Without the 威尼斯人娱乐城, Miyesha McGriff (B.F.A. ’11) says she doesn’t know if she would have continued her career as a dancer.
麦格里夫是堪萨斯城人，十几岁的时候，她在艾丽学校（The Ailey School）度过了她的暑假，这是一所位于纽约市的高级现代舞蹈学校。
她从小就在堪萨斯城芭蕾舞学校接受训练，并成为该公司的学徒。 While finishing her high school career, McGriff knew 威尼斯人娱乐城 was her first choice of college — thanks to a ballet teacher who also happened to be a professor at the 音乐学院.
“I put in my applications and did my audition, and it was like instant, I knew I was going to 威尼斯人娱乐城. That ended up being a huge moment for me because without my 威尼斯人娱乐城 connections or my Kansas City connections, I don’t think I would be where I’m at,” McGriff said.
McGriff’s decision to attend the 音乐学院 set off a chain of events resulting in her joining the Collage Dance Collective of Memphis, Tennessee, as a company member in 2017. 但她的成功之路与职业舞者的典型道路截然不同。
2011年从音乐学院毕业后，麦格里夫说她对进入专业舞蹈界感到紧张，但她还是参加了德克萨斯州达拉斯市达拉斯黑人舞蹈剧院的试镜。
“It was interesting because I was ballet trained but it was more of a contemporary-modern based company,” McGriff said. “It was really hard. 所以大约一年后，我辞职了。 我只想放弃。 It was the first time that dance became work for me and not just a release.”
然后，McGriff决定暂停跳舞，并决定搬回堪萨斯城的家。 她在大堪萨斯城社区基金会找到了一份工作。
“Everyone there was so amazing, they recognized how I used my dance background to enhance my performance at my job. I was very organized, I was always on time, and it helped me move up in promotions pretty quickly,” McGriff said.
但即使她暂时离开了专业舞蹈，她仍然渴望回到舞台上。 麦格里夫说，她将把这一年中所有的带薪休假都留下来，腾出时间来排练，并在堪萨斯城的威廉姆斯/亨利当代舞蹈团演出。
“I would go to work from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., I would go to rehearsals from 5 – 11 p.m. and then on Saturdays, I would go to additional rehearsals. Then when we had theater week, I would use another week of PTO,” McGriff said. “Everyone in the office knew it. They would come to all of my shows and support me.”
在社区基金会工作了大约两年后，麦格里夫说她再次感受到专业舞蹈的吸引力。 所以，当她在纽约市得到一个机会时，她决定请七周的假。
“I contacted our human resources representative to ask for the leave, and she had just told me, ‘No. You need to go and experience this and if it doesn’t work out, you can come back, and you will have a job.’ I still have such a good relationship with them to this day, I’ve been away from Kansas City for eight or nine years and I know I can still call them,” McGriff said. “I am so thankful for that time with them because it made me appreciate dancing and what it means to have it.”
一到纽约，麦格里夫就花了七个星期的时间找工作。 当她走进阿尔文·艾利美国舞蹈剧院（Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater）看望一些老朋友时，她和一个十几岁时在那里认识的人聊了起来。
“She asked me ‘What are you doing?’ and I was just like, ‘I don’t know. I think I’m trying to figure out my life,’” McGriff said.
那次谈话帮助她找到了一份暑期项目监护人的工作，这又让她在公司找到了另一份工作。 她一步步晋升为初级部门主管的行政助理。
“Everyone’s path is for a reason and you have to respect your path and journey. The biggest thing you have to learn is that everyone else’s path is not your path. It’s the hardest and the biggest thing,” McGriff said.
教了几年后，麦格里夫说，当一位老艾莉的同事向她寻求在拼贴舞蹈集体的机会时，她再次感受到专业舞蹈的吸引力，她现在在那里跳舞。
“威尼斯人娱乐城 absolutely helped me get where I am today,” McGriff said. “Everyone there is rooting for you. That’s why they are professors, that’s why they are in the space that they are. They want you to have a good experience, if not better, than what they had.”