Building "Connections"

The date is a little blurry. I don't remember what the weather was like or which shoes I was wearing. But I remember it was a Friday at 4:57pm. That exact time is burned into my memory. We were officially a business. Connections Studio, Inc.

We owe it all to my mom, Ms. Laurie. We couldn't have done it without her. I remember her first question to me when I told her my sad news. She asked me, "where will they dance? Where will you all go?" We didn't have an answer for her. We all laughed when she said "let's open a studio." We laughed probably out of fear that we might not make it work. My mom, Ms. Laurie, has never been one to let fear get in the way of what she knows she's supposed to do.

It's coming up on two years soon. And yes, Ms. Laurie, you were right.

We will celebrate our 2nd year this June. The business is still very young, but the friendships and bonds we all have made are strong. Will Connections grow? We hope so, and work everyday to find new ways to make it do so. But the best reward in the world, is seeing connections grow between our young artists. That's our main goal. Building and maintaining the connections we have now.

It's quite a dream come true. An old dream we all had when we were younger, that I get to live in. At 25 years old, I'd consider myself very blessed because not many people get to live out their dreams like this, yet, here I am. And it keeps getting better. I get to witness younger artists learning, growing, maturing and building their connections everyday; and I am building my own right along with them.

What will we build next? I wonder...

- Jessica Alatorre, Dance Instructor