Here, on the one year anniversary of your passing, Jane, I am dropping in to say how much you continue to be missed. As always, all you taught me continues to resonate through my life and my art-making. Since I didn't do this at the time, I'm going to share here what I wrote and shared at your memorial. I hope I did good and right by you and all who love you. I love you.~April
To honor Jane at her Celebration of Life on June 1st, 2025:
"Hello everyone. It is truly an honor to take a moment to reflect on my love for DA and the incredible Jane Condon.
I graduated from DA in 1993 as a dance major and writing minor. I am now a dance artist, teacher, writer, and disability justice advocate. The majority of my dance career has been in NYC, where I had my own dance company and performed in several other companies. I am thrilled to say that I live my life as an artist.
I was at DA from 88-93. Yes, things were different back in the late 80’s/early 90’s – for one we had no internet or social media (and in many ways we were better for it) - but many things about us as humans remain the same. I was a kid looking for a place to belong and to feel safe. I was a kid who felt things deeply and needed ways to express it. The only place in my life where I felt confident was in the dance studio. And at that time, DA was the only arts school in Jax. Somehow, I got wind of DA and then convinced a dear friend and fellow dancer, Fuschia, to audition with me. We both got in, and with much anticipation started our high school careers. Very quickly, I felt like I had found my people. We were the kids who were artsy, often misunderstood, and sometimes seen as the freaks of the world coming together to dig deep into our art forms. All of us needed a safe haven for one reason or another. So much of that openness, that space of welcoming, was because of Jane.
The school was smaller then, maybe 500 students total, and while being in high school can be uncomfortable I found my way to a version of myself that was less worried about being judged, and more curious about expressing myself.
I tried on big hair, being goth, being a skater girl, and more. Once I joined the dance department’s Dance Theater, I never left school grounds before 5p. I was also a kid with a chronic illness, Cystic Fibrosis. My teachers knew this and cared for me when I needed it and also pushed me when I needed that. Shout out to DA’s incredible ballet teacher, Rhonda Stampalia, who is still at DA creating some of the world’s future dancers. Again, all the joy, and tough and tender love that flowed in this place was born from the heart of Jane.
Somehow, Jane knew every student. She would make her rounds through the cafeteria at lunchtime, everyday, sometimes sitting with us and chatting. Her coolness came not from trying to be a friend, but rather from her worldliness, the inclusivity that informed her values, her love of art in all its forms, how she believed in each of us, and all the ways she celebrated DA’s students, faculty, and staff. I have yet to encounter an alumni who has anything negative to say about her.
Jane would catch you in the halls up to something, and gently ask you, “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I think she knew intuitively how to speak to, recognize and appreciate the differences among her students. She usually thought our jokes and antics were funny, and if she didn’t, we knew it. She both held us accountable and allowed us to be young and make mistakes. She came to every gallery opening and performance, and always seemed so happy to be there. She was proud of all of the artists she shepherded through DA’s landscape and beyond. I wasn’t surprised when I heard she had her hands in the creation of an arts middle school and elementary school in Jax. She was an architect of generative spaces for young artists in education. This was her glorious life’s work. Jane was a genius, and I will forever love her for constantly nurturing spaces of art and acceptance.
I will share one special moment among many that I cherish between Jane and I –
During my senior year I was caught off guard and terrified by the realization that I am gay. I was deeply in love with my first love, but also filled with shame and fear. In our Senior Recital, I choreographed and performed a solo that expressed parts of that emotional journey. Afterward Jane approached me with tears in her eyes, sharing what the solo meant to her. I felt so deeply seen and never forgot how much I needed that right when it came.
The more time you spend in the world, the more you discover that no place, no person, no city, no institution is perfect. In fact, the flaws are aplenty. I learned so much from my DA family and from Jane about dignity and respect, community and determination, forgiveness and kindness, and I try to apply that to the imperfections I encounter. As artists, so many of us are sensitive and vulnerable to big feelings. I was and am no exception to that, and I believe attending DA, alongside some other blessings, saved my life. I thank Jane among my blessings.
There are still many friends from DA who I call friends today. I continue to collaborate and make art with some of them. As I left the soft insularity of DA and followed my passions, I learned that that is rare – most people leave high school and never look back. It is my hope that we will all carry Jane with us - we’ll try to make our world just, always seek joy, but never forget to be grateful for the perfections among the many imperfections."
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