Balancing Acts: Dancers and Their Experiences With Motherhood
George Balanchine didn’t hide his disapproval of dancers having
children. Doubtless, such
overt pressure from a director would not fly anymore, but many issues
that more indirectly discourage parenthood have not changed. Dancers
still deal with issues like taking parental leave, juggling child care,
physical recovery from childbirth, and health care.
Dance and Parenthood: A Case Study
Despite the daunting landscape for independent and freelance dance
professionals, we’re seeing encouraging trends in how some dance
companies regard the family lives of their employees.
Moving On: A Close Up Look at the Closing of the Trey McIntyre Project
The announcement in January by the Trey McIntyre Project that its
performances June 25-29, 2014, at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival would be
the company’s last sent both shockwaves and shrugs through the dance
community. The shockwaves were because despite the company only being
a full-time entity since 2008 (it had begun in 2005 as a summer pickup
company); it seemed to be a model of success in a dance world that is
constantly searching for new blood.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Race, Part One
Art and arts organizations are not capable of solving racism on their
own. It’s not that the arts have nothing to say about race or that
diverse cultural expressions aren’t important, but in the absence of a
clear and shared understanding of the underlying factors that perpetuate racism,
I fear that arts-centric interventions can all too often end up being
little more than a band-aid – a way to reassure ourselves that we’re
doing something important and valuable when in reality we’re really
having very little impact at all. I believe that the sooner we as a
field start framing our efforts not around “what can we do as artists
and arts administrators to promote diversity?” but rather “how does
racial injustice manifest today, what are its root causes, and how can
we as human beings most effectively be part of the solution?” the
sooner we’ll actually have something to be proud of.
Affording Affordable Care
Many dance organizations have long been unable to afford health
insurance for dancers, even though they are the tools through which we
fulfill the missions of our companies. The Affordable Care Act and its subsidies to small businesses provide
an opportunity for dance companies to invest resources in their
employees’ health care, many for the very first time. Great! But, wait …
what options are available? What can we afford? Is my organization
required by law to provide insurance? What if my company can’t afford
insurance?? What are the deadlines???
What We Talk About When We Talk About Race, Part Two
Too many of the mainstream narratives about race in the United States
are stuck in mid-twentieth-century paradigms of black vs. white. The
classic archetypes of the oppressor and the oppressed make for good
movies, but the racial groups that feature in conversations about race
today are insanely reductive visions of reality. Read on for more on this provocative topic.
Affordable Care Act: Important Dates (revised)
Important revised dates to put on your calendar regarding the Affordable Care Act.
Field Trip: A Visit to Congress
Meeting your member of Congress in Washington, D.C., is a great way to make your voice heard with lawmakers and to share the important work your company does in the community. Read about a recent legislative visit on Capitol Hill by Nashville Ballet’s Paul Vasterling. And then schedule your own, with Dance/USA’s Legislative Director Brandon Gryde.
A Dancer & Health Insurance
I have been without health insurance for one year, three months, and
10 days as of today. I am 27 years old, physically active, have no
chronic health problems that require treatment or medication. I don’t
smoke. I only drink on occasion (and then in moderation), and as a
freelance dancer and part-time non-profit administrator in New York, I
make about $22,000 a year after taxes. I am at once exactly the kind of
person the Affordable Care Act was written for, and exactly the kind of
person they are afraid won’t sign up.
If I choose not to sign up I will be penalized $224 (1 percent of my income). Read on to find out more about the options Alexander Thompson faces.
Sequestered
As a judge in any competition, you are expected to be “objective.” But there is no such thing as pure objectivity, since we all come with our own set of past experiences. I am aware of my personal
biases and try to move beyond them, but part of the value of my — or
anyone’s — feedback is in the passionate personal response. If we know a person from our past, we see more in their
performance than if we never laid eyes on them. This is why the
American College Dance Festival Association requires that its
adjudicators be kept away from the participants — “sequestered.” Read about dancer/critic Wendy Perron’s experience.