A week of culture in NYC can change your life forever. Here are some of the events and people that changed mine.

- Not a class went by with Max Stone that I did not literally weep for the sheer joy of my chosen art form. Stone reminded me exactly why it is I dance, how good it feels to be in this body, and that I am not the only one who experiences the world this way. He teaches a mystical combination of modern and jazz to the unconventional sounds of Massive Attack, Dead Can Dance and the Deftones, at the very studio I was awarded the first ever Tap Scholarship from two years ago, STEPS on Broadway.

- All I could think of while watching Pilobolus Dance Theatre perform at the Joyce Theatre is how badly I wanted to be a part of this dangerously athletic and emotional work. Weight-sharing partnering is the defining element to this established 33 year old company’s choreography, complimented by an out-of-this-world original score of tribal ambient music. My next dream gig.

- Jen Webber is the artistic director of the all-woman hip-hop theatre company, Deca Dance Theatre, and just so happens to be one of my best friends. I stayed with Jen in her Brooklyn loft/dance studio/rehearsal space and had the pleasure of viewing her new project, Behind the Beat, and trading choreographic expertise. With pillows in tact, Jen schooled me on the fundamental break dance freezes (Headstands 101), and later on her roof top I shared some fire spinning basics---a truly artistic Brooklyn experience.

- Quintessence, Manhattan’s only exclusively raw vegan restaurant confirms that I am on the forefront of revolution, and not just another social misfit.

- My talented and extraordinarily handsome friend, Watt White, leads the metal/punk quartet, The SmashUp. Having never seen Watt live before, I paid The SmashUp a surprise visit at the Continental this week. In turn, The SmashUp surprised me by being one of those rare bands who are as at home in front of an audience as they are behind their instruments.

- High Vibe - It is important to support businesses you believe in. On all levels, let this be one.

- And of course, let’s not forget the most experimental of experiments, the most free of the liberated, the most kick-ass of companies and human beings ever, my NYC STOMPer friends!!! Richard, Raymond, Stephanie, Camille, Tomas, Marivaldo, and Dan performed last Sunday at the high-energy show I attended. How beautifully different the 350 seat house in the East Village is from the usual 2,000 seat houses on tour. How touching it is to see each and every audience members face, in awed rapture, so clearly. How meaningful even one drop of sweat becomes in a theatre that size. How special to feel that my friends were performing just for me.

We all, one family. Thank you, NYC.

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