During a recent DAG meeting held through Zoom, former DCDC dancer Asako Ichihashi, who lives in Iceland, learned that another member of the DCDC family, Devin Baker, was working on a project in Iceland. 

Thanks to a bit of serendipity, Asako and Devin were able to meet after a performance in Iceland. They each shared with us how it felt to make a new connection within the DCDC family.

Asako Ichihashi holds a Master of Arts Education degree and teaches dance in Iceland, where she has resided since 1993. She shared these thoughts about meeting Devin:

“I danced with DCDC during the 1991-93 season after I graduated Shenandoah University in Virginia. In the summer of 1993, I moved to Iceland. Even though I was only with the company for two years, I have so many memories and I have often thought about DCDC. I attended a Zoom meeting of DAG and it was nice to meet Kevin, Debbie, and other DCDC family online. In that meeting Kevin and Debbie mentioned there was a dancer from DCDC, Devin Baker, who was staying in Iceland for a project. I was reading a newspaper in the morning before going to work and I found an article about a dance performance that night in Harpa concert hall. I found Devin Baker´s name in the article, and I got so excited that I could meet the dancer from DCDC in Iceland!

After the performance, I talked to Devin. It was a very interesting feeling to meet him. We had never met before but because we knew our connection was DCDC, I felt like I was meeting a relative I had never met before, not a stranger I met for the first time. It was so great that I had a chance to meet him again and was able to talk more before he left Iceland. I was happy to hear that he felt the same way as I when we met after the performance. He told me that because he has watched old videos to learn repertoire, he had seen me in the videos, so he felt that he has known me even though we met just for the first time at the performance.

Since I reconnected with DCDC, suddenly DCDC got so close to me again and it is just amazing! I believe that Jeraldyne has planned this for us. I am very pleased that I have reconnected with my family in the United States which I haven´t heard from for a long time.”

DCDC Dance Artist Devin Baker was featured in a multi-discipline project presented in Reykjavík in October. He shared these thoughts about meeting Asako: 

“Excitement, pride, and respect were only a few emotions that I experienced when meeting the warm, gentle, pleasant, and humble presence of Asako Ichihashi. Although we had just met, there was an ease and familiarity in our energy that felt as though we were distant kinfolk meeting at a family reunion. Thank you, Asako, for your hospitality & love.”