A life in the Arts is not easy. Particularly in a city as over saturated, intense, competitive, and expensive as New York City. Millions of people move here yearly with the hopes of “making it” but only very few manage to rise to the top and manifest their dreams. During this last year in my columns, I have attempted to paint a fuller picture of what “making it” can look like. The struggle is part of it. The side job is part of it. The down time between gigs is part of it. But what I’ve learned over this year is that even with all of the uncertainty and unrelenting demand… here, perhaps unlike anywhere else… ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE .

While I may consistently work myself into the ground… Here, for the first time in my life, I have been able to fully manifest my purpose. That is a gift few ever experience. New York City facilitated that.

This city, my city, has taught me what it means to want it. The fierce and constant competition has taught me what it means to work hard. I’ve learned that here, if you are willing to put in the work, the capacity for reward is unparalleled.

I can not settle, I can not slack, because one missed step and this city will chew you up and spit you out. YES. The struggle is that real.

You must bring your “A” game constantly. It’s exhausting, but in NYC “winning MUST be a lifestyle.”

I understand that this constant pressure and work load is not for everyone… Especially not to live in a shoe box, with two roommates, and astronomical rents. I get it! Some days I long for my simple European life where work ended at 6, vacation meant vacation, and the abysmal MTA was a non factor!
But then I remember all of the wonderful moments I’ve had the privilege to experience this year that I would just have NEVER had access to anywhere else. The inspiration I got from seeing Hamilton and attending their Tony’s after party will last years. Randomly getting the opportunity be at a private party thrown by Prince, just 2 weeks before he died, because I was in the right place at the right time. With Gibney Dance I took my first pilgrimage to the Motherland (and I’m going AGAIN this December), and my first feature in Dance Magazine just came out! All of the Gala’s, benefits, premieres! All of the birthday’s and holidays I finally get to spend with my family! And most importantly with my best friend Chanel DaSilva, we began the work of legacy building. We created MOVE(NYC) together! We created an elite, tuition free summer intensive for gifted NYC teenagers which prioritizes those who would otherwise not be able to afford quality summer study. We had to be here to manifest that.

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(Pictured above: MOVE(NYC) Co-Founders Nigel Campbell & Chanel DaSilva on the firstday of the inaugural intensive; Hamilton Tony’s after party at Tavern on the Green; Nigel Campbell & Gibney Dance with the dancers of MUDAAfrica in Tanzania)

Over the course of this crazy year, this has become my real life. I am so much more than just a dancer now. I am a whole person. That was something I personally felt I was missing while living in Europe. Now my life is FULL, pretty close to capacity actually, but I will take that any day over feeling empty. That’s my truth. The demand may be great… But for me, the payoff is more than worth it. The opportunities are here. The only question is if you are willing to go that hard all of the time… We each must make that choice… We each get to decide how we want to live… What we prioritize. There is no wrong answer.

Now, well into year two, I now KNOW what is demanded of me as an ambitious, “semi-young” artist in NYC and I am deciding to say YES. Ready. Unafraid… with the understanding that if I just keep showing up every day, and keep putting in the work, there are no limits to what I can achieve! Not now. Not ever. Not here… In the greatest city in the world.

Nigey