My Evening with Linda Celeste Sims

Last February, my mom took me to an Ailey 1st production at The Kennedy Center in D.C. and I sat on the edge of my seat during the entire performance. My eyes were fixed mainly on dancer Linda Celeste Sims. Her movements across the floor were so graceful that she looked like an angel. I was inspired by her elegant walk and before the evening was over, I was determined to meet her. I really did not know how that was possible but I knew for certain that my mom would make it happen. Fast forward to two weeks later and my amazing mom gave me the news! Mrs. Sims is coming to our house! The director of my dance school had arranged the date for us and I was beyond excited. Linda Celeste Sims was born in 1977 in Haiti. She grew up in Bronx, N.Y. after she was adopted by an American family. She is one of the primary dancers with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in N.Y. She is one of the most loved and admired dancers in the company which she joined in 1996 at the age of nineteen. In that same year, Mrs. Sims was honored with an award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and in 2009 she was highlighted in Dance Magazine as one of the “Best of 2009”. As a little girl, Linda Sims had aspired to become a professional dancer. Her goal was to be part of a renowned dance company. She excelled in school while taking dance classes five days a week. Her parents taught her that hard work is necessary to achieve one’s goals. I also am an aspiring dancer and I know that time spent with Mrs. Sims would help me to become a better dancer. My mom and I are planning a dinner menu that I hope would blow Mrs. Sims’s mind. For starters, we will have a spinach and artichoke dip with roasted pita chips in the family room. As an aspiring dancer myself, I hope to discuss with Mrs. Sims her early challenges in dancing and get some tips from her for helping me to become more flexible. We will then move into the dining room for the main course which consists of honey-glazed, grilled chicken, salmon filets in a ginger, teriyaki sauce, brown rice with black beans, rosemary, mashed potatoes, and garden vegetables sautéed in garlic and herbs. Mom has also made her signature sorrel drink.
For dessert, we will indulge in my mom’s homemade, chocolate cake with crumbled Oreo bits, and caramel syrup drizzled on top. We will eat in our home theater where I will play two videos of my past dance performances. I will ask Mrs. Sims to critique them and offer any additional advice that would be beneficial to me. I am also curious to learn how she balanced dance with school and play.
To cap off the evening and while basking in Mrs. Sims’s presence, I will invite her to join me in a dance that I am choreographing for our Children’s Day concert in November. I plan to secretly steal some of her moves! I hope that she will be so impressed by me that she invites me to her next concert and includes backstage passes.