CONTACT: A networking event connecting freelance dancers

Dancers connecting with dancers

It's Saturday night (I didnt get to edit until Monday) and I'm laying on my king-sized bed in my hotel room at the Courtyard Marriott right outside of Rochester, NY with ice on my muscles while drinking a Yuengling lager. I have been trying to find time all week to write this post, as I started rehearsing Nutcracker with Rochester City Ballet, but I am beginning to learn that my first week dancing any gig is always overly exhausting. This is not only because I am dancing a lot, but meeting new people, learning the culture of a company, and taking in new styles and choreography can be overwhelming. But the midnight hour has passed and I finally feel like I can take a moment to share about the event that I threw in NYC a few weeks back.

When I started freelancing, I had a very small network of friends that had any knowledge about the art of dancing with different companies on a regular basis. Most of the dancers that I knew who freelanced were stars of big ballet companies. They didn't actively seek work, instead they were always sought out for work. It must be nice to have people calling you, asking you to work for them. But in most realities, unless you are a leading dancer with a big name company, you are unlikely to receive random phone calls requesting your service as a performer.

A small network of freelancers

As I have spent more time in this field, I have started to build a base of freelancing friends and what I have found is that there is a great need for resources, mentoring, and connection in our community. Like I wrote in my previous posting, The importance of your freelancing friends, the best way that you can find work and support is through your network of friends that freelance. Dancers typically create this network very slowly, gig by gig. It is also common for dancers to lack interaction with others that perform in different styles and genres of dance. Due to the nature of our work, it can take years to develop a solid, nurturing system of support. I felt this personally and I felt this amongst my friends and decided to do something about it.

Co-hosts Bennyroyce Royon and me

An old friend of mine, Bennyroyce Royon, and I reconnected through our freelancing careers. He was a student at Juilliard, while I was a student at the School of American Ballet. We were two of very few students that crossed the social boundaries of the contemporary college and neo-classical ballet high school dance programs. After we graduated from our respective schools, we mostly lost touch, aside from a handful of chance run-ins. When I was rehearsing in NYC for my gig with Avi Scher & dancers, we reconnected and have stayed in close contact ever since. Aside from our mutual care and friendship, we have also been a great support system for each other as freelancers. Although we were raised dancers of different styles, we have had some crossover during our careers. Nonetheless, we mostly remain within the realm of our backgrounds, Benny dancing mostly contemporary work and myself dancing more in the ballet spectrum. We both exist in the same world and in two completely different worlds. We chatted for awhile when I was visiting New York this past August and decided that we needed to connect our separate communities and create something to bring together those beyond the communities that we know. And with that idea, Contact: A networking event connecting freelance dancers was born!

Our venue in Greenwich Village - Soy and Sake

Just a few weeks ago, on Monday, October 22nd, Benny and I threw our first event for freelance dancers. We were more than pleased with the success of the evening. Not only did we exceed our goal of attendees, but we also exceeded our goal of community support. We already knew that there was a great need for connection in our community. But talking directly to hardworking freelance dancers, we learned that there is even more need than we realized. Dancers don't just need help finding work, but many of the freelancers we talked to are uninsured, have few resources to help market themselves to a broad audience, struggled to find work and proper working conditions once they found it, work multiple jobs, and have nobody to hold their hand along the way. I am hoping, through events like this and beyond, to help create a support network that will make our lifestyle easier, more lucrative, and more sustainable.

Excitement over door prizes

Not only was there great energy coming from the numbers of freelancers at our event, but there was great feedback from the organizations that donated door prizes in support of this event. Benny and I were able to obtain donations from Dance Magazine, the Joyce Theater, Sansha, Broadway Dance Center, Lyquid Talent (website design), and MurphyMade photography, among others. Aside from the generosity from these organizations, those that weren't able to donate within the short time period that we put this event together (2 weeks is a short period of time), expressed their support and hope to donate to future events. I can't tell you how many times I heard, "this is such an important thing for this community and I am glad that you are doing this. Keep us updated." The general excitement for the potential coming from this event was thrilling and touching.

Meeting new friends

I hope that Benny and I can continue to bring our community together and offer friendship and support to this network of talented human beings. We are so grateful for all of the support that we received for this event and for the great amount of generosity that was offered to make this event a success! Enjoy the photos I posted from that evening (captured by the amazing Karsten Staiger) and please stay tuned for future news!

Networking at its finest

Experience Post - "Works & Process" @ the Guggenheim - Avi Scher & Dancers

Performing IT MAKES ME NERVOUS by Avi Scher (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

It's really hard to perform freelancing work when you are dancing on contract for 40 weeks. For this reason, I didn't do much outside work while dancing with big companies. When word started to get out that I would not be returning during my last season with Pacific Northwest Ballet, I received a few facebook messages and emails from people to see if the news was true. One of those people was an old friend of mine, Avi Scher. He checked in to see if there was the possibility that I would be available to work in October. Lucky enough for me, I was.

