Road Trip Destination: Columbus, Ohio
This past weekend I was often
fondly reminded of my college friends and the amazing dancers I saw and got to
know while attending Hollins University (way back when). My mom and I went up to Columbus, Ohio, to visit my youngest sister and be there for The Ohio State University Spring Dance Festival.
I’d felt bad it’d been almost three years since I’d seen my sister in a performance, especially after going to each one of her dance recitals, many of her dress rehearsals, dance competitions, musical revue’s, and such when she was growing up. Granted, it wasn’t usually an eight hour commute to get to the other shows she was in from Pre-K through high school, but still. Being in the audience has been one of the ways that I’ve shown her my love and support.
The Ohio State University Spring Dance Festival gave me the perfect opportunity to see some of the OSU campus, witness some of what the dance department’s been up to, watch my sister perform, and see a site-specific piece she directed with her friend.
All in Good Taste
I got a taste for the dance
department and community at OSU, and I must say I’m very impressed. I figured I would be and have been looking
forward to seeing some awe-inspiring choreography and performance art. I spent time with Mom and sister, met her apartment mates, three gorgeous women who are also dance majors and fun people to hang out with (like my sister). I finally got to see some of the OSU campus, some of her preferred stomping grounds, and hot spots in Columbus.
On Friday, Mom and I checked into our hotel, then we picked my sister up from a rehearsal on campus and headed back to their apartment for a bit. That evening, we went to the 8pm performance made up of five pieces choreographed by the seniors in the dance department for their mixing dance and media projects. My sister was in a piece entitled “Staring at the Sun” choreographed by Quentin Burley and Madeline Irmen.
After the Friday night performance
at the EMMA Lab at ACCAD, my sister, three of her close friends, Mom, and I
went to Spagiō’s for dinner and
dessert. My mom and I shared a tomato
basil pizza that was absolutely delectable.
The gourmet dessert with a chocolate-coated exterior, toffee, mocha
pudding, and yummy squiggles of chocolate and raspberry sauces for added zest
is one I do believe I’ll have to order again. Not a School for the Directionally Challenged (like I am!)
I can say with absolute certainty
that I would get undeniably lost trying to find my way around such a sprawling
campus. My mom’s been there a number of
times, and she got turned around occasionally.
I remained perpetually in a state of not knowing where the heck I was in
relation to any other building, Theresa’s apartment, or our hotel. Fortunately, Mom did all of the driving when
we were up there, so we may have taken the longest possible route back to our
hotel a couple times, but we never ended up in the ghetto of another state (which
is all-too-likely to happen when I’m driving).
Being there affirmed once again that a small liberal arts college with a strong sense of community and a beautiful rural campus were the best fit for me. I would have felt incredibly lost, lonely, and insignificant going to school on one of the biggest college campuses in the country. Hollins was the right place for me. My sister has thoroughly enjoyed going to OSU. I’m grateful we both found places of higher education to fit our personalities, tastes, and to help us grow in the intellectual and artistic passions we have.
