What is your favorite hangout?
The Big Cheese and the Rosendale Theatre. I can’t separate them, because we love to eat at the Big Cheese and then go right next door to the Rosendale Theatre to see a great film or performance. What makes the Big Cheese so great is its delicious, homemade Mediterranean dishes. And going to the Rosendale Theatre is a community experience. Whether it’s a wonderful film or a performance/event, you know many of the people there; and we laugh together, cry together, applaud together; and when it’s over, we all talk about it!
Tell us something we would never have guessed about you.
I had a very hard childhood. Most people wouldn’t think that, because I seem happy all of the time…but it was very difficult.
What keeps you here?
The beauty of the area, the wonderful people I’ve met and become close to in the almost-40 years we’ve lived here. There are bonds and friendships made that could never be replaced. We tour all over the world, and when you do that, it is so important to come back to a place you love, to truly come home. It’s always exciting to come back here.
What would you change?
The current public education system. Going to school is a great opportunity to learn about the world — the inside world, the outer world — and how to become a good human being. Kids are in school six hours a day. That’s a lot of time to spend engaged in deep learning and to learn about what it is to be part of a community, to care for others, to appreciate differences. I’m afraid that so much emphasis on testing is taking a lot of the joy and passion from our great teachers — what made them want to become teachers in the first place. My wish would be that they could do less testing and test preparation and go back to their true passion and art of teaching.
Where would we find you on a Sunday morning?
My schedule changes every given week. It’s like Swiss cheese. But if it were a Sunday where I wasn’t working or performing, I’d either be taking a nice long walk, reading, talking to my best friend whom I speak with every morning.
What is your favorite virtue?
Kindness.
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?
I’d like to be a truck-driver. I just love getting on the road and traveling!
Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here, and why?
Dr. Robin and Dr. Steve Larsen. They’re both so brilliant and so devoted to inquiry, knowledge, mythology. They were Joseph Campbell’s biographers, and Joe was my teacher at NYU. I guess the breadth of their knowledge and commitment and passion make them the most interesting people I’ve met. I learn something new from them every time we’re together.
What qualities do you admire most in others?
Authenticity, open-mindedness, enthusiasm and having a sense of humor — that’s a must!
What is your idea of happiness?
A feeling of fulfillment, of being present and content. That’s my idea of happiness.
What is your idea of misery?
When I become a victim of my anxiety.
What talent do you wish you had been given?
The talent of being neat and super-organized. I do have my own sense of organization, but it’s more like organized chaos.
What is your main fault?
Being late. I make resolutions every year, and I have not given up. There are so many good reasons not to be late that I will continue to try. I’m a work-in-progress!
For which fault do you have the most tolerance in others?
Losing things. I’ve learned that from my husband (who tends to lose things often). I don’t get bent out of shape about it anymore.
What is your favorite motto?
“Every movement is preparation for the next movement.” That is true both in dance and in life.