Avi and I first met during our final year of training at the School of American Ballet. He had been training at the school since he was a young child. He even got to perform as Fritz in New York City Ballet's Nutcracker. Since Avi grew up in New York City, he had always lived at home. Being his final year of training, he chose to really immerse himself in the SAB experience. Although he lived only a few blocks away from the school, Avi moved into the dorms and into one of the rooms in my suite. We were in the same class and we got to know each other during that time, but he left mid-year to spread his wings down at the Miami City Ballet school. Avi has had a varied dance career, dancing as a company member and freelancer with many companies across the country. Though he has enjoyed a stellar dance career, he has also received much acclaim for his skills as a choreographer. He choreographed while at SAB and while moving around the country dancing. Eventually, he slowed down his dance career to focus on choreography and start Avi Scher & Dancers. His company has become best known for bringing in stars of American companies and mixing them with excellent-quality dancers from around the country, while still offering evenings of dance at an affordable price.

Although Avi Scher & Dancers didn't produce the evening of work I would dance in, he had been asked by the Guggenheim Museum to create for their regular educational series Works & Process. This specific series was dedicated to the music of Elliott Carter. The Guggenheim had a pretty fascinating idea to procure an evening of new choreography to his music with two choreographers creating dance on the same piece of music. Emery Lecrone and Avi both offered their choreographic voice while a moderator posed questions and offered the audience to get involved in discussion prior, inbetween, and after the performances. It was a pretty great concept.

 Avi Scher's IT MAKES ME NERVOUS (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

Around the middle of September, I came up to New York to begin preparing this project. Although Avi and I stayed connected through social networking sites and word of mouth over the years, we hadn't seen each other or chatted much since we left SAB, aside from a random, awkward pass-by as he got off a plane I was about board (I had taken an anticipatory sleeping pill for the 6 hour flight and was moderately incoherent). It was great to catch up and to get to know each other as adults. But for the most part, we had to get down to business since we only had about 2 weeks to create/learn choreography to the 6 movements of music. Not only were we short on time, but the music presented challenges. Elliott Carter did not create a typical piece of orchestrated music. The composition was atonal, plucky, and extremely complex to count. This presented a few problems. Obviously, it was difficult to count. It was also difficult to choreograph to and equally difficult to listen to for extended periods of time. I enjoy choreographing as well, but I really give Avi credit for creating his work, IT MAKES ME NERVOUS, to this music. I would have a hard time finding much inspiration in this particular work. Somehow, Avi was able to make it work and created an interesting work that was quite well-received and enjoyable to dance. In fact, Oberon's Grove said, "IT MAKES ME NERVOUS made me want a second look in order to take in all the visual polyphony."

The cast of Avi Scher's IT MAKES ME NERVOUS

Aside from dancing on an important stage in the world of dance education, the best part of this entire experience was getting the opportunity to spend an extended period of time in New York. After spending 8 years away from the east coast, while living in Houston and Seattle, I felt like I had lost many of my dance connections. Aside from getting to reconnect with Avi and meeting the amazing dancers/new friends that were a part of this project, I also had the opportunity to reconnect with a great part of the dance world that I left behind when I moved across the country. I remember the first day that I returned to Steps on Broadway to get warmed up for rehearsal. I must have run into at least 10 people that I hadn't seen in anywhere from 1 to 10 years within minutes of arriving. For this reason, I call Steps the "Cheers of the ballet world." Being so far away and isolated from the core of the dance world for 8 years, I was pretty positive that most people had forgotten who I was or that I even existed. It was exhilarating, rewarding, and heartwarming to see that I still had this great connection with so many great friends and dancers even after such a long hiatus. This experience was a great homecoming. Not only did I have this wonderful dance experience, but I also had a wonderful life experience. Sometimes, living the life of a freelance dancer can be full of great surprises and rewards.

Picking the Right Pic

Most blogs tend to focus on sharing thoughts and experiences through text. I was walking to the gym trying to decide what I would post about next and I thought to myself, "I'm feeling very visual today." So, with that, I offer you my first phlog blog (if that is even a term).

Final year of training audition shot '02 (photo:Roe O'Connor)

One of a dancer's best marketing tools is a visual history of their dancing. Photographs. Most dancers begin accumulating dance shots as a student. Any professional has done the first arabesque shot in pink tights and a leotard or black tights and a white t-shirt. Alright, so maybe I fudged it my final year, as I was auditioning for summer programs and companies. But I promise you I have about 3 other shots in first arabesque in black and white tights. Moving on. These photos are great to use as a student, but become less impressive to prospective employers as you progress in your career. If you have nothing else, studio shots are better than nothing.

