Company Dancer Lauren Alzamora: How I Spent My Summer Vacation

I had a very enjoyable summer and even managed to escape part of the East Coast heat wave by traveling to Colorado to perform as a guest dancer in the Aspen Music Festival. While in Aspen, my boyfriend and I took a beautiful 4-hour long hike, through fields of wildflowers, to Grizzly Lake, a small glacial lake at about 12,500 feet of elevation, near the continental divide. Luckily we didn’t run into any bears, though there had been recent sightings in the area.

Although my retreat to the mountains was wonderful, the highlight of my summer happened in Manhattan. In addition to my full schedule with Ballet Hispanico, I teach pilates, both privately and at a studio in Chelsea called Kinected Center. Each year Kinected hosts an anatomy intensive in conjunction with distinguished faculty at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine called FAMI Workshop (Functional Anatomy for Movement and Injuries). I helped organize the workshop for about 90 participants this year and also got to attend. We spent four full days listening to lectures and navigating the Gross Anatomy Lab, where I got to hold a human heart, touch the spinal cord, and see what a hip replacement looks like (among many other things). The unique design of the human body is so incredible – it was a life-changing experience to have the opportunity to “look inside.” The experience has made me further appreciate what we, as dancers, accomplish with our bodies, often defying what nature intended for us. It is a reminder to take care of the body I have, and also to assist my fellow dancers in doing the same!

-Lauren Alzamora

My boyfriend and I at the top of the hike: Grizzly Lake in Aspen, CO