Photo courtesy of Mark Morris Dance Group
Hometown: Highland Park, IL
Current city: Brooklyn, NY
Age: 39
Attended an arts high school? No. I went to a wonderful public school with a very well-developed arts program. I studied ballet from age 3 and continued at private studios throughout my childhood. At my high school I was able to study some basic modern dance, choreograph and perform in dance shows and musicals, teach some dance classes, study acting and directing, and take voice lessons.
College and degree: NYU Tisch School of the Arts, BFA in Dance
How you pay the bills: Dancing with the Mark Morris Dance Group and teaching technique and repertory for the company, school and around the globe
All of the dance hats you wear: Dancer, technique and repertory teacher
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Describe your dance life in your....
20s:
My approach:Dancing very hard, with rigidity and pain. Lacking nuance. Struggling to learn how to try new ways to move (I figured I already knew how to do a plie etc; it was hard to imagine there was another way).
30s:
Through Mark's tutelage and weekly private Pilates sessions with the incredible Kate Johnson, a different approach to movement started to become my new norm. I lengthened my muscles, found a pliability from top to toe, had much less pain, and danced with a greater variety of texture.
Mentors/someone who believed in you:
I learned a great deal about dancing and teaching from the late Marjorie Mussman. Kate Johnson's Pilates sessions completely changed how I use my muscles (and therefore altered their shape) and was an essential complement to my studies and work with Mark Morris. Training daily with and working for Mark--a living genius with a specific aesthetic vision--has enabled me to develop my technical and artistic self to an extent I would have never imagined. Pre-professional dancers should know that once they join a dance company their work isn't over; it's only just beginning.
Photo by Gene Schiavone
What are the skills a modern dancer needs?
Modern dancers need versatility. Ballet training with a focus on healthy alignment is an important foundation. Strength, placement, musicality and variety of movement texture (staccato, legato, etc.) are all honed in a good ballet class. Even if the choreographer one works for chooses to abandon "line" and step-for-note musicality, it is valuable to have the ability and then consciously let it go.
Spatial awareness--dancing with others in formation and also one's own path through space--isn't taught in most classes yet is a highly valuable skill. Even class etiquette will translate into a good work ethic as one rehearses. Some people may think the label "modern dancer" equates relaxed, lazy, sloppy, unspecific. It takes great skill to look relaxed onstage.
How did you land your job with MMDG?
In 1996 MMDG was still finding new dancers through invitation-only auditions. When there was a need for an extra dancer for The Hard Nut I was recommended by my alma mater (this was the same year I graduated). I got the job. After working with MMDG on that project I was asked to be a supplementary dancer in a new opera production. That rehearsal process allowed me to train, rehearse, perform and tour with the company in both an intimate fashion and extended period of time. This lead to more supplementary roles in other big productions. After a little more than a year I was asked to join the company full-time. I am currently the most senior member of the group, having enjoyed a career of almost 18 years.
Advice to young dancers on:
Care for your body: Drink plenty of water. I recently learned to sip a lot throughout the day rather than guzzling it all at once. Water can make that dry, tight, swollen feel in your muscles go away.
Eat well. My life changed when my diet changed. I eat plenty. Lots, in fact. But it is mostly fresh, nutritious food. Make time for a great breakfast. Balance proteins with good fats and some carbs. Enjoy fruits and vegetables with all meals. Avoid refined sugar as it leads to inflammation. Find a more constructive way to deal with stress than smoking.
Non-dance activities: Stay curious. See all kinds of shows. Go to museums. Read the newspaper. We must develop our selves in order to be interesting artists.
Setbacks: Working injuries (impinged ankles, painful toe joints, horrifically sore muscles). Sidelining injuries (calf tears, broken bones).
Photo by Stephanie Berger
Can you talk about becoming a mother? Did you perform while pregnant, and for how long? How old is your son? How do you and David handle the weekly schedule of dancing and parenting, as well as touring?
I performed while pregnant with my now almost 2.5 year-old son until about the 4th month or so of pregnancy. Doctors didn't want me to but I somehow felt it would be fine and I stubbornly followed my instinct. I needed to keep dancing. I started to show a bit, but Mark and our Executive Director, Nancy Umanoff, were very supportive. I had a lot of fittings to widen the waist and rib-cage area of my costumes. I expected my belly to grow, but never realized how much my upper body bone structure would expand as well.
When I could no longer perform Mark's highly demanding work, the company continued to employ me by both having me teach youngsters in our school and also administrating our Pre-Professional Winter Intensive (our school director was on maternity leave). Those were great opportunities to A) practice teaching a level and age of student I was not as experienced with and B) have a chance to practice my computer and administrative skills.
After an unexpected and unwanted C-section I put a lot of effort into healing and retraining. I took about 2 months at home and then did just a bit of teaching work. Teaching work increased, and then 5 months after the birth of my son I rejoined the company as a full-time dancer--training, rehearsing, performing and touring. I wasn't sure I would return to dancing after giving birth, but to my surprise, I found a surging second wind. As a muscle-bound person the hormones from breast-feeding seemed to free my body up and although I had a really stiff back, my legs never felt better. It was a delight to experience my job with such an invincible feeling. I am now feeling human again, unfortunately! This summer I sustained a calf tear while on tour in Taiwan and, although I've been dancing throughout the remainder of the summer season, I'm still dealing with pain and working towards a full recovery.
I took my family on tour starting when my son was about 6 or 7 months old. My husband David (who danced so beautifully for many years with MMDG and now is the director of the company's Dance for PD program) watched our son while I was on stage and tried to get his work done when I was back in the hotel room. He also was able to schedule Dance for PD master classes and training workshops in whatever city we travelled to. This model worked for close to a year. Eventually, we realized it would be better for both David and our son to stay home. Now I mostly tour without them. This summer MMDG had extensive international touring which tested our family. I am beginning to pull out of some tours so that I can be around more for my family. David travels quite a bit for his job so we do a lot of passing of the baton. We are making more efforts now to schedule our lives in a way where we can find more time together as a family.
Future career goals:
Throughout my career I've taught in our school, on the road, for the company members (when Mark is not around), at universities and schools, and studios in NYC. Always striving to become a performing artist, I never knew I would derive so much pleasure from teaching. It has become a deeply satisfying and interesting part of my life and I continue to evolve as a pedagogue. Once I am no longer able to sustain dancing at this high and demanding level I hope to spend my days teaching full-time. Presently only able to teach master or open classes, I desire a position where I can work with a serious group of students over an extended period of time. I really believe in teaching rather than giving class, and I work hard in each class I teach to challenge my students to change and grow. I get excited when I think of how much I might accomplish with a group of students over the course of some weeks, months or years!
Photo by Gene Schiavone
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