Princetonians Photo: Choreographer Ogemdi Ude ’16

Photo: Bill Wadmen

GRATIFYING GRIEF: Ogemdi Ude ’16’s dance career had many fits and starts. Those hiccups were a necessary part of her path to success. This year, she was named to Dance Magazine’s 25 To Watch list of young dancers poised for a breakthrough. Ude’s choreography deals with death and grief, themes that carried over from her senior thesis on death in Black performance art. She says an essential part of her work is telling the stories of people she has lost and showing how they are a part of her. She pushes past the idea that grief is just simply sad. “Talking about the people we lost, that we loved, is really joyful,” says Ude, pictured here in the Vale of Cashmere in New York City’s Prospect Park. “Knowing and loving this person wasn’t sad ... and I want to share that.” Read PAW’s story about Ude here.