Karis Pendleton

Ahhh, I’m bursting with excitement!!!

Ok so as you all know a few weeks ago I found out that I was given the opportunity to perform in the corps behind two principal dancers from Paris Opera Ballet for the Youth America Grand Prix ( YAGP) finals Gala. Welllll this past friday 04/19 was the Gala and I performed at the Lincoln Center in New York City!!!! I’m literally still on cloud nine thousand 😉.

Let’s rewind…

The week leading up to the show I was so nervous. Being in the corps de ballet we are required to look and dance as one. If someone moves on the wrong count or messes up the spacing it’s VERY noticeable. Anyways, I was super nervous because I was scared I would mess up and then everybody would know. To help with my anxiousness I did a lot of praying and meditating. I talked to my parents a lot, which really helped calm me. Rehearsals leading up to the show went really well. We all synced up well and everything was perfect. Our teachers were very pleased.

The day of the show came and I felt so ready!! Friday morning I had ballet, variations class, and rehearsal for the show. My classes and rehearsal went really well. I felt really “on my leg”(meaning balanced and ready to dance), my turns and jumps were great. I was all set for the show!

Since we had a long break before showtime, my friend and I left the theater. We hung out for a little bit and grabbed some food and then decided to take a few pictures in front of Lincoln Center. While we were taking pictures a little girl and her family came up to us. They said we were beautiful dancers and their daughter just finished her first dance recital. She asked if she could take a quick picture with us. That made my day!! After taking a picture with the little girl she asked us what it’s like being a dancer in NYC. I enjoyed sharing a little about my journey. I’m so honored that I was able to inspire a young aspiring dancer. 🥰

After taking pictures in front of Lincoln Center we headed back into the theater. As I was walking inside I passed THE India Bradley!!!!! 🥹🥹🥹 India Bradley is in the corps de ballet of New York City Ballet (NYCB). Last December she made history as the first black dancer to perform dew drop in NYCB nutcracker. I was also really excited because one of my mentors Mrs. Andrea Long-Naidu trained her. Anyways, I got to take a picture with Ms. Bradley and then she wished me good luck on the show!! 🥰😭🥰

Ok so after I met Ms. Bradley I headed back to the dressing room. I put my costume and headpiece on and I was ready for the show!!! We headed backstage a few acts before ours and I was shaking. I was so excited and nervous at the same time. I thought I was gonna faint. There was so much riding on this show. I stepped onto the stage, I knew this was it! Everyone did such outstanding job!! We all nailed the spacing, we smiled and just had a good time! 💖🥳 I’m so so grateful for the experience. After I performed I could just sit back and watch all the other outstanding dancers perform. Keenan Mentzos, an amazing pre-professional dancer performed his contemporary solo. He was amazing! We met a few years ago in Canada and we’ve loosely kept in touch. While backstage we recognized each other and caught up a for a little bit which was nice!! 💞.

I was surrounded by greatness!! There were so many amazing pre professional and professional dancers that performed. I was able to meet principal dancers from American Ballet theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet and others. I’m so grateful I had the honor of watching them perform and getting to talk to them and take pictures with them after the show.

As amazing as this was I was a little sad. There were a lot of amazing dancers in this production and only 6 of them were black; and only 2 are professionals. Of the 2 only 1 of the professionals I recognized. I took a picture with him because he danced Incredibly. I knew that later I would look him up and feel happy I met him. Anyways, I started putting together my post for the night and I was trying to put the names to all the dancers I had met and I could not find him. I ended up posting about the night and later I found out his name from a friend. The incredible dancer was THE Brooklyn Mack, please look him up he’s incredible. He’s broken a lot of barriers for dancers of color. My mom messaged him on my behalf on instagram stating our sincere apologies for not posting his name. He said that he really enjoyed meeting me but was sad we didn’t know who he was, and then took a moment to educate us on who he is. I really appreciated that. I ended up deciding with my mom to take my post down and make a new one. I added his name and then did some more research on him. I value and enjoy learning dance history especially black dance history and allllll the barriers that have been broken so that I can have opportunities like this past Friday. So as I thought of all the classes I have taken and research projects I have had on trailblazers for dancers of color his name had not come up yet. This really frustrates me. He has broken a lot of barriers and he is a big part of why I’m able to do what I love today. Among the professionals he is extremely well known and I’m glad to know him now. I’m honored that he took the time to add to my dance history knowledge. I’m forever grateful to Mr. Brooklyn Mack. I’m so blessed to have met this phenomenal person and that I know who he is now so I can carry his history on. 💞🙌🏾💞🙌🏾💞🙌🏾 AND now you know too!

All of this has been such an amazing experience I will never forget!! I’m so blessed that I had this opportunity. 🥲🙏🏾💜