Last week I got an email from a local dancer asking about performance contracts and what to include in one. I’ll admit I was uncomfortable with contracts when I first started to do private gigs. Some part of me felt it was a gesture of distrust toward my client, but twelve years and several hundred parties later, I wouldn’t do a private gig without one. I’ve come to realize that it’s just a document of […]
You can balance a sword or a tray of burning candles on your head – but can you balance your life for the next few weeks? The holiday season is upon us and that means good times, good friends and good cheer, right? Yes, but if you’re a working dancer, it can be a time of overwork and extra stress too. You can be torn between taking advantage of the party performance season and the […]
I started dancing at age 3, doing tap and ballet just like my big sisters. Every May we did the cheesy end-of-year recital in awful sequined satin costumes to even more awful music. They sprayed our ballet and tap shoes with metallic spray paint to complete the tacky look. I have to wonder how much “dancing” they got out of us at that tender age, but they got us up there before we were self-aware […]
I am sitting down at my computer to work on a big performance later this season. It will include 3 smaller ensembles within a larger group and several pieces of music, some live musicians (well, I hope they’re still alive when I’m done rehearsing them!) and other craziness that I won’t elaborate on. The event producer gave me the one critical piece of information I needed to start – my time slot is 10 minutes. […]