Everything Happens for a Reason - By Alexandra Tiso

                
     It’s been a year since I began dancing with Texture full-time and you know the first word that pops into my head when I think on it?  Wow.  Wow, wow, WOW!  What an absolute privilege it is to be dancing with such an incredible group of artists on a daily basis.  I am a very lucky person and never thought my journey as a dancer would get to take a stop at Texture Contemporary Ballet!

    I always knew as a kid that I wanted to be a dancer.  I think that’s why I stuck with it all those years, beginning when I was three years old when I did my first ballet dance to “Fire Works” from The Little Mermaid and first tap dance to the song, “Welcome to Rio!” Over the years I took all sorts of styles, enjoying them all equally…even clogging, believe it or not.  But it wasn’t until I joined a predominately classical ballet studio, which would become my home-away-from-home for years after, did I realize ballet was what I wanted to pursue.  I loved the beauty of the genre and the challenge of presenting its beauty through my own body for others to see and enjoy.  
 
    Once I graduated from high school, I immediately wanted to get hired by a classical company, so I completely immersed myself in ballet by training for two years at a professional school, cleaning my technique to a polish, pushing through soreness and injury, and carefully watching my diet, just trying to fit into the mold of a classical ballerina.  I auditioned for classical companies and was given a “no” from all of them.  It took those two years to realize I would never be able to truly fit into that mold.

    I was starting to think, “Maybe you’re not cut out for this profession like you thought.  Maybe this is a sign that you should stop dancing and put yourself out of constant disappointment.”  And then, suddenly, I was asked by artistic directors of Texture, Alan Obuzor and Kelsey Bartman, to dance with their contemporary ballet company for an upcoming show ─ that was the breakthrough moment!  
 
    I started working with Alan and Kelsey and I suddenly understood why I wasn’t hired by any of the companies I had auditioned for.  I wasn’t supposed to be there!  I was supposed to be in an environment where I could take my love of ballet and combine it with all the other styles of dance I enjoy so much, creating brand new art with new ways of moving and expression.  If nothing had happened the way it did, I would have never reached that realization.  It all happened the way it was supposed to and as a result, I am now a company member of Texture Contemporary Ballet.  
 
    There’s been a lot of firsts for me since joining Texture full-time, like touring to New York, having my choreography presented in a professional show, even delving into the business side of the company by becoming an artistic administrator.  And of course, I’m dancing like I have never danced before.  What an incredible gift!  Year two at Texture is about to begin and I could not be more excited about where it might take me.  Everything happened for a reason and I’m so thankful for it.