Today we are at O’Hare airport for the third time in a week, part of the well-oiled 9591 Iris family pickup and delivery service.  Holiday decorations have been going up at the airport for a while now, and at the airport we ran across this one, my favorite so far this year: the Joffrey Ballet’s tree, adorned with pale-pink, actually used, autographed toeshoes.

We are a little part of the audience for Chicago’s big, adventurous, collegial dance community. Being in that audience has given us a lot of pleasure and a lot of opportunities to develop our taste and to make us think about the way we are in the world.

Being a dancer is hard.  You are an artist using your own body to create your art, and maintaining your physique to the relentless standards of world-class athletes, but without the luxury of  ever showing how demanding it all is. Here is one sign of that: even the shoes you wear are utterly destroyed after just a few hours.

This is to say thanks to the dancers here in Chicago, who offer so much to all of us.  You give yourselves over to your art – you become your art.  Thank you, now and all year.