As you gain experience in the dance world, employers want to see that you have stage experience. It is best to collect performances shots, if at all possible. If there is a professional photographer, try to get any photos of yourself through the organization that you are dancing for. If this doesn't work, dont be afraid to approach the photographer or search for their business online. Sometimes, the photographers will charge you for photos and at other times they will give them to you for free. I have heard of dancers that sometimes grab images off of facebook or a public gallery online and save them to their computer (you would have to figure out how to do this). If you do this, by all means, give credit to the photographer. Use your best discretion.

Performing w/Seiskaya Ballet (photo:Dmitri Papadakov)

Every dancer wants to make sure that their photos show their versatility as an artist. At the left, I have a classical shot of myself performing my variation from the pas de deux La Esmerelda while freelancing with Seiskaya Ballet. Even, if I am sending my information to a contemporary company, I will send them a photo like this. It is good to let an employer know that you have basic classical training and that you are have great versatility as an artist.

Performing w/Avi Scher & Dancers (Photo:Matthew Murphy)

Next, I will typically include a shot of myself dancing a contemporary role, like this one to the right. Currently, there is a greater range of possible work that can be listed in the contemporary range. A classical company may consider one piece to be much more contemporary than a contemporary or modern company. Do some research on the company that you have chosen to send your info to. If it looks more modern than contemporary I may send them a photo like the one below. If it looks more contemporary, then I may send them a photo like the one above on the right. All in all it can be to your benefit to develop a varied portfolio. If you are only interest in one style of dance, by all means, only seek out performance pics in the style in which you are seeking out work. But those that best survive the freelancing lifestyle are versatile artists. And showing that you have done work that is as varied as possible will give you a better chance of finding work.
 

Performing w/Dance Fusion (Photo:Bill Hebert)

Performing w/Ballet X (Photo:Alexander Izaliev)

One type of performance shot that I feel is important to have, especially as a male, is one executing some type of partnering skill. It is important, especially for a man, to show that they have the experience, strength, and technique to perform any role that is thrown their way. You can view a partnering photo that I might send to a prospective employer in my previous blog about Preparing for limited-rehearsal gigs or by viewing the photo that I have posted to the right.

Headshot (Photo:Shalem Mathew)

Now that we've talked performance photos, let's talk about the all-important headshot. Headshots aren't just used to give potential employers a peak into your personality. They are also usually important after you've been hired. It is very rare for a company to take headshots for you if you are dancing with them for one program. Most will ask you to provide your own headshot. If you have already danced with a company, you may be lucky enough to get headshots done for you (see my PNB headshot below). If not, you may have to pay out of pocket for these photos. Do some research in your area and try to find somebody that has experience with dancers and is reasonable (I'm a big fan of http://www.murphymade.com/ in NYC and http://bmengini.com/ in Philadelphia). If you cant afford photos, continue reading for my advice on that.

Headshot (Photo:Angela Sterling)

I have two headshots that I use depending on my perception of the company that I am sending my information to. If the company is only classical or if it is a school performance, I will be more likely to use the headshot to the left, as it is more conservative and has a more classic look. If I am seeking work with an employer that is more contemporary or if I want to show off my edge, I will typically use the above headshot. Obviously, it is not that big of a deal and it is more about preference. My suggestion would be to just go with what leaves you feeling confident. One headshot is all that is necessary and I would never send both to one employer. But it can be nice to have different options for looks in order to appeal to a wider audience.

My final advice for those that have read this far is for dancers that are starting up, looking for updated shots and low on cash, or that would like to expand their portfolio. I remember when I began dancing professionally, I figured that the company photographer would take great photos of me and that I would get them from her. Unfortunately, it was quite uncommon for anybody but the "favorites" of that company to be captured in time. Beyond that, I assumed, to a degree, that people would just throw themselves at all of us professionals in the hopes that they would get to photograph we the creatures of dance. This wasn't the case. I spent 7 years with only two photographers that approached me who were genuinely interested in photographing me (one that got a great shot, but required us to pose on a muddy mountain with horseflies biting us until we had to stop 10 minutes into the shoot: The one shot that worked). Unfortunately, the other photographer didn't have a penchant for catching dance at its' finest. So, how does one get headshots and dance shots for free? I have joined the network Model Mayhem. Essentially, this is a network to gain exposure in the modeling industry. But the modeling industry is vast and has many different genre's that photographers are interested in. The great thing about Model Mayhem is that all you need is 5 photos of anything you consider modeling to be approved and then you have an entire network open to you. I'm not sure if Model Mayhem is really a great option if you are looking for modeling opportunities, but there are many photographers listed that are interested in expanding their portfolio. Most are willing to do this for trade. Be sure to do your research and that you are in a safe, comfortable environment if you meet up with a photographer. It may take some work to get the photog on point, but work together to give them your best work and get some great photographs at the same time.