I am a creature of habit. I love having a structured routine, knowing what to expect and seeing the next step before I take it. But it’s the deviations and changes from my everyday, as hard as they can be to face, that are what keep me honest, inspired and indulgent in my artistic creativity.
I feel I am someone who constantly teeters between loving the perfunctory office atmosphere and craving the freedoms that come with being a full-time dancer (don’t we all!?). Frankly speaking, when I landed at Dancers’ Group I found my perfect match between these two sides of my personality: for most of my day I have a straightforward workday schedule, editing articles, gathering calendar listings, putting together the ebulletin and other emails; but it’s the conversations in between paperwork and emails, the mini-talks about weekend shows, and the freedom to take one or two morning classes each week, that I relish in. Having the freedom and support to entertain these off-shoots is what keeps me coming back to my job happy and inspired.
In many ways I see the content of this December issue as a similar deviation, its content strays slightly from what we usually print. There are still the same names and faces, the same formatting and a similar style, but as I prepared and edited these articles of personal accounts, inner workings, and glances back at the past, I felt as though I was taken away for a moment, taken out of my ordinary work.
In this issue we are pleased to offer two retrospectives, both sweet and candid, deep and also personally meaningful. In the first, Rachel Howard, the talented writer that she is, takes a look back at the past decade as a Bay Area dance critic. She illuminates some of the greatest strengths this community has to offer (and gives me hope for the next decade!). In Wayne Hazzard’s twenty-seven-year scope of his life and work within this dance community, his voice graces the page, equally as bare, candid, and insightfully thought provoking as he is on this cover with Joe Goode. That is still not to mention more voices from the past and present, within these twelve pages: a snippet of my interview with Keith Hennessy regarding his 20th Anniversary season (make sure to visit our article archive by the end of this month for an extended version of the interview and more of his quirky responses); a glimpse into Nijinsky’s deteriorating psyche and the 100 year centennial of the Ballet Russes; as well as a revealing dance education overview from Patricia Reedy.
Another decade has come and gone, but before we continue trudging along in our daily routines, before we jump too far ahead too quickly, let’s take a little detour. Take a quick glance or a long read, indulge in any one of these insightful stories. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
This article appeared in the December 2009 issue of In Dance.
