A big decision faced me. I could move back to New York City to pursue my dream of dancing, or I could stay here in la República Dominicana. I moved here from New York City with my mom and two sisters when I was nine years old because my dad died in a car wreck. So I’ve basically spent half of my life in the Dominican Republic, but then again, I spent the other half of my life in Queens. I really want to pursue a dancing career, and I would be more successful if I moved back to the U.S.
After months of careful consideration I’m flying back to New York City. I miss the excitement of it all, and running from place to place. I miss the soaring high buildings with hundreds of people buzzing around in them. I miss the smell of bitter New York City coffee, even though I wasn't allowed to drink it when we left. I still loved the smell of it. I miss how the hot chocolate that my parents got me used to wake me up and warm up my body when it was chilly outside. I miss the bagel shops that felt warm and cozy inside and smelled like melted butter. But most importantly, I miss taking the subway. In a way the subway was a place where I could relax. I had to constantly run from place to place, but on the subway people just minded their own business, and I could just relax, and read a book or maybe listen to some music.
When I got to New York City, the first thing I did was stop by one of the famous New York City hotdog stands. My parents used to buy me these all the time when I was little. I realized how much I missed it. The noise of all the cars and people talking and rushing to be on time is so refreshing. I love how people just mind their own business here, it's great.
When I finally find a dance studio that I feel like I belong in, it's really nice. My dance teacher also told me that I have great potential! I also got to join the Faces Theatre Group, and we get to perform plays that promote positivity among young teens, and being a teenager myself, I think that It’s pretty great!
Years of work are beginning to pay off, and I am continuing to pursue a career in ballet, and acting. I am very passionate about acting and dancing, but I can't imagine just doing one of the two.
*Ring Ring Ring* The phone on the coffee table started to ring.
“Hello?” I answer as I pick up the phone.
“Is this the Zoe Nazario residence?” the man on the phone asked.
“Yes it is, who’s calling?” I asked
“My name is Daniel Swee. I am calling because I am casting for a movie. The movie is about a group of teenagers who come from different backgrounds, who all enroll in a dancing school. There is conflict, jealousy, backstabbing and heartbreak. Do you think you’re going to be interested in acting in this film? We are trying to find real dancers, and from what I’ve been told, you are an exceptional ballet dancer. You were recommended to us by the Faces Theatre Group. So whaddya say?”
I feel a little shocked for a second, but quickly snap out of it.
“Well, I’ll have to think about it. Should I give you a call when I’ve made up my mind?” I asked
“That sounds great. Well, have a good one.” Daniel said as he hung up the phone.
Wow. I can’t believe what just happened. Ok, so again I have a pretty big decision. I could take the job, which would most likely earn a lot of money, and I could get some real world acting experience. Or I could continue my ballet career and pass up on this amazing opportunity. But then again, I don't know if I have what it takes to act in an actual movie. The movie would be produced and other people would watch the movie, and oh my gosh. But also the opportunity to act in an actual movie is just too great to pass up. I think I’ll take the job. And plus, I would still be doing ballet, so it's not like I'm gonna stop dancing.
I finally got up the courage to call Daniel Swee back to tell him that I am going to take the job after a week of making up my mind. He gave me all of the details and the audition place address and everything. So it turns out I'm not off the hook just yet. I still need to audition for the role. Well of course I do, I can’t just expect to get cast into a movie that quickly. It's a whole process that I’m going to have to go through. But that's okay. I think that I can do this. Yes there is a big possibility that I’m not ready for this, and that there will be other people who are better at this and more prepared than me, but that's alright. Of course there are going to be other dancers, but I just have to want this bad enough. I need confidence and a good attitude about all of this. Afterall, I am twenty years old. I can’t keep worrying about little things like if the other people auditioning are better at dancing or acting than I am.
I walked to the audition place from the subway, and it feels like I might throw up at any minute. I walk up to a girl who looked just as nervous as me.
“Hey, is it normal that my stomach feels like a bottomless pit?” I laughed as I approached her.
“It must be, because that’s exactly how I feel.” she chuckled.
“Hi, I’m Zoe.” I said as I held out my hand for her to shake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Amanda.” she replied as she gave my hand a firm quick shake.
“Wow, you certainly have a good grip.” I said.
“Oh, I'm so sorry. I guess I'm just super uptight and nervous.” she laughed
“Oh no, don’t worry about it. I-”
‘AMANDA SCHULL TO THE AUDITION ROOM’
“Oh, well that’s me, I’ll see you later!” she said as she started to turn around.
“Good luck!” I said as she started to turn around. She quickly turned around and waved a quick goodbye.
“You too!” she said as she walked away.
So, it turns out that I was one of the best dancers who auditioned, so I got the job! Amanda also got the job, so I saw her pretty often. After the long couple of months that it took to film and produce the movie, it was finally over. And I'm sort of relieved, but I also feel sort of disappointed that the movie is over. I had such a great time with the other people in the cast, and all of the producers and directors were so great.
I’m glad that I took the job, the experience was amazing, and I met so many amazing people on set. I’m so thankful that I was able to work with such amazing cast mates, and producers.
Over all, this acting experience was the best thing that has ever happened to me, so far at least. I did have to overcome some of the self doubt that made me want to stop, but I am so glad that I toughed it out and got enough courage to audition for this role. Now I have real world experience, and hopefully I can get cast in other movies in the future. I think that I might put my dancing career on hold. Now that I’ve had some great experiences, I think that I should focus a little bit more on my new career. I think that I might actually be going places.