All photos by Ernesto Galan
As a child, I had a strong intuitive knowing. An inner voice guided me, watched me. (There were less distractions then).
As I got older, that voice guided me to a new truth, towards a direction I feared. Feeling lost, without a map, I pushed my own wisdom aside. My resistance was met with disastrous results.
For the past twelve years, I worked on healing myself and restoring my connection to Spirit. My practice includes meditation, contemplation, writing, teaching, yoga, crystals, rituals, earthing, tarot, divination and dancing.
Tai Jimenez 
October 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
thanks for sharing – u have brought a smile to my face as you always do.
April 5th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
i am so grateful that you are my teacher. i’ve learned a lot from you and plan to keep learning and progressing. i looked you up and i am finding soooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! many interesting facts about you and in my eyes your are not only seen as a teacher but a role model . your the best…._-BY C. MICHAEL.P
October 8th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Tai your words are so powerful and encouraging. Thank you for sharing your trials and triumphs with us.
February 8th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Hi Tai-
I studied at SAB in the early sixties, the really fascinating years. I got to see all the great Russian dancers who defected to the West take class. (Nureyev and Makarova were my favorites.)
Like you, I lived, ate, and breathed ballet while growing up.
Unfortunately, at the age of seventeen, the year before I would have turned professional, I tore my ACL landing from a grand jete in Eglevsky’s class (trying too hard to turn out landing from a split jump with the left arm and leg forward and right arm and leg back, throwing off my center of gravity).
It took me fifteen years to find something else I wanted to do – veterinary medicine. I got my DVM from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell eleven years ago at the age of fifty. (By the way the mental discipline is the same for both being a ballet dancer and being a veterinarian – the repetition, the attention to detail, and mentally rehearsing what to do if something goes wrong (i.e. you fall onstage or an animal crashes) and you need to be prepared to act instantaneously.)
A few years ago, while working at an animal hospital in lower Westchester, Darci Kistler came in with her dogs. I told her of my ballet background and we had a great conversation. We talked about all the people we both knew – although I knew them as students or young professionals and she knew them as teachers. She treated me like an older sister.
I live five minutes from the Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet in Peekskill, Approximately a year ago I stopped over to the school and, through the front door, saw a class in progress. Ken Ludden was teaching the class, which was comprised of only two women. They were at the barre. I noticed very quickly that the woman closer to the front door was really excellent. I watched her for a while, very impressed.
Later that day I called the school and spoke to Ken. I introduced myself and told him my background. I also told him about watching class earlier that day. He told me the dancer I was so impressed with was you.
Ken invited me to come by the school so we could meet, but I never did. Today I was looking at the school’s website again as I think I would like to volunteer there.
After surfing the school’s website for a while, I ran across your blog. I’ve read only two entries: 8/31/09 (with the picture of you in costume sitting on a stoop holding a sign “Will dance for food”) and 2/2/10 (Techno revo/evo Lution). I think you are not only a great dancer, but an extraordinarily interesting person and excellent writer. I look forward to reading the rest of your blog entries.
If I go to work at Ken’s school, perhaps one day we will meet.
In the meantime I wish you all the best. You’re very lucky you’ve had the good fortune to have a wonderful career – that it all fell into place for you. I hope it continues for the rest of your life! (I often think of Madame Tumkovsky, for whom I auditioned for SAB when I was thirteen. I read that she taught until she was 92 and lived to 103.)
Much love,
Nancy
February 25th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
I really enjoy hearing what you have to say.
March 15th, 2010 at 1:26 am
I love you Ms.Jimenez you are very special to me and I have learned to appreciate you so much because your real and I want our friendship and relationship as a teacher and student to only grow from here I got tears in my eyes reading things of what you have posted and your only what we describe a lot of icons in the world…great! You are my icon and I appreciate you as a statue on a plate that stands strong. I want every thing I can get from you because you are what we kids say “real talk” I deeply understand you as a intellectual being from a dancer’s perspective and a person’s perspective! God Bless!
-Khamari
August 2nd, 2010 at 10:04 pm
You are truly an inspiration. 🙂
September 26th, 2010 at 1:27 am
Hello!
I’m Meg, and I was wondering if you danced Sugar Plum for Lubbock Ballet Theater’s Nutcracker a while ago. I was in that cast, and your dancing was such an inspiration. It touched all of us and my family was moved to tears. Glad to know you are still dancing and even though I am not (except swing dancing with my husband now), it was truly a moment in time my whole family will not forget.
October 24th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
hi Meg. nice to hear from you! yes, that was me in Lubbock all those years ago… hello and blessings to you and your family.
October 24th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Ms. Jiminez,
I took your class on Friday at the HDC and had a great time 🙂 so thank you. I’m applying to colleges right now and I’m glad I got to experience part of the ballet scene at Harvard. I was amazed by how students can take class with such an accomplished teacher regardless of their future goals. The people had such different backgrounds but all had fun in the class, and I hope to be a part of it someday.
Thanks again,
Claire L.
December 13th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
I fell upon a video of you on youtube speaking about your injury and it touched my heart so deeply. I’m 18, and I used to go to DTH, for about 5 years, where you once taught my class. After DTH, I went to LaGuardia as a dance major but then got badly injured and had back surgery. I’m now a freshman at Purchase College getting ready to audition for the dance conservatory. I’ve had so many doubts about auditioning because of my back injury, but the interview about your injury && your blog has really inspired me to follow my heart and continue dancing. Thank you so much.
April 7th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
Tai, you stand in Grace and Dignity.
To show us the way to do it through your own breathe and life;
To remind us that we become strong on our path when we humbly and courageoulsy perceive the fact that we are so fragile;
To teach us that we have to learn in practice to listen and express our Truth at each and every step;
To be who you are – an vibrant and loving offering to Beauty and Truth,
Thank you.
Love
Premdas
May 15th, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Tai,
Your words are incredibly powerful and inspiring. I stumbled onto your blog after a workshop performance I participated in at Harvard several years ago (that you wrote a post about). Right now I am in the midst of preparing to facilitate my first ever dance workshop in Brazil with young adult dancers. It would be so valuable to be able to speak to you– not only as I get ready for this experience, but also to hear more about your life and your work.
Let me know if you’re open to that. My email is daniella.ciccone@gmail.com.
peace,
Daniella
July 31st, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Dearest Tai: I am off Facebook for the time being, but I heard your news and wanted to say mille congratulations. What an amazing thing. My kids are the best thing I’ve ever done. Hope you are yours are well.
Much love, Amy
January 5th, 2019 at 1:02 pm
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July 29th, 2019 at 7:53 pm
Thank-you for sharing your writing- this tip of what is the individual story you have to tell. It is honest, thought-provoking, and inspiring. It calls us to reflect upon our ancestors, our mentors, our past, present, and future, and it calls upon us to actively seek the inner-peace we all desire.