As we start nearing our Fall Showcase, I figured I'd take this opportunity to show my love for Fredonia's Orchesis Dance Company.

Thank you Orchesis for providing a second dance family, a home away from home for me. After being denied entry into different dance groups and other clubs on campus at the beginning of the semester, I felt lost. It seemed as if all the friends I had begun to make were finding their own places in different places on campus and making their own friends, and I wasn't. But then came along Orchesis. I went into auditions with hope, but realistic expectations, not expecting to be cast in anything. But not only was I cast, I was cast in two pieces, with one of the choreographers specifically requesting me for their piece.

If you had told me three months ago, or even two months ago, that some of my closest friends on campus I would meet through Orchesis, I wouldn't have believed it. I entered college with the intentions of joining Envied Xpressions (the hip hop), Fredonia's Dance Team and pledging a sorority. Nowhere in my initial "First Semester Plan" did Orchesis come into play. I'm so glad that I did find it, though.

It seems whenever I'm not in class or sleeping, I'm living Orchesis.

Whether that means rehearsing for hours on end, or just simply getting food with my castmates. I've become so close with some of the cast that we've had conversations about virtually everything, made plans to take dance classes together during school breaks, even sat with them and laughed over videos of our drunk shenanigans the night before a long rehearsal.

The older members of Orchesis, such as graduating seniors Mads and Stefan, and other upperclassmen like Jenn, Ashely and Messiah have been mentors to me, not just for Orchesis, but for college in general. They've helped make my transition into college (at least socially) a smooth one after the rocky start that I had. They've supported me and welcomed me in their little families and I can't thank them enough.

So thank you Orchesis, for being my new home and helping me continue my first love, dance, in this new environment.

And sidenote: tickets for Orchesis' Fall Showcase are now on sale. The show is November 29 and 30 at 9pm in the MPR of the Williams Center. Tickets are $4 for students and $8 for non-students. I hope everyone can come out and support this show that we've been working toward all semester.