New York City blossoms as the pavement warms with the first real rays of sunshine, and the trees begin to bud.
On spring days such as this my love for this bustling city is rejuvenated. Just last weekend I enjoyed a magical day walking the streets of NYC, enjoying the bounty of delicious food, thrift store options, chance encounters, and, of course, irritable New Yorkers. My relationship with New York began when I visited the Robert Rauschenberg exhibit at the ripe age of 9 months. As I grew up my visits were permeated by memories of blister-inducing walks, visits to multiple museums, and adventures in trying new cuisines. At one point I became obsessed with taking photographs of my monthly visits to New York City—I captured everything from street fashion to dogs and the farmers markets.
As I entered high school, coming to NYC meant that I was going for an audition for a dance summer intensive or to attend a class at the famous Steps on Broadway. I started to discover the magical dance world which is housed in the nooks and crannies of NYC’s oldest buildings. When I discovered that I would be attending Juilliard, I was almost as excited to begin classes as I was to be living in the big apple. My freshman year I spent hours walking up and down the city, exploring museums, and restaurants of all kinds. Over the course of four years, three of which were spent in a dormitory, and one in an apartment in Morningside Heights, I have learned how to navigate the subway, grumpy commuters, and the most fast-paced and productive city I have ever witnessed. I grew to love and hate the manic hustle of getting through a day in NYC, and to appreciate the abundance of cultures which collide on this tiny island. I think the best way to describe life in New York is through images. I’ve selected a few of my favorites from my years living in NYC. I hope that these offer a window into life in the city that never sleeps.
One favorite thing to do in NYC during the holidays is window shop—the department store windows on Fifth Avenue are transformed into elaborate displays of fashionMy family lives upstate and loves to visit me when I have performances, and sometimes my dog, Weegee, comes along—here he is on a spring day three years ago enjoying frozen yogurtCentral Park is just a few minutes from Juilliard, and it’s the go-to for getting to the East Side, sledding trails, a picnic in Sheep’s Meadow, and the occasional photo shootJuilliard students get a free pass to the MoMA, which is one of my favorite museums (it's large but it's not impossible to see all of the exhibits, like at the Met)—here are Can and Mio headed to MoMA during freshman orientation weekI could make a whole blog outlining the iced coffees of NYC—this one is from Stumptown Coffee in Greenwich VillageRoasted chicken with salsa verde at Barbuda, which is located right near the Whitney and has garage doors as walls and during the summer is open-air—and the food and people-watching are always amazingSome might call me crazy for going to Brooklyn at 9 am on Sunday for Japanese breakfast at Okonomi, which seats only 10—but going outside your comfort zone can lead to amazing experiencesThe fashion shows at the Met have been a highlight of living in NYC—I particularly loved the Comme des Garcons show, which featured costumes from a collaboration with the Merce Cunningham companyLiving and enjoying NYC is not cheap, and in addition to working a lot of jobs at Juilliard, being an RA, and budgeting, I love to walk dogs—this is Gordo, my Graham Technique teacher’s dogPart of living in NYC is having access to amazing shows—I often usher at the Joyce to see shows for free or do student rush at BAM, but this was a rare occasion where I splurged on a really good seat at BAM, to see Tanztheater Wuppertal at BAM (this photo is from TheRite of Spring—hands-down the best dance piece I've ever seenAn unpleasant element of NYC is the lack of climate control, which I didn't think much about it until my first summer without AC—this photo is from Labor Day this year, when it was about 100 degrees and my friends Jacob and Matthew are hiding from the sun yet still enjoying the beats from the DJ on the roof of Elsewhere There are always lots of dancers looking for photos and photographers looking to capture movement; this photo is by my friend Alex SargentSomething I love about NYC is the amount of really good salads; I love veggies and I’m convinced you can tell a good cook by how they treat veggies—burgers are old newsAn inevitable part of NYC is the subway—It's amazing that New Yorkers get anything done with how badly the subway runs, and the most understandable and acceptable excuse for being late is the MTANYC has the most amazing and culturally diverse food—here my family and I are enjoying avocado toast (a trend from Australia) with a Mexican spin at Atla
