How dancers cope, physically and mentally, during breaks between seasons and gigs

By Laura Di Orio

A dancer’s job is one that is physically, mentally and artistically demanding. Whether a dancer is engaged in a full-on performance season or contracted for a gig, he/she is most likely kept busy with classes, rehearsals and performances. So when a sudden break between projects arises, how do dancers cope – physically, mentally, and even financially?

Here, Dance Informa speaks with a couple of dancers – one a company member and the other a freelance artist – on how they treat their breaks and keep their body up to par.

Tell us about your yearly performance schedule.

Anna Liceica in Don Quixote pas de deux. Photo by Karen Bosch Petrov

Anna Liceica, former NYCB and American Ballet Theatre dancer, principal guest artist
I will start with the Nutcracker season, which is the busiest for me. My first shows start mid-November and go straight through Christmas. I perform with different companies every weekend, which only leaves a day off and the rest are travel and rehearsal. After Nutcracker season, I have a week off between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, and then we start the Youth America Grand Prix regionals, for which I am a judge and teacher. After YAGP, I usually fly out and guest with Deutsche Oper in Berlin for some performances of their spring season. Then I come back to New York for Staten Island Ballet’s spring performances and Petrov Ballet’s shows. During the summer I have guested with Angel Corella’s company, and there are always different opportunities and offers that vary from year to year. I usually take about a week off during the summer and one week off during the winter.

Kathryn Morgan, soloist, New York City Ballet
We start in September with about three weeks of rehearsal, then have a four-week performance season. Then we either have a month off or some sort of tour. Around the first of November, we have another three weeks of rehearsal, followed by Nutcracker performances for six weeks, then about two weeks of rehearsal and a six- or seven-week winter season. Next is around three weeks off or a tour. Then we have three more weeks of rehearsals and a four- to six-week spring season. Then we get a few weeks off, a week of rehearsal and then two weeks of performances in Saratoga Springs. Then we have off until September when the year repeats.

After a long, strenuous dancing season, do you think that a break of some sort seems necessary? How do you cope body-wise during a break?

Kathryn Morgan, NYCB soloist. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Kathryn Morgan
After a long season, a break is necessary, but not for too long. I end up being much better off with some sort of break, but I never go too long without dancing. You don’t want to lose your strength or technique. If it’s a short break, I start back in class a week before, a long break, two to three weeks before. I just do barre for a few days to make sure I don’t injure myself and then gradually work back up to a full class.

Anna Liceica
The breaks are usually not very long between projects; therefore, I always take class and take on some teaching jobs during the off weeks. I try to stay in shape at all times because I feel at my best that way. Besides, there are always unexpected calls for dancing different projects without much advance notice, and it’s always easier to learn and tackle difficult choreography when one is in shape.

If you’re constantly rehearsing and performing during a season, it can be a shock to the psyche when the season’s suddenly over. How do you cope mentally?

Anna Liceica
I love performing, and I enjoy being onstage and in season, but it is always a welcome relief when I have successfully finished a series of performances and I have a bit of downtime. I usually take a couple of days off and then take class generally five days a week, thinking a bit about the projects ahead and slowly rehearsing for what’s coming.

Kathryn Morgan
As much as I love dancing, the last few days of a hard season are difficult to get through. I welcome the break because then I can start back with a clean slate. Mentally, it is also good to get away from the stresses of ballet. But then, after a week at most, I’m antsy to start dancing again. I try and keep active but do make an effort to think about other things on a break.

With your current dance schedule, does it allow you to seek out other dance gigs during an off-season?

Anna Liceica and Marcelo Gomes in Black Swan pas de deux. Photo by Rosalie O'Connor

Kathryn Morgan
I do take gigs that come along, if I can. I do have to think about injuries and such, but I love an opportunity to dance when I can. Plus, the more I am onstage the happier I am. However, my rule is that if I’m not fully dancing at NYCB (such as having an injury or slight illness), then I don’t take the gig. I have to be doing my job first before an extra comes around.

Monetarily, do breaks between seasons affect you?

Kathryn Morgan
We are given generous vacation pay, which we receive toward the end of a season. Gigs also tend to pay well.

Anna Liceica
I have been on salary since I was 16, and for many years I had a fixed income besides the extra gigs I always like to do. Right now, I get paid from project to project, and so far between performing, staging and teaching, it has been a pretty constant flow.

Do you supplement yourself in other ways or keep yourself busy with other hobbies during breaks?

Anna Liceica
I like spending time with my husband, my family and friends. My parents live in the city, and I often visit them. I read a lot and spend a lot of time doing research on news and videos of things of interest related to the arts. I like to know what is going on in the dance world and the art world in general. I love going to see different shows- Broadway, plays, dance – and good movies as well.

Top photo: Kathryn Morgan, NYCB soloist. Photo by Paul Kolnik

By Laura Di Orio

When a dancer steps down from the stage and “hangs up his or her shoes”, it doesn’t always mean an end to a dance-centered career. Many go on to teach, open a studio, direct a company, design costumes, and several choose the route of choreographer. Those who make the shift from dancer to choreographer may find a most freeing, creative outlet to express themselves. And a former life as a dancer just may make that transition smoother and richer.

Dance Informa hears from two established choreographers, both former professional dancers, on how and why they made the jump and what their life as choreographer provides them artistically.

Did you always know you wanted to choreograph? When did those desires begin to surface?

Edwaard Liang, freelance choreographer, USA
www.edwaardliang.com
I never had the thought or desire to choreograph. I had a one-track mind in terms of what I thought I wanted in my career. When I was dancing with Nederlands Dans Theater, I was urged to try my hand creating in their annual choreographic workshops. I had such a great time with the process. I had no clue what I was doing, but loved it.

Where are you along this transition from dancer to choreographer? Have you completely shifted?

Edwaard Liang
I have completely shifted from dancer to choreographer. I don’t feel sad about not performing, I think because I’m still a part of this world. I get to take class and feel like a dancer and move when I want to, but don’t have the same pressures I used to before to be perfect. I get to enjoy movement for movement’s sake. Plus, I never got the ‘juice’ or ‘high’ from performing, so it was not hard to leave.

What does your life as a choreographer offer you that life as a dancer has not?

Stephen Baynes, resident choreographer for The Australian Ballet, rehearsing Baynes's "Beyond Bach". Photo by James Braund

Stephen Baynes
As a choreographer, I have relinquished the challenge and fulfillment of performing but have been challenged and fulfilled in a different way by creating my own dances and seeing them interpreted by wonderful artists.

Edwaard Liang
My life as a choreographer has given me more freedom and input into what I want to say. Making ballets are like making mini movies. You get to decide the music, costumes and sets. You feel like you’re able to mould the whole package.

For dancers who want to either delve into choreography or who want to transition completely, what suggestions do you have?

Stephen Baynes
Be very sure that you really feel you have something to say. Try to get as much experience in making dance as you can. It is a very practical endeavour and needs constant practice, but that can be difficult. More than anything else, search for your own voice, which doesn’t always mean that you can be completely original, but at least it is uniquely yours.

Edwaard Liang's "Age of Innocence" performed by Fabrice Calmels and Victoria Jaiani. Photo by Herbert Migdoll

Edwaard Liang
Keep working and creating, whether it’s a big or small project. The only way to get deeper, better and do richer pieces of dance is to get in there and create. Try not to edit. Find your own voice. Enjoy the process and time. This profession is one of the hardest, physically and mentally, so try to find joy in some of the little things that happen. Don’t always wait for the big promotions to celebrate yourself.

What’s next for you as a choreographer?

Edwaard Liang
I finished presenting my work at Fall for Dance at City Center in New York. I am now starting my first full-length ballet – a new production of Romeo and Juliet for Tulsa Ballet and also new works for San Francisco Ballet, Washington Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and a project with Yuan Yuan Tan and myself.

Stephen Baynes
I am busy with commissions until the end of 2012, including a full-length Swan Lake for The Australian Ballet’s 50^th anniversary, and hopefully there will be more after that.

Top photo: Edwaard Liang rehearing with Victoria Jaiani. Photo courtesy of Edwaard Liang