list of favorite things in Cape Town so far.

Other than that, things are going well. I've become more comfortable living here and I'm starting to feel like I never want to leave! I wish I could just bring all the people I love from back home to Cape Town! But I know I will be returning home in a couple months so the best I can do is just make sure I don't take anything for granted and enjoy as much as I can.