I am so sad to hear of the passing of one of my teachers from college- Peter O’Brien.
While I know many people in my college alone that had much closer relationships with him, Peter has always been one of my most revered teachers in my mind. Peter and I didn’t always get along. In fact, within the first few weeks of taking class from him, he screamed at me so badly that he threatened to kick me out of class- because my hair fell out. I joked that the next week I was going to put a million brightly colored bobby pins and barrettes in my hair, then top it off with an inch of gel and hairspray. Although we started out rocky, one of my proudest moments of that year was getting that man to respect me.
That year, I had him off and on for ballet, I had him for one semester as a pas de deux teacher, and he worked with me for certain parts of the production of Romeo & Juliet that our department was putting on. I’m pretty sure that was the semester that I had worked my hardest. I remember one specific moment where I completed this fantastic grande ronde de jamb during center work. It wasn’t up to my ears or anything, but my leg was lengthened and extended and my turn out was at its capacity. My beautiful foot was pointed, and I was strong. It was the first time Peter had ever pointed me out and excitedly told me “good!” Though very simple, one of my biggest compliments of my life.
I didn’t have a close relationship with the man, and I haven’t spoken to him since college. He will never know what a huge impact he had on me. I had other teachers that made me work, and I had other teachers that yelled at me, and I had other teachers who I even liked a lot better. Earning that man’s respect, however, was one of my proudest achievements in college. Not only was he a strict teacher, but he is a highly respected performer and educator. I really wish I had had the opportunity to tell him. I’m almost positive he never knew what it meant.
It really just goes to show that we all must tell those we appreciate just how MUCH we appreciate them in life. We may never get the opportunity.
