Black Bow

It's hard to find the words to describe what the Black Bow now means to us. About 6 months ago we found out that our ballet director, Elijah (who is a professional ballet dancer), had won a contest and was given the funding to put on his own production. He asked the more advanced/older teams at Empower to be a part of it. He also asked Brielle and Britney if they wanted to be in it as well. We were excited to be a part of something so different. Elijah came to our dance recital in May and called me the next week. He explained to me that the theme of his production was going to be the 5 stages of grief. He had professional dancers lined up to play each of the stages of grief except depression. He just hadn't found the right girl yet. When Brynlee walked on stage for one of the dances during the recital he knew she was his depression girl. We had no idea what a big deal this was and how impactful it would be. Elijah held practices all summer and fall. It was a big show and the Empower dancers were a big part of it. Brynlee had solos, duet parts with Elijah, and dances with the other stages of grief. Watching it all come together was an incredible experience and watching the show was breathtaking. It was so raw and emotional. Elijah had written poetry to go along with the show and created a whole story of a man going through the stages of grief after losing his love. Brynlee was the perfect girl for this part. I've never seen her dance with so much emotion. She really portrayed depression perfectly. Thank you Elijah for this opportunity!