The art of continually reinventing yourself

A new option for my bio (Photo: Shalem Photography)

It is very difficult to market oneself as a dancer. We freelance dance artists are essentially the rebels of dance. The most common avenue to a professional career is to attend auditions or workshops to obtain a company contract. Freelancers may be seeking that, but for the most part they are looking for the next job. I have been asked to attend auditions to get freelancing gigs in the past, but turned down those possibilities of work because it isn't cost effective to pay for travel and accommodations for a potential 3 to 6 week job. For this reason, it is important that I remain a presence on the radar of companies and choreographers across the country. This isn't as simple as it sounds, especially since I don't want to send out the same template email, photographs, and footage each time I recontact an employer. Appearing as a fresh prospect, even if it is your fourth time contacting a company, takes a lot of time and a great deal of thinking outside the box.

I would say that I have contacted a majority of the numerous professional ballet companies and a handful of contemporary companies across the country at least once. While most of the emails I send out are ignored, a handful respond with, "we'll be in contact with you," or, "we would like to discuss using you." Most of those that speak of getting back in contact with me never do. Usually, it is only a company that has an immediate need that will respond. Just because a company didn't contact you doesn't mean that they didn't review your materials. It also doesn't mean that their needs haven't changed. It is the beginning of a new season and many companies are figuring out what they have and what their needs will be for the rest of their season. Also of note, just because a company says that they will keep your info on file if the need arises, doesn't mean that they will remember to contact you when that need does arise. For this reason, it is important to continue sending your information out to remind employers that you are still an available resource when needed. The only thing is that you don't want to appear to be the exact same person with the exact same experience each time you send your information. Dancers are built on the foundation that you must continue to grow and improve. How do you reinvent your marketing tools with limited material?

One of the most important items in your toolbox of marketing materials is your performance reel (You can check out this older post on how to create your own reel). Without any footage of your performance abilities, it will be difficult to obtain a job without going to a live audition or relying on word-of-mouth. As a freelancer, there may be times where you perform in a handful of works that you have easy access to footage from those performances. At other times, you may be working a great deal, but the performances aren't filmed. For instance, I was really hoping to get footage of myself performing as the Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier with Rochester City Ballet last season. But due to union rules with the orchestra that was accompanying the production, they weren't allowed to film the performances. Even if you have limited access to footage, your reel doesn't have to remain without an update for years at a time. I have set a loose rule for myself that I will update my reel every 6, or so, months. Not only does this give me an opportunity to add additional footage, but it gives me a chance to feel out what is working in enticing employers or when it isn't reading as effectively as I had hoped.

This past season, I had the wonderful opportunities to dance with Rochester City Ballet, Alaska Dance Theatre, Festival Ballet Providence, in the Philly Fringe Festival, and in a choreographic workshop of a piece that may potentially be Broadway-bound. Of all of these performances, I was only able to obtain footage from two of these organizations. Albeit the limited footage I had access to this past season, the film that I could get my hands on was plentiful. Last week, I sat on my couch and reviewed my previous 3 or 4 reels, evaluating what I did well and what could be improved upon. What I found was that all of my reels took clips of footage that were between 15 and 60 seconds long, which added up to anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes long. While I am proud of these reels, I realize that a potential employer that only watched the first minute or two of the reel would be missing out on the variety of dance works and styles that I excel at dancing. I needed to reinvent my approach to creating my reel and, so far, it seems to be working.

In creating my new reel, I decided that I should take smaller clips of my dancing and fuse them together into one work. What I like to call "highlights." Keeping the original music to these pieces would not be effective, since the music would change every few seconds. I started my 20-something hours of editing by seeking a piece of music that was interesting, but lacked any compelling vocal or moments that would draw you into the music. I wanted the focus to be on my dancing and not on the track that was playing. After finding a piece of music that fit the bill, I started by pulling all of the footage I had that showed me off at my best. I slowly began whittling down the hour of footage and finding moments in the choreography that were exciting or intriguing. This was a challenging process since it can be difficult to differentiate between something that looks great versus something that you had a special emotional attachment to performing. In the end, I was very happy with what I created. Not only do I feel that my new reel shows me in my best light. I feel that I have found a completely different way of showing employers what I can do. When I contact a company for the third time, they will likely recognize some of the footage. But they will be less likely to overlook me as a dancer that they have already seen and more likely to look at my new, fresh packaging.

