What's next for Being A Dancer?
Y’all have been listening to my voice and experience for 3 years. For that I thank you!! It is Being A Dancer’s mission to shift the culture of the dance world so that EVERY dancer feels fully supported and encouraged, and is given the skills and tools they need in order to THRIVE.
I believe the best way to do that is by being transparent about our experiences in order to build a community of self-aware, confident dancers and educators. Since performing artists have been hit so hard by the pandemic, and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement has really opened our eyes to the injustice within the dance world, now is as good a time as any to reassess EVERYTHING. Within ourselves and within the community.
At this stage, continuing Being A Dancer by myself just wouldn’t feel right. Personally, I work better in a collaborative environment, and if my mission is to build a community, I realize that I need to walk the walk.
2020 has proven over and over just how important community is, and it is time to bring in collaborators who can help me expand Being A Dancer into a true community.
I mentioned recently that I have officially partnered with Macy Sullivan, and wanted to take today’s blog to elaborate on our partnership and how it will affect Being A Dancer moving forward.
I’ve been watching and admiring Macy’s dancing in classes, at auditions and on stage for years and eventually we started chatting between classes, sharing stories and desires for the dance community.
We came to realize that we’ve had similar career experiences, and a lot of overlap on our ideas about the freelance dance world and all it entails. Last summer, Macy approached me to ask if I’d be willing to help her create a course on the realities of being a dancer for college students. Because I had already been leading workshops on exactly that, I jumped at the chance to collaborate with another intelligent, well-spoken and passionate dancer. After our first work session, it was clear this would be a solid partnership.
Last fall, we co-created a “freelancing 101” workshop for the fourth-year dancers at Juilliard (Macy’s alma mater), and were invited back in the winter for a second workshop on advocating for yourself. We’ve continued working together through the pandemic (I’ll let Macy tell you more about that below), and have some exciting new collaborations coming up this fall (with Juilliard, Gibney, LaTasha Barnes and Marimba Gold-Watts...you’ll hear MUCH more on that sooooooooon!!!!!)
Macy brings a whole new layer to Being A Dancer that I couldn’t have foreseen. Since my dance experience is solely in ballet, modern, and freelance concert dancing, those are the genres I’ve been comfortable addressing. I never really thought about the needs and challenges of broadway dancers, tap dancers, or all the different genres of social dancers. I didn’t realize there were so many other corners of the dance world that had even less support than mine.
Our work together has already taught me so much, and I’m excited to expand our community even further.
And now I’ll let Macy take over and answer a couple of questions so you can get to know her too!
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How Did you find out about being a dancer?
I have plenty of grudges against social media, but I’m so thankful for the way it keeps me connected to people, like Wendy, who are doing awesome work in the community. Wendy’s Facebook posts are introspective and reflective, and the first time I read one, my struggles feel seen, understood, and validated. Sometimes it was the little things. Sometimes it was the big things. I noticed that I always felt better after reading them...on the subway, during a rehearsal break, before one of those 16-hour days. It was clear to me that her mission came from a place of looking past the romance of being a dancer and talking about what that actually meant...to ultimately make being a dancer a more thoughtful, fulfilling, and generous way of life.
Then I started reading the newsletters and realized just how deeply committed she was to cultivating self-awareness, building community, and encouraging dialogue---all things I recognize the need for (outside of dance too!)
The next day, we were both in the same ballet class. I said “I have some ideas. Wanna chat?” And here we are!
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In a nutshell, tell us about your career and why you wanted to partner with Being A Dancer?
The majority of my training has been in eurocentric forms: ballet and modern (Oregon Ballet Theater, The Juilliard School). But, tap dancing was my first love and I started working a bit in that genre again after I moved to NYC. With jazz music being the foundational element, I also grew interested in Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dancing and have spent the last few years learning about its history, its community, the social dance scene, and the challenges for professional dancers navigating that part of the dance world.
I had an incredible opportunity to work with some of the most recognized Lindy Hop dancers in the world, and I was shocked to learn that several of them hardly felt that they could call themselves “professionals.” They thought it was a title reserved for “real” dancers, like ballerinas or anyone who studied at a conservatory. I began to wonder how difficult it would be to ask for support if I didn’t consider myself a “real” dancer. As hard as it is for freelance modern dancers, the infrastructure supporting our way of working at least exists. No, it’s not perfect---I’ve spent years in it and have noticed patterns and consequences---but at least it’s there. Not every dancer feels that supported. We have so much work to do.
AND (big breath), one of the silver linings of the pandemic is that I’ve been able to dive into this workflow. Without tours, out-of-town residencies, or the day-to-day grind of my pre-pandemic routines, I’ve had time, space, and quiet moments to think about why Being A Dancer’s mission is so important.
Because of the circumstances, we, collectively, have an opportunity to question, research, investigate, brainstorm, discuss, and make plans for the future dance world that we want to spend time in...a community that we feel good about nurturing and one that makes it easier to support and be supported across our beautifully diverse paths.
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What’s it like working together?
The first time we worked together was at my apartment. 3 hours FLEW by!!!! We had so many ideas, so much to say, so many thoughts to organize, so many goals to define. It was thrilling. We worked intensely like that for about 8 months (when we could find pockets of time in our crazy schedules). It was comfortable and it was honest. We communicated a LOT of questions, concerns, hopes, stories, laments, laughs. After gaining a sense for each other’s work habits, we developed a pretty solid work groove...I’m so grateful that we had that going for us BEFORE the pandemic.
Flash forward to March 2020---we thought about scheduling a virtual work session, but it just felt so....pointless?
The seasons changed, and so did our mindsets. Dance hasn’t been what it normally was for most of us, and we realized the opportunity to investigate the human infusing the artistry was wide open, and more importantly, necessary.
We are humans first, working in a genre that can be so deeply personal. And the lack of support we’ve experienced as dancers during the pandemic feels like a dismissal of our artistry, or worse, our beings. Suddenly, Being A Dancer’s mission became all the more important. We’re seeing just how fragile dance is, in all of the ways it can exist (in a theater, at a club, at cultural events), as well as the loneliness and vulnerability that arise when it disappears.
In May, we hit the ground running and were working multiple times a week. Major website developments, plans for public offerings, curriculum planning, consultations, and more took us into the summer, and through it all we had to redefine our groove. It turns out that we work really well over Zoom (thank goodness for documents that can be co-written and co-edited in real time!).
More than that, I appreciate how much we’re both committed to doing the work with integrity. It takes time...so much time.
By the end of June, Wendy asked how I would feel about being an “official” partner, and I said “Hell yes!”
We’ve also been supported during this process by (incredibly generous) dancers across genres who attended our initial workshops and gave us helpful feedback. That’s been the most encouraging part. Our peers recognize the need for this work and want to see US thrive too. It takes a village...and the door to Being a Dancer’s hut is always open!
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And now that you've heard us talk....we want to hear from you!!
Who are the dancers and genres with voices we haven’t yet amplified? What do you want to see from Being A Dancer? We’re always here to listen to your thoughts and ideas! Comment below or send us an email: hello@beingadancer.com