Taisha Barton-Rowledge

At the end, I don’t even know what to say. I have always talked about one of the unique strengths of dance as an art form being that it bypasses language. Dance allows you to connect with your audience directly, without the analytical filter of language, where if your emotions are true enough when you dance it, the same mirror neurons in their brains light up watching you. I’ve been trying to find the words to express what this career has meant to me (or even to announce my retirement), and words are failing me. Maybe they were meant to, because some things you can’t explain in any other way than to dance it out.

But… going to try anyway 😉 to start my little trip down memory lane (because if I can’t be nostalgic now then when can I), my 5 years at Ballet du Capitole in Toulouse was full of self discovery, joy, challenges, and deep friendships that showed me that I could move to the other side of the world and find people to walk this path with me. I am deeply grateful to Nanette for bringing me to Europe, and to so many friends and mentors who helped me feel like I belonged here. I love that my life in Toulouse was more than just the ballet — working with Amnesty International, getting my history degree, doing my first international tours — and full of little routines — going to the market every Sunday, having lunch at my friends’ restaurant, sipping wine on the balcony looking at the Pyrenees with @imsjulian complaining about how hard we had it, and then remembering how lucky we were. Thank you, deeply, to everyone who shared that chapter with me.

📸 @davidherrero.fr