Beyond recreating a reel every 6 months, I try to keep my resume and photos updated as well. It is much simpler to keep these fresh as your career flies by. Try to be patient with your photographs. The biggest temptation when you receive a brand new photo that shows off all of the hard work you've put in is to immediately post it to your Facebook, Instagram (Follow me), or website. Take one or two of these photos and satisfy your social-media urges. But hold a few back for future usage. If all of your photos are out there and you haven't been performing anywhere that has a photographer, you are going to run out of fresh material. These items are new even if they are 6 months old. That is if you don't show them to anybody. As for your resume, I would avoid any attempts to greatly change your format unless you see a friend's CV that you think would be an improvement. While you want to show that you've moved forward within your reel and photos, you want your resume to be easy to read and recognizable.

Me partnering Elizel Long (Photo: Shalem Photography)

The final way that one can reinvent themselves is to find new ways to put oneself out there. Try a new style. Change your look. Find new ways of getting exposure. Show your talents that aren't necessarily dance-related, but that define you as an artist. Make yourself compelling. I've said this before and I'll say it a million times. It is rarely the artist with the best technique that moves forward in the world of dance. It is most often the most competent artist who is most compelling to the general population that moves to the front of the stage and the forefront of people's memories. Don't change who you are to reinvent yourself, but do change your way of thinking. Those who are able to make themselves compelling will make themselves the most hire-able. The best way to remain compelling is to continuously reinvent yourself. It is always reinvention that brings people back to an old, reliable product!

My failure in designing my own website (SPECIAL OFFER INSIDE)

Lyquid Talent website design for dancers (style 5)

(Be sure to read all the way down for a SPECIAL OFFER)

Since I started freelancing, I have taken on many roles. I am no longer just a dancer dancing for my big company employer. My roles as a freelance guest artist include teacher, marketing director, video editor, negotiator, travel agent, writer, editor, social media director, choreographer and so much more. Honestly, I often surprise myself with my ability to learn something foreign to me, often with repeated failure before triumph. I enjoy a challenge and love to relish in the subsequent success. But sometimes I don't have time to figure out something that is immediately important or I absolutely can't figure out whatever task I have in front of me. This is exactly what happened when I was trying to build my website.

As a freelancer, it is important to have a handful of items to market yourself. Aside from this blog, I have business cards, a performance reel, photographs, and my resume. One important tool that I had spent years without was my own personal website. These days people spend more time on the internet than they do most other things. Taking all of my above marketing tools and putting them together in one place on the web is not only efficient, but helpful in expediting my search for work. There was only one problem. I couldn't find the time to figure out the complexities of building my own website.

My partner has always been proactive in pushing me to do things, from completing my Associate of the Arts (AA) degree during my time at PNB to throwing my Contact event for freelancers. He started his own business back in April, Spaces Transformed, and bought a website builder for his business' website. The company that he purchased his site from had a (supposedly simple) drag-and-drop editor. After he spent weeks fighting with the program, he finally created his website (while very nice, it is still very glitchy when trying to edit). A month or so after he had completed his website, he was sent an offer to buy a new domain and one year of hosting from the site. The price was too good to be true, so I reluctantly purchased my domain in the hopes that it would inspire me to finally work on my site. Following that purchase, my domain sat unused for about 4 months. I was simply throwing money down the drain. Once I finally committed to making my site, I felt entirely overwhelmed by the daunting task of understanding the ins and outs of website design. After consulting with a friend who had recently created her own site using wordpress, I quietly gave up and started working on other things to cover up my unwillingness to fight the good fight.

