8.11.2016

A Candid Perspective - Curate This

Performing my own choreography - Gated Lies in Philly Fringe Festival (Photo: Bill Hebert)
When I first started Life of a Freelance Dancer, I didn't really look at this venture as a way to share the strikingly honest truth about different aspects of the dance world. I was an injured, recently jobless dancer with no clue how to go about making a living as a freelance artist. Once this blog really started to take off, I began feeling the need to publicly express different career experiences I had in order to offer a real-life glimpse of the ups and downs of a dancing independent contractor. Over time, I've become that guy who is known to share his greatest achievements and darkest moments. This open-book attribute of mine has garnered me a great deal of criticism. But it has also given me a distinguished voice as an artist in a relatively silent art form and offered me exciting opportunities.

One of a few of my recent opportunities became public this week. I was asked by a lovely dancer in the Philadelphia post-modern dance scene, Mira Treatman, to write an article for a week-long series she was asked to curate on the Philadelphia arts website, Curate This. When Mira asked me to write for her week as curator, she offered a handful of topics for me to write on. The one that really jumped out for me was the subject of why I need to move my art outside of Philadelphia. Once I had chosen my topic, I spoke with Mira and stated, "I am really interested in writing this article. But I will only write it if I can be completely candid about my experience failing to make Philadelphia my artistic home." Gladly (and probably a bit nervously), she accepted my request and I moved forward to write this piece. Please be sure to click the link below to read my personal experience trying to work in the Philadelphia dance scene for 5 years and why I have spent the last 7 months transitioning my choreographic and teaching career from the birthplace of our nation to the capitol of the dance world. Enjoy!

Curate This - Crossing the Border - "Disorganization, Nepotism, and Lack of Community"
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4 comments:

  1. Unknown8/15/16, 12:39 PM

    Love the article! Such honesty is fantastic to see in the dance world

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    1. Barry Kerollis8/15/16, 9:09 PM

      Thank you so much for leaving me a message. It's always great to get feedback and it helps remind me why I keep sharing my experiences on a public platform. Cheers!

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  2. Unknown9/7/16, 10:27 AM

    As a dancer recently moved from a professional company to NYC on the urge for expansion both personally and artistically, this article feels like a God-send! It feels amazing to know there are others out there who have been through enough pain and struggle to be past the pettiness and complacency still too common in the dance world. I like to believe that if we caring, wildly ambitious artists help each other we can make a difference!

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    1. Barry Kerollis9/13/16, 1:02 AM

      Thanks for writing in, Colby! This is exactly the reason why I write this blog, share on my Pas de Chát podcast, and more. We all share similar experiences, positive and negative. But we tend to share the positive and hide away alone when the negative strikes. We should all share and help each other through this career (and life in general).

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