I strongly believe that if you put effort towards making something happen, it will come to fruition in one way or another. In the process of putting together my Contact event, I came across a new website design company, Lyquid Talent. This Chicago-based company had reached out to me a few weeks before I began planning my event. I figured why not give them a call and see if they would be interested in donating a package to be given away to a freelance dancer. I was very pleased after speaking with Jeff Serani, Lyquid Talent CEO, to find that he was greatly supportive of my event and interested in helping current and potential freelance dancers (beyond his goal to give established and aspiring professionals a web presence).

One of Lyquid Talent's media-friendly styles (style 6)

As I said before, I had been struggling with the creation of my own personal website. I also wanted to see how the company worked prior to offering their services at my event. Jeff and his team offered to show me the simple process involved in making one of their highly versatile websites by taking away the burden of creating my own site. This was quite a relief! The first thing I had to do was visit the Lyquid Talent website and choose one of their 14 designs, ranging from elegant to edgy and simple to media-friendly. There is a wide array of options that offer a variety of subtitles (resume, photo gallery, contact form, etc). If I was feeling particularly picky, there is also a certain amount of flexibility with each design. Each style has multiple options for personalizing and customizing, which can be viewed on that particular style's info page. This allows each dancer to cater a site to their specific needs. After I decided that dance website style 5 suited my taste and needs, Jeff sent me a link where I could upload all of my information for him to plug into the website. Prior to uploading, most would usually decide on a domain name, which is usually their their name followed by .com (which Lyquid Talent generously offers as a part of their package). Even though I had already purchased my domain name earlier through another site, Jeff was able to assist me in transferring it into his care. I was lucky that I had already accrued dance photos, put together my performance reels, and written my resume. All I had to do was upload each file to the secure server with a short description of the item and let the Lyquid Talent team create the magic.

One of Lyquid Talent's more artistic options (style 11)

Once Lyquid Talent had all of my data, it was only a matter of days before my site was up and running. After reviewing my site and requesting a few minor modifications, they passed the reins over to me. I was given a username and passcode to self-edit my site. After signing in to edit my page, I found that Jeff had uploaded a handful of video tutorials that easily walked me through editing each area of my site (e.g. how to edit and update my resume). At this point, I wasn't left alone to figure everything out for myself. A friend tried to connect to this blog through my website and it wasn't connecting properly. Within hours of putting in a customer service request, the Lyquid Talent team had fixed the glitch and my link was up and running again.

Now that my site, BarryKerollis.com, has been up and running for a few months, I have had time to see the many benefits in having a website. When I contact companies to let them know I am available for work, instead of uploading my resume, photos, and providing a link to my performance reel in each email, I just offer the link to my site where each of these items is cleanly organized. This saves me a great amount of time, allowing me to contact more companies. On more than one occasion, directors have complimented me on my beautiful website. I also have a calendar to tell my friends, family, and fans where I will be performing next. Lastly, there is a contact form that allows anybody that wants to reach me, whether a potential employer or fan, to get in touch with me. The benefits of my site outweigh the modest monthly cost for the company to host my site.

As I gain more experience, it becomes more apparent that I can't figure everything out on my own. Lyquid Talent came into my life at the right moment to help increase my visibility, decrease my stress level, and fill a great need. I needed help promoting myself as a freelancer dancer. For company dancers, it could be giving oneself a way of promoting their image beyond the company with which they dance. For students, audition season is quickly approaching and mailing out audition packages can be extremely expensive. With all of this in mind, Jeff and the Lyquid Talent team are allowing me to thank my dedicated readers by giving any dancer that reads my blog a special New Year's offer. From the moment this blog is posted until February 1st, 2013, Lyquid Talent is offering to create your personalized dancer website for $19.99 (88% off), plus the $15/month hosting fee. Just follow this link (SPECIAL OFFER for Life of a Freelance Dancer readers), pick your design, and sign up. Thank you and I hope that this offer will help you start your dance year off on the right foot! Happy New Year!